2022 Packers Week Five: Defensive Player Of The Game
In a game where the Packers’ defense couldn’t really stop the New York Giants’ offense, there were certain players that stepped up.
The Green Bay Packers were the last team in the NFL to go over to London and play. It’s tough to play a game as the home team but not actually play at home, which is why the Packers didn’t want to travel to London. The trip started out bad and the team was out of sync all the way up to game day and even during the game. The locker room had issues and that probably contributed to the issues on the field. After the loss to the Giants in London, the Packers moved to 3-2 on the season and play the New York Jets at Lambeau Field in Week six.
Packers Defensive Player Of The Game: Quay Walker, LB
For the second time in five weeks, linebacker Quay Walker is the defensive player of the game. As a rookie, Walker got his feet wet in Week one and was the defensive player of the game. Now, four weeks later and he’s back on top for consideration. In a game where the Packers were only able to sack quarterback Daniel Jones and unable to create any turnovers, the last stat to look for is tackles and how well they played on the field.
Quay Walker led the team in total tackles with eight on the day and tied with cornerback Eric Stokes and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell for five solo tackles. The team gave up 125 yards on the ground and 213 yards through the air. Missed penalties were once again an issue in the game but weren’t a reason for the loss. Leading up to this game, the Packers led the league in third-down stops. Unfortunately, the Packers were only able to stop the Giants five out of 11 times on third down and have fallen out of first place in the rankings.
Packers Other Notable Defensive Players
Linebacker Preston Smith, who was the Week two defensive player of the game played decent against the Giants. He was the only player that could get to Daniel Jones and sack him. He also had a total of four tackles with three of them being solo. The man that has been everywhere on the field since Week one has been linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. Campbell lines up in the box next to rookie Quay Walker. Those two have worked very well side by side this year and should continue to dominate the box. Campbell compiled five solo tackles against New York. This was his fourth game having five plus tackles in a game.
Even though cornerback Eric Stokes accumulated six tackles, he was consistently beat in coverage against the Giants’ wide receivers. His numbers look good on the stat sheet but not on the game film. Hopefully, it was just one bad game and he’s able to rebound in Week six against the New York Jets. Cornerback Jaire Alexander was able to suit up in this game after missing one week due to a groin injury. He should be monitored over the next couple of weeks to see if it slows him down at all, that’s one injury that will take some time to heal since it gets reaggravated while running but he was able to put up five tackles in his return.
Packers Defense: What To Look For In Week Six
Two words, better playcalling. Defensive coordinator Joe Barry continues to bring in the same game plan every week and it’s not working. The Packers on third down have found success but when it comes to covering the wide receivers, Joe does not want to sway away from soft zone coverage which helps limit the deep balls but it allows the quick slants to form and the yards after the catch to rack up. The soft zone has been exploited numerous times this season. With all of the elite defensive players, man coverage is the ideal coverage.
The New York Jets are currently second in the AFC East with a 3-2 record, the same record as the Packers. The Jets are currently on a two-game win streak and hope to exploit the Packers’ defense through the air and on the ground after they put up over 100 rushing and passing yards against the Miami Dolphins last week. In addition to the offense playing a full game, the defense will need to buckle down and make plays if they want to help the team win and get back on track.
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