Packers Defense Rebounds in Statement Win over Bears

Before hitting their bye week, the then 5-2 Green Bay Packers had to pass one last task: face the New Orleans Saints in the Super Dome

Unfortunately for them, the trip to Louisiana would prove to be costly for the squad. Defensively, the team couldn't take advantage of much as former Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees threw for over 300 yards and the Saints also put together just shy of a 200-yard performance on the ground.

Overall, the defense was dismantled. The team couldn't have asked for a better-timed bye week. With a fresh look on defense, Green Bay looked like a different team on Sunday night.

In a rebound performance, the Packers limited the Chicago Bears to 14 points on the way to a 55-14 victory. If not for a fumble, Green Bay could have been up 49-0 at halftime, putting the game away before Chicago could have even sniffed the end zone.

Entering the game, there were questions about the Packers defense. However, the questions weren't so much performance orientated, as one would imagine after Green Bay allowed 44 points defensively in their last game. Instead, they were based on health.

While most teams bounce back from injuries coming off a bye week, the Packers were not so fortunate. As time passed, the health of starting safety Morgan Burnett became more of a concern, as he was downgraded to questionable, per ESPN Wisconsin's Rob Demovsky. As Demovsky noted, Burnett's calf had kept him out since mid-October.

On game day, the inactive list tested the Packers. Both defensive lineman Datone Jones and cornerback Sam Shields had previously missed significant time on the defense due to injuries, but neither appeared on the inactive list. They were both going to get a shot to redeem their seasons starting with a bout against the Bears.

Burnett was healthy enough to stay off the list too. The Packers' official Twitter account even signified his ability to play near game time. 

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Sitton, Lang, Burnett all playing; #Packers-#Bears inactives : http://t.co/kvQ765VVUT #CHIvsGB

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 10, 2014"

Slated starting inside linebacker Jamari Lattimore, though, wasn't so lucky. He was going to miss the game, and as the Packers' official site stated, linebacker Sam Barrington was to "start in place of #57 Jamari Lattimore at MLB."

What actually happened was shocking. The Packers didn't play Barrington at inside linebacker, they moved All Pro outside linebacker Clay Matthews inside, playing former 2012 first-rounder Nick Perry in a starting role on the edge. 

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So it's Matthews and Hawk at ILB in the nickel. Peppers and Perry at OLB

— Packer Report (@PackerReport) November 10, 2014"

Something got into the defense from the first snap of the game. It could have been the health of Jones, Burnett and Shields. It could have been the spark Matthews gave to the inside of defense. It could have been the speech former Bear Julius Peppers told to the team, as cornerback Tramon Williams explained to ESPN Wisconsin's Rob Demovsky.

Whatever it started from, head coach Mike McCarthy loved it. After the game, he told reporters in his press conference that the defense "set the tone" and that he believed they were "outstanding."

Overall, the Packers were able to keep the Bears to just over 300 yards for the day while forcing three turnovers. On the ground, Chicago only gained 55 yards, a stark comparison to Green Bay's season average of over 142 yards, good for third-worst in the league, according to NFL.com. 

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#Packers' Micah Hyde makes an INT against #Bears' Martellus Bennett during Sunday night's game at Lambeau Field. #NFL pic.twitter.com/aUazAkdU4B

— Evan Siegle (@PGevansiegle) November 10, 2014"

By the time the visiting squad finally scored, it was too late. The five-play scoring drive in the middle of the third quarter put seven on the board for the Bears for an overall score of 45-7. Green Bay's defense had already put the offense into a position to completely takeover the game, and that they did.

One defensive performer stood above the rest: Clay Matthews.

By the end of the night, Matthews had tallied 11 tackles—almost double the next-highest result on the team in that category for the game—two tackles for losses, one quarterback hit and one all-important sack. Matthews, flying all over the field, looked to be the cure that Green Bay's run defense has longed for all season.

As Brian Carriveau of CheeseheadTV wrote, Matthews' impact could not be understated Sunday night:

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Linebacker Clay Matthews—Based on early returns, the Packers' decision to make some changes on the defensive side of the football during the bye week appear to be paying off. Sure, Matthews probably has to learn some of the finer points of playing inside linebacker, but he's able to make up for a lot of mistakes through sheer hustle and effort.

It wasn't a full-time transition for Matthews, however, and he was still effective bringing pressure from off the edge when asked to play outside. The versatile linebacker made a team-leading 11 tackles, two for a loss and one sack. 

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Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette at least entertains the idea, if not goes to bat for the plan that Matthews could move inside full time.

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So while Capers' defense loses a little athleticism replacing Matthews with Perry at outside linebacker, it makes a huge gain athletically replacing any of their inside linebackers with Matthews.

That athleticism showed up in a small way on one first-quarter run, when he met Bears halfback Matt Forte in a big hole in the line on a first-down run. Forte had room to make a move, but Matthews took him down on the spot for only a 3-yard gain. Matthews also dropped receiver Chris Matthews for an 8-yard loss on an end around late in the second quarter.

The last two months of the season will show whether the change can improve the Super Bowl hopes for a defense that came into Sunday ranked No. 25 in yards allowed and No. 19 in points.

'Especially after the bye week, where you have your self-evaluation, we realized where we need to improve and what we're good at,' Matthews said. 'Obviously we're good at getting after the quarterback, but that said, you can't do that unless you stop the run. We did a good job of that tonight.'

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There may be more causation than correlation to the effort, due to three starters returning to the lineup when the move was made, but Matthews keeping the inside linebacking role will be discussed on radio stations all over Wisconsin for the remainder of the season. With only a one-game sample, it's hard to say the change was what made the defense go from a doormat to a lockdown unit in just two weeks, but it's the easiest difference to notice between the two performances.

With nice production on the defensive side of the ball, defensive coordinator Dom Capers should be patting himself on the back for how he transformed the defense since their previous match. For a sustained playoff run, though, the Packers will need to replicate the success over time. Can they do it without playing Matthews off the line of scrimmage? Will they elect to keep him at inside linebacker? Only time will tell.