During the second half of Sunday night football, color commentator Chris Collinsworth asked play-by-play man Mike Tirico an illuminating question: “If I told you the Packers’ offense only scored 20 points, who would you say is winning this game?” Tirico’s answer of “The Cowboys,” highlighted what was possibly the best unit on the field in that game: the Packers’ defense.
Sunday Takeaways
DVOA is a statistic that measures the overall performance of specific units in football. In Jeff Hafley’s first year as defensive coordinator, the Packers ranked 7th in overall defensive DVOA. His second year dropped to 19th, remarkably, when considering that defense added Micah Parsons. The difference between the two years is easy to find: turnovers.
The 2024 Packers’ defense took the ball away from opposing teams 31 times. This was highlighted by Xavier McKinney’s streak of getting at least 1 interception in each of his first 5 games with the Packers.
By contrast, the 2025 team only got 14 turnovers all season, 7 of which were interceptions. Combined with the loss of Parsons during in week 15, the turnover regression was a major factor in the Packers 5 game losing streak to end the season.
Fortunately, under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, turnovers are back on the menu for the Packers’ defense. The Packers have already surpassed their 2025 interception total with 9 picks in the first 6 weeks of 2026. McKinney currently leads the league with 3 interceptions, but is helped by young defensive players in Evan Williams with 2 picks and rookie Brandon Cisse who caught his first of his career on Sunday.
Home cooking
The Packers deserved to be booed in their home opener against the Atlanta Falcons. While their offense was in the middle of an offensive line crisis, the defense failed to do anything to help. Bijan Robinson and Drake London combined for nearly 400 yards of offense, leading to a 35-14 embarrassment.
Since then, the Packers’ defense has been nails at home. Following a road win against Tampa, the Packers faced a Chicago Bears team that had scored 20+ points and won in back to back games without Caleb Williams. It was the first time the Bears were favored to win in Lambeau since 2006.
Despite the odds, the Packers’ defense made Tyson Bagent look like what he is, a backup quarterback. Bagent threw 2 interceptions and less than 4 yards per attempt. Combined with Jordan Love’s historic performance, the Bears left Lambeau with a stinging 31-7 loss; the largest deficit since 2014.
The following week was a similar story. The Cowboys offense was averaging 27.5 points per game entering in to Sunday. They were held to 13 points, the lowest total of the Brian Schottenheimer era. 6 of those 13 were earned in “garbage time” with 44 seconds left in the game.
Since the Atlanta game, the Packers defense has looked unbeatable at home. This bodes well for the end of the Packers season, where they will play 4 of their last 5 games at home. Those home matchups include the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, and Detroit Lions.
Built to win
The game played against Dallas showed that the Packers’ defense can win games. The Packers offense did its job by scoring 23 points, but a continually ineffective run game along with 3 dropped touchdowns by Matthew Golden and Christian Watson limited their potential. Those things don’t matter when your defense only allows the opponent one meaningful touchdown.
And they’re not even doing it all full strength. Their success has come without Micah Parsons. Imagine what this defense could do with one of the best defensive players in the NFL.
“Offense wins games, defense wins championships,” is a widely accepted statement by Paul “Bear” Bryant. The offense has won many games in the current era of Packers’ football. Titles come to Titletown when their defense is strongest, and the 2026 Packers’ defense is looking pretty strong.
