Despite Loss, Packers Defense Playing at Playoff Level

Against the Kyle Orton-led Buffalo Bills, no one would have been surprised if the Green Bay Packers defense had a solid game on Sunday. What was surprising, though, was the extent to which the Packers unit dominated.

In a game when quarterback Aaron Rodgers couldn't stay on the field, the defense allowed no touchdowns to the Bills offense. They constricted Orton and Co. to four field goals, which mostly could be attributed to field position.

Resulting in a 21-13 loss, this score was a shock to the football world, as R.J. Bell reported that 67 percent of public betting was swinging toward the side of Green Bay. Per Odds Shark, the Packers opened up the week as six-point favorites: 

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Public is betting ... Steelers 73% of bets; Patriots 72%; Colts 71%; Packers 67%; Giants 67%

— RJ Bell (@RJinVegas) December 14, 2014"

So what exactly went wrong for Green Bay? The answer to that question lies on offense and special teams.

Out-of-sync from the first drive of the game, the Packers offensive unit couldn't consistently compete throughout the match. For the first time since Week 2, during a single-digit scare at home against the New York Jets, Green Bay was down in the first quarter of a football game.

The MVP leader, Rodgers, had his second-worst half, as far as passer rating is concerned, in the first half of the match, according to ESPN's Mike Rodak. Per NFL.com's Chris Wesseling, Rodgers' worst overall game in passer rating earned him a mark of 55.4 entering the match. His 17-of-42 day for 185 yards through the air and two interceptions netted him a rating of 34.3, the new worst of his career.

It's safe to say Rodgers wasn't at an MVP level coming off a short week. His eventual 25 incompletions would become his career-high, according to ESPN Stats and Info. Rodgers' receivers skewed those numbers a bit, too, though. As Acme Packing Co.'s Aron Yohannes relayed, the pass-catching corps of Green Bay had a single-game high of dropped passes dating back a half-dozen seasons: 

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The #Packers are the first team with at least seven dropped passes in a game since 2008 (via @ESPNStatsInfo).

— Aron Yohannes (@AronYohannes) December 14, 2014"

The team in green and gold ran the ball efficiently, averaging over six yards per carry, but elected to attempt to win through the air.

The signs of an elite defense were present on a game-by-game basis for Buffalo. The possibility of a shutdown effort wasn't out of the question heading into the game, specifically from their defensive line, who was featured as a key matchup before the game. As Bills Mafia's Rob Quinn pointed out during the match, Rodgers wasn't the first quarterback to struggle against the team: 

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Peyton manning vs Buffalo- 173 Yds, 0 TD, 2 INT Rodgers in 1st half- 8/24, 70 Yds, 0 TD. This Defense is insane

— Rob Quinn (@RQUINN619) December 14, 2014"

On special teams, the Packers allowed Marcus Thigpen to take a punt 75 yards for a score. Green Bay also committed an uncharacteristic amount of penalties over the course of the game. This gave Buffalo plenty of bonus yardage to stress the defense with. 

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#Packers entered as the 7th-least penalized team in the NFL with 5.6 per game. That's their eighth today.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) December 14, 2014"

Luckily, the Dom Capers unit covered up many of the mistakes left on the field. With three sacks, five tackles for losses, three pass breakups, four quarterback hits and one interception, Green Bay was able to make impactful plays across the board defensively.

Davon House, who performed well in the absence of Sam Shields late on Monday night, was listed as an inactive with a shoulder issue. The fact that Green Bay was able to execute on that side of the ball without what is basically a starting cornerback bodes well for the future of the team.

Not only do they see success, but it has some depth to work with as well.

One position it continues to tweak is inside linebacker. Clay Matthews, naturally an outside linebacker in a 3-4, had played the past several weeks on the interior. This week, the Packers returned to a more traditional look, with Matthews outside and A.J. Hawk returning to the starting lineup, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tyler Dunne.

Brad Jones, a former starting inside linebacker for the squad, provided Green Bay depth in the coverage game as he transitioned to a new role on the team, dime linebacker. 

"

Brad Jones is the dime ILB. #Packers

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) December 14, 2014"

With some new faces in different places, the Packers were giving the Bills a front that they maybe hadn't practiced for. According to Syracuse.com's Matthew Fairburn, Green Bay's objective on defense was successful:

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While Rodgers' struggles were somewhat unexpected, Kyle Orton playing the way he did shouldn't come as a surprise. Even against a Packers' defense that seemed beatable, Orton completed just 14 of his 27 passes for under 200 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. His string of terrible games continues.

"

At the end of the day, the Packers defense allowed only 253 yards over 63 plays, good for just four yards per play over 13 drives. Combined with a turnover, no allowed touchdowns and given the fact they had a negative time-of-position mark due to the offense, it's hard to say that Capers' unit didn't come out of the game feeling good.

Rodgers' struggles seemed to be more of an outlier than anything. With so many drops, penalties and scores on plays such as a safety and punt return, this was the perfect storm to beat the Packers.

If the Green Bay defense plays how it did today over the stretch of the rest of the season, it's hard to imagine they'd lose many, if any, games.