Packers vs. Falcons: Sunday Night Performance Shows Green Bay's Defense Is Back

Through the first four games of the season, the Green Bay Packers defense allowed the fifth most yards in the NFL. And that includes games against the Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears. 

Those aren't exactly offensive powerhouses. 

Most of the problems were in the secondary, where the Pack were giving up the second most yards through the air and over two touchdowns per game. Injuries were partly the problem, but the early-2011 Green Bay looked far different from the 2011 Super Bowl team.

Then, on Sunday night, the Atlanta Falcons scored two touchdowns on their first two possessions, and it looked like more of the same was happening to the Packers. 

Finally, something clicked.

The defensive line, led by defensive tackle B.J Raji, finally started getting pressure on Matt Ryan. He hardly had time to throw, and when he did get away from the pressure, no one was open down field. 

Julio Jones hurt his hamstring partway through the third quarter, but he was blanketed for most of the game up until then. He was only able to record one catch for 17 yards.

Roddy White found little room to make catches, and when he did, there was nowhere to run after the catch. 

And forget about Michael Turner finding any room. He had a couple nice runs during the first two drives, but finished with just 3.5 yards per carry. 

Matt Ryan's final line was 18-for-32 for a pedestrian 167 yards and one touchdown with two late interceptions. He was never comfortable against Green Bay's pressure. A big part of this performance may be a result of Atlanta's poor offensive line, but the fact that the Packers were able to put forth this kind of defensive performance on the road against an explosive Falcons offense is mighty impressive.

There have never been any questions about Aaron Rodgers and the offense, and there likely never will be. It's always been on the defense.

A huge part of last year's playoff run depended on how well the D played. As soon as Clay Matthews and company start getting pressure on the quarterback, this defense is 10 times better. Last night, they did just that. Desmond Bishop recorded the one and only sack, but the defense hit Matt Ryan seven times and pressured him all game, forcing him to make throws he didn't want to.

There are still problems on the defense. The two interceptions last night are a little misleading because they came off drops from Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White—two normally dependable receivers. Nonetheless, this is the best they've been all year. And it came on the road.

It appears the defense is back.