A Marauding In Minneapolis: Why the Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings
By Kenn Korb
Dynamic Pass-Rush Duo Returns
For much of this season, Green Bay’s pass rush has been in flux.
In terms of raw numbers they have had production (their 38 sacks through 16 weeks is tied for 5th-best in the league, and they have at least one in every game), but it has been scattershot in terms of effectiveness across games.
For example: they picked up two sacks against the Falcons earlier this year, but those came on back-to-back plays on a single drive; outside of that, they rarely even pressured Matt Ryan. That’s just one example, but similar instances have occurred in practically every game this year.
A big part of that problem is the fact that their top two pass rushing options have either missed time or been severely hampered for major stretches of this season.
The big name there is obviously Clay Matthews, who’s seen a drastic nosedive in his effectiveness in 2016. His return to full-time outside linebacker duties was supposed to bring out his best, but a series of injuries have emaciated his ability to make a difference. It has shown up in his box-score statistics and advanced stats alike: his 20 tackles and 4 sacks coming in have set this up to be his worst season since he was drafted, and Pro Football Focus’ grading system rates his year as deeply replacement-level quality (prior to 2016, he never rated lower than 77.9 on their 0-100 scale when playing mainly as an edge rusher; right now, he rates below 50). Injuries have been a major factor; ankle, hamstring, and shoulder problems have made him miss 4 games, see under 30 snaps in 5 others, and generally just not able to use his usual speed and power when he has managed to be on the field.
The other end of that coin is Nick Perry. Perry had actually been the healthier of the two this year, rating out as one of the best pass rushers in the entire league (through 12 games, he had 8 sacks and was among the league leaders in forcing pressure, per PFF). He got injured early against Houston however, essentially missing the past three games — and it was expected to be more.
Surprisingly both he and Matthews managed to see the field here though, and they showed just how devastating the duo can be when actually lined up together.
Matthews had the banner day between them, coming out as far and away the highest-graded defender for Green Bay’s defense (per PFF). He forced Green Bay’s second fumble of the afternoon on a strip-sack; to go with it were 3 other pressures, 2 batted passes, and 3 run stops. As the game wore on and Green Bay eventually settled into a more conservative gameplan with their huge lead, Matthews managed to still have done enough damage to almost be the only player across the entire unit to receive an above-average grade from PFF in his season-high 55 snaps.
Perry may not have been as impressive on every play, but for a player in a surprisingly early return from an injury which was expected to keep him out for another month it was a fine showing. In a limited role which gave him only 34 snaps to work with, Perry picked up two sacks — both on Minnesota’s final two drives, with the second one officially ending the game.
The competition here wasn’t good (Minnesota’s 38 sacks allowed is 10th in the league and they’ve allowed numerous other pressures and hits on their quarterback this year; I’m shocked Bradford hasn’t lost a limb playing behind that line), but this could still be a positive sign of things to come.
With Perry and Matthews both back from injury and getting to the quarterback again, it could give a desperate Green Bay pass defense (#20 Pass Defense DVOA, per Football Outsiders) an actual strength to lean on next week when they fight for the division crown against the Lions.