Packers Defense Makes Statement in Impressive Week 1 Win Over Seahawks

The Green Bay Packers are indisputably an offense-first football team. They're loaded with talent on that side of the ball, whether it's quarterback Aaron Rodgers or perhaps the deepest receiving corps in the NFL.

However, Rodgers wasn't the star of the Packers' big season-opening win over the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon. Or Jordy Nelson. Or Davante Adams.

No, the real star was a Green Bay defense that put the clamps on Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense. If the Packers can continue locking down opponents that effectively, they'll be the early favorites to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LII.

In Week 1, the Packers put forth their best defensive effort in some time. Green Bay kept the Seahawks out of the end zone, allowing just 225 yards of total offense to a Seattle team that averaged over 350 yards in 2016.

Green Bay's defense set the tone from the outset. With the Packers scuffling offensively early against the Legion of Boom, the defense matched the Seahawks series for series. Seattle had just 25 yards of total offense over their first five series, all of which ended in punts. Before Seattle drove for a field goal to close the first half, the Packers had allowed all of one first down.

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

The last time we saw this defense, the Atlanta Falcons lit it up in an NFC Championship Game beatdown.

Green Bay smothered the Seahawks ground game. Seattle managed just 90 yards rushing on the day, with two Wilson scrambles accounting for nearly half that amount. In his first game with the Seahawks, Eddie Lacy picked up three yards on five carries against his old team.

Wilson didn't fare much better through the air. He completed just 14 of 27 passes for 158 yards, finishing with a passer rating of 69.7. Wilson faced constant pressure throughout the game, with Green Bay piling up three sacks, seven knockdowns and nine QB hits, per the Fox telecast.

Defensive end Mike Daniels fueled Green Bay's relentless attack. The 28-year-old is one of the league's most underrated 3-4 ends, and as teammate Lane Taylor recently told Ryan Wood of PackersNews.com, Daniels' bull rush is something to behold.

"That's his best move," said Taylor. "It fits his body type. Definitely, he has a very powerful bull rush. He has natural leverage. He doesn't have much surface to hit because he's so compact with his hands, he brings his hands in tight. When he's doing a bull rush, he's bringing more than just power. He's bringing an attitude with him. He wants to run through you. He wants to beat you."

Daniels' moves were on full display against the Seahawks, as he piled up seven total tackles, 1.5 sacks, four QB hits and a tackle for loss, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Daniels also made the game's biggest play. With Seattle leading 3-0 early in the second half, he chased down Wilson and poked the ball loose.

Green Bay recovered the fumble, and Ty Montgomery scored on a six-yard run the next play. The Packers never trailed again.

It wasn't just Daniels, either. Linebackers Blake Martinez and Jake Ryan made a few timely stops in the run game. The Green Bay secondary maintained coverage when Wilson scrambled around.

It was a solid effort all-around—one which Adams lauded after the game.

"This is exactly what they needed," Adams said. "First game, come out and get some stops, stop them from getting in the end zone. They did a great job, and I see it being the same way the rest of the year."

Naysayers will point to a woeful Seahawks offensive line as an asterisk of sorts, as that line played terribly Sunday. But that doesn't explain away Green Bay's ability to stymie Seattle.

Jeffrey Phelps/Associated Press

An even larger test looms in Week 2, when the Packers travel to Atlanta in a rematch of last year's blowout playoff loss. If they can maintain their defensive momentum, this could be a scary football team.

We know Rodgers and Co. are going to get theirs. If Rodgers doesn't have to win shootouts every week—if Green Bay can improve upon its 22nd-ranked defense from last season—the Packers will be more than just the favorites in the NFC North, or even one of the leading contenders in the NFC.

With more balance, the Packers could be the best team in the NFL.