The Green Bay Packers' defense has had its ups and downs throughout the 2025 campaign. For the most part, though, it's still considered one of the best units in the NFL, as it ranks in the top 10 of most meaningful yardage stats.
The one gripe that could be had, especially early in the season, however, was the lack of turnovers generated by that standout defense. Without creating turnovers, and special teams play in Green Bay continuing to be a weak point for the team, Jordan Love and his offense are often given long fields to put together a scoring drive.
Having just two turnovers forced in the first five games of the season, Green Bay ranks just 28th in the NFL in takeaways. Nonetheless, the unit has surged in the past five weeks, generating six takeaways. With J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings up next on the schedule, Jeff Hafley's squad couldn't have picked a better time to find its takeaway mojo.
Packers' defense meets J.J. McCarthy just as their takeaways heat up
McCarthy has struggled in what has effectively been his rookie season. Some of that is due to injuries, but his play has certainly been below Minnesota's expectations. In five games, McCarthy has thrown eight interceptions, one of the highest marks in the league despite playing half as many games, leading him to have the highest percentage of interceptions relative to attempts.
In fact, McCarthy's play has been so poor, his stat line nearly mirrors Cincinnati Bengals backup Jake Browning in his three starts this season before he was benched for Joe Flacco. Only Cleveland Browns rookie Dillon Gabriel has a worse passing success rate, according to Pro Football Reference, with McCarthy registering just 36.8 percent of his pass attempts as successful.
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Of course, the Packers' defense has only half as many interceptions as McCarthy has thrown. Evan Williams and Xavier McKinney each have two. Still, a matchup with McCarthy should offer an opportunity to add to that total, just as last week's meeting with Jameis Winston and the New York Giants did.
Ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles game two weeks ago, Hafley talked about the growing trend with his defense in generating turnovers.
"If we can continue and climb and get better just fundamentally playing defense and add those takeaways, I think you're going to see a really dominant defense as we go, and that's the plan," Hafley said. "But I do see progress towards it, and I think our coaches are doing a really nice job emphasizing it. I think we’re starting to throw punches again, and I think we're getting more competitive."
Since then, Hafley's defense has forced three turnovers in two games, including its first two-takeaway performance of the season. He foresaw the improvement Packers fans are enjoying, and with McCarthy in the crosshairs this week, the Packers can maintain their turnover momentum.
Getting turnovers won't just be a fun day to squash a rival's rookie appearance in the rivalry, though. It should also lead to a Green Bay win. The Vikings are just 1-5 this season when losing the turnover battle, 3-6 if tied or worse. Green Bay is undefeated when it wins the turnover battle (4-0) and is 5-1 if the turnover battle is tied or in its favor.
Generating pressure on the inexperienced quarterback and forcing him into mistakes has been the game plan for practically every defense McCarthy has faced this season, and it's worked for the most part.
Green Bay is built to do the same, but it must capitalize on the opportunities that McCarthy is almost certain to present. Do that, and the Packers should walk away with a critical NFC North victory ahead of their Thanksgiving date with the Detroit Lions.