Entering Sunday's Week 5 matchup against the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers faced some serious questions. Could their run game show signs of life? Would Jordan Love remain intact behind an ever-changing offensive line?
But one question loomed in fans' minds after linebacker Edgerrin Cooper suffered a season-ending Achilles injury: How could Green Bay's defense keep the pressure up after losing one of its most exciting young players?
During the Packers' 31-7 victory over the Bears, rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton took strides to answer that last question, making multiple disruptive plays throughout the game.
Dani Dennis-Sutton is starting to make an impact for the Packers
Dennis-Sutton emerged as a powerful playmaker on Sunday. He tied Devonte Wyatt with a team-high two tackles for loss and recorded one of the Packers' four sacks. His performance outpaced other high-profile players along the defensive line, including Lukas Van Ness and Barryn Sorrell, who both failed to record a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
His first impact play came just before the first-half two-minute warning, when he stopped a 2nd-and-goal rush by D'Andre Swift for no gain. Later, the young defender recorded a three-yard tackle for loss, stopping receiver Kalif Raymond on third down and forcing the Bears to try for a field goal, which they missed.
In the fourth quarter, Dennis-Sutton rejected the Bears' attempts to pick up some garbage time points. He recovered a fumble forced by Devonte Wyatt, giving the Packers the ball with just over four minutes left.
He also shut down Chicago's final drive, hitting quarterback Case Keenum on first down to force an incompletion, and sacking him on the very next play to set up 3rd-and-21. Keenum went on to throw two incompletions, allowing the Packers to kneel it out.
Dani Dennis-Sutton could become an even bigger playmaker for the Packers this season
Selected in the fourth round of April's draft, Dennis-Sutton has seen action in all five games this season but has only played more than 50 percent of snaps once. He recorded just three total tackles in the opening two games, but he's made 10 since then.
This week's performance is another step in the right direction and should be viewed as an announcement that Dennis-Sutton is ready to be taken seriously as a consistent defensive presence.
The rookie from Penn State has now recorded 1.5 sacks in the last three weeks and seems to be making the most of the moments he's been given.
Already standing out just over a month into the season, DDS could see an increase in opportunities as the season goes on, especially given the unfortunate injuries that have sidelined some of the more well-known players.
Javon Hargrave is the latest starter to suffer a season-ending injury. He tore his Achilles on Sunday.
Parsons will hopefully return in the coming weeks, potentially creating more favorable matchups for Dennis-Sutton as opposing offenses are forced to shift their focus toward the superstar edge rusher.
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