Sunday’s playoff loss in Philadelphia was disappointing, but the performance from Jeff Hafley’s defense helped legitimize what was an important season of growth for the Green Bay Packers on the defensive side of the ball.
The Eagles scored 22 points, but seven came off the fumble on the opening kickoff and three more after a turnover on downs in Green Bay territory, and Philadelphia finished with only two third down conversions, one red-zone touchdown on four trips and under 300 total yards. The Packers didn’t get a takeaway but were excellent down to down, allowing the Eagles to average just 5.1 yards per play. And Philadelphia didn’t score after any of Jordan Love’s three interceptions.
Even in a loss, the performance was a fitting end for a defense that improved significantly in 2024.
“I thought there was a tremendous amount of growth, to be honest with you,” LaFleur said Tuesday. “I thought Hafley did an outstanding job. And not just Hafley, our entire defensive staff did a really good job.
LaFleur said the Packers had a “vision” of what the defense would look like going into the season, but a lack of consistent pass-rush forced an adjustment, and Hafley and the Packers were able to adjust in-season and stay competitive. The defense had to employ more simulated pressures to help the pass-rush and adjust coverage, playing more Cover-2 overall.
Even if the season didn’t play out as expected, the improvement from the Packers defense can be seen in both the traditional statistics and analytics:
Points per game: Packers improved from 10th to 6th
Yards per play: Packers improved from 20th to 5th
DVOA: Packers improved from 27th to 7th
EPA/play: Packers improved from 24th to 4th
Yards per play: Packers improved from 17th to 5th
Takeaways: Packers improved from 23rd to 4th
Turnover percentage: Packers improved from 23rd to 3rd
EPA/dropback: Packers improved from 23rd to 3rd
EPA/carry: Packers improved from 23rd to 8th
Yards per carry: Packers improved from 22nd to 3rd
Passer rating: Packers improved from 25th to 9th
Tackles for loss: Packers improved from 22nd to 5th
Scoring percentage: Packers improved from 8th to 5th
Average net yards/attempt: Packers improved from 25th to 6th
Yards/completion: Packers improved from 19th to 7th
Third down%: Packers improved from 25th to 12th
LaFleur wanted to “rush four” and play “three deep, four under” behind the pass rush in Hafley’s scheme. But the defensive front wasn’t consistent enough to allow seven-man coverage schemes behind it.
“I thought we were playing some pretty good football at the end,” LaFleur said.
The next step appears to be making an outside addition along the defensive front four and supercharging the pass-rush. The Packers could become a dominant defense in 2025 if Hafley can play more four-man fronts with coverage behind it and still generate disruptive pressure on the quarterback.
