Everything felt doomed from the moment the Green Bay Packers' flight sat on the tarmac for a five-hour delay.
Their performance was every bit as painful. The Packers found a way to overcome the Arizona Cardinals, but they did little to calm fears about the secondary. Worse than that, Jacoby Brissett and the Cardinals' offense exposed a major problem.
Green Bay's pass rush? Elite. We know that. The Micah Parsons-led crew generated 27 pressures, by PFF's initial count, to go with six sacks, but it nearly wasn't enough. Packers fans saw it coming a million miles away during the offseason, but the concerns in the secondary are becoming painfully real.
Packers' secondary continues to haunt them despite stealing late victory vs. Cardinals
Despite generating all that pressure, especially with Parsons, the Packers allowed Brissett, a backup quarterback, to look like prime Aaron Rodgers at times. He threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns to earn a 110.8 passer rating.
Again, 27 pressures, six sacks. How is that possible?
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley stood at the podium this week and praised his defense for its ability to eliminate explosive plays through the air. That came crashing down on Sunday.
Arizona completed passes on a 3rd-and-23 and another on 3rd-and-14 — both resulted in touchdowns. That's unacceptable.
Arizona attacked the middle of the field with star tight end Trey McBride, who caught 10 passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns. He was wide open on his second, with every Packers defender in a different zip code.
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Nate Hobbs, the Packers' big free-agent acquisition, continued his nightmarish start in a green and gold uniform. Per PFF, he allowed four completions on five targets for 86 yards. Brissett earned a 118.8 rating when throwing his way, with Hobbs taking a team-low 46.7 coverage grade. The veteran also got called for a penalty.
It was Hobbs in coverage on Marvin Harrison's 35-yard grab on the inexcusable 3rd-and-14 conversion.
Keisean Nixon didn't look much more comfortable, allowing three catches for 30 yards and a touchdown while also drawing a costly penalty. His 58.2 coverage grade was the Packers' third-worst.
Hobbs can't continue to play on the boundary. The Packers keep ignoring Carrington Valentine, but it can't go on like this. Either Hobbs has to replace Javon Bullard as a slot corner or find a spot on the bench.
The Packers' pass rush isn't the problem, nor is their run defense, but everything else on defense is creating real concerns. It started with Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4, who screened and dinked-and-dunked their way to success.
Every opponent has followed the blueprint, but this time, Hafley's bend-but-don't-break formula began to show more cracks than ever.
The Packers escaped with victory, but their Super Bowl hopes hinge on finding a solution.