Packers Defense Shows Again Why It Can't Be Trusted

When Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy called for a surprise onside kick in the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints, he all but confirmed the assumption that the shootout was on and defense would be optional. 

The problem is, in Green Bay, defense is almost always optional against a top quarterback. 

Instead of booting it deep and then watching Drew Brees march down the field and score—like he did eight times in his first nine tries against the Packers defense Sunday night—McCarthy rolled the dice and tried to steal a valuable possession. During a track meet in which each team scored on all four of its first-half drives, one extra possession looked like a jackpot worth searching the end of the rainbow for. 

It was an aggressive decision that didn't work. McCarthy talked about "shooting all your bullets" during the week, and he clearly considers the surprise onside kick—which has worked for the Packers in the past—part of his ammunition. The end result of the short field was only a field goal for New Orleans.

By the time the Saints had capped off a convincing 44-23 win, any drive that didn't end with Brees and the New Orleans offense celebrating seven points looked like a win for McCarthy's side.

"I don't think there was a whole lot of defense played here tonight," McCarthy told reporters. "Clearly not by our team. We need to be better than that."

The Packers defense was bamboozled by the Saints in every which way. 

Brees—the type of elite quarterback that has seared and red-faced defensive coordinator Dom Capers in recent years—was at the center of the destruction. He completed 27 of 32 passes for 311 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions, good for a sublime passer rating of 138.4. 

But Brees was also handed a huge assist from running back Mark Ingram, who carved up Green Bay's now last-ranked rushing defense for 172 rushing yards and a 7.2-yard average. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Ingram forced 10 missed tackles, including one on his 21-yard touchdown scamper that capped off the night's scoring, while averaging nearly five yards after first contact. 

"Balance helped us tonight," Saints head coach Sean Payton told reporters. "We got some advantageous looks with some heavy play-action shots down the field out of some run looks. But Mark played extremely well."

In prime time at the Superdome, Brees needs no extra assistance. The Packers gave him plenty.

The Saints made no effort to hide their offensive intentions. Payton called for handoffs to Ingram on the first three plays of the opening drive, which set the tone for the night. The Saints wanted to pound a small, undermanned front with the run and set up play action. The plan worked to perfection. 

Three plays after Ingram's trio of carries to start the first series, Brees went deep to receiver Kenny Stills off play action for 45 yards. There wasn't a safety in sight, just Stills running the deep post one-on-one against Packers cornerback Davon House. 

Here's the pre-snap look at the formation: 

NFL Game Rewind

It's a power-run look all the way, and the Packers fell hard for the fake. 

"Play action really hurt us over the top," linebacker Julius Peppers told reporters. "When you get off balance, it sets you back."

In fact, four of New Orleans' five touchdowns were set up or finished off by play-action passes. 

Brees' first score of the second half was the direct result of a fake off a run look. After Ingram burst for 18 yards and tight end Jimmy Graham made back-to-back receptions, Brees faked to Ingram on 2nd-and-short and went deep to rookie Brandin Cooks, who split cornerback Tramon Williams and safety Micah Hyde for the 50-yard score. 

Again, here's the pre-snap formation, which includes two tight ends and a fullback: 

NFL Game Rewind

Fast-forward to the next Saints drive. After a first-down pass, Ingram was allowed to rumble for four and nine yards on back-to-back carries. With a new set of downs at the Packers' 22-yard line, the Saints again went back to the play action well. 

A fake to Ingram isolated Green Bay's coverage personnel, and Graham was able to execute an out-and-up move on Williams before hauling in a touchdown off a perfect throw from Brees. Williams wanted offensive pass interference, but there was none and it rightfully wasn't called. 

This is getting repetitive, but once again, here's the pre-snap formation (two tight ends and a fullback): 

NFL Game Rewind

The Saints' final touchdown was partly the result of one of the worst officiating mistakes of the season. House was unfairly called for pass interference on one of the few plays he actually had perfect coverage. It was a 34-yard penalty. You can watch the play 100 times and not find the infraction. But once again, the deep shot came off play action after the Saints had opened the drive with runs of 14 and seven yards. 

The drive was eventually ended off a play-action fake. 

Ingram's eight-yard run put the Saints in a 2nd-and-goal situation from the 2-yard line. From there, the same scenario played out again: a fake to Ingram fooled the entire front, and tight end Josh Hill was wide open for the easy touchdown. 

One last screenshot to drive home the point (three tight ends, one fullback):

NFL Game Rewind

The Saints were able to bludgeon the Packers off the run fakes because the Green Bay defense could do nothing to stop Ingram on early downs. It became pick-your-poison for Capers, and Brees off play action has no available antidote. 

The numbers tell the story. When using play action, Brees completed eight of nine passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns (perfect 158.3 passer rating). His lone incompletion came when Cooks dropped a perfectly thrown deep ball that would have netted roughly 45 yards. A second incompletion was negated by House's phantom penalty. 

Bottom line: The Saints used their ability to exploit Green Bay's biggest defensive weakness (stopping the run) to unlock a pass defense that came into the game ranked first in the NFL in opposing passer rating. 

"Those guys got rolling, pass, running," Williams told reporters. "Anytime you become multidimensional like that, it's going to be tough to stop an offense like that."

The Packers can get by giving up 147 rushing yards to the New York Jets, or even 235 to the Chicago Bears, because neither offense was led by an elite quarterback. And it's probably no coincidence that the Packers gave up their three lowest rushing totals of the season over the three games prior to Sunday night, which can be confidently labeled Green Bay's best stretch of 2014. 

It would take a long time to scour through the game logs and find the last contest in which Capers' defense played well against a top quarterback. 

Does Cam Newton qualify? Matthew Stafford? Those two rank 22nd and 23rd in passer rating this season, respectively. 

The 2013 season does not provide a clear example. In fact, you might have to go all the way back to the 2012 season to find even one Packers win over a top team, a road victory over the eventual 12-4 Houston Texans. 

Among the quarterbacks who have posted a passer rating above 100.0 against the Packers since January 2012: Eli Manning, Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Andy Dalton, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, Nick Foles, Joe Flacco, Stafford, Jay Cutler and Brees. 

At 5-3, the Packers are still a team that looks likely to be playing in January. But advancing in the playoffs will almost certainly require beating a good football team with a good quarterback.

Knocking off top quarterbacks becomes an impossible task when play action is factored into the equation. If the Packers can't stop the run any better they did than Sunday night, this looks like a club that's getting closer and closer to another one-and-done run in the postseason. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2