The Green Bay Packers offense finally started pulling its weight over the last few weeks and on a night when the team needed its defense to come up with a game-winning stop, Joe Barry and co. couldn't get it done.
In fact, the word "stop" shouldn't be involved, whatsoever, when talking about the defense's performance on that final drive. It didn't "stop" anything until the sixth play of the drive, when Devonte Wyatt took Saquon Barkley down for a three-yard loss. By that point it was too little too late, as the New York Giants had already driven down to the Packers 18 and were well within range of making the game-winning field goal.
Before that, the Giants gained 57-yards on five plays, including a 32-yard pass to Wan'Dale Robinson that put the team in field goal range. The offense didn't gain less than four-yards on any of the aforementioned five plays.
It was a repeat of what Packers fans have seen during so many other game-losing efforts from Barry's defense: soft zone coverage that allows the offense to dink and dunk it's way to a win.
It doesn't make any sense to play that kind of coverage in the situation the Packers were in and the decision to do so cost them a win.
"We've seen them, at the end of the game on that final drive, the enormous cushions that they were ceding, despite the fact that the Giants only needed to get into field goal territory," ESPN analyst Mina Kimes said on Tuesday's edition of NFL Live. "I don't know what it's going to take what it's going to take for Green Bay to stop playing that style of passing defense in big moments, but if it's infuriating for you and me to watch it and say the same things; I can only imagine how infuriating [it] is [for] that fan base, to see this unit continue to have the problems season after season despite their talent."
Final drive wasn't Barry's only issue
The Packers run defense struggled, again, and allowed 209-yards on the ground. That's the fourth time an opponent has ran for 200-yards or more in 2023. That not only leads the NFL, but it's double that of the second place teams in the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, and Denver Broncos.
Barkley led the way with 86-yards on 20 carries, but Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito did a lot of damage, himself. The Giants' zone read game plan gave Barry fits all night long and the rookie QB ended up with 71-yards on 10 carries.
10 carries is a big number for QB runs, especially the designed runs we saw all night long. The key with that last sentence is the end: all night long.
Barry never adjusted for whatever reason. And it cost the Packers a win that also dropped their chances of making the playoffs by over 20%.
"Lack of second half adjustments, for me, was a big deal," ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky added. "I mean they couldn't cover Wan'Dale Robinson, at all, [and] he made a bunch of big plays. First half you saw a ton of quarterback runs. Some of them were designed and some of them was using his legs. Okay, so, I give him a little grace in the first half...
"... [But] it kept going in the second half. There was never an adjustment to the designed run. There was never a spy that was delegated towards him. They didn't have a plan for Brian Daboll's zone read plan. I was shocked by how little adjustment happened from Green Bay's defense, when it came to, it was very clear Tommy DeVito was going to use his legs -in any situation-and they never did anything to try to counter.
Packers defense will always have a ceiling under Barry and they won't reach it until he's gone
Overall, the Packers defense has been OK this year, especially when considering the injuries on that side of the ball.
At the same time, however, there are just too many of these mishaps under Barry and they occur far too often. Whether it's Preston Smith lined up on Davante Adams, giving up 17 points on the first three drives to an anemic Pittsburgh Steelers offense, or giving up 13 points the fourth quarter to the Atlanta Falcons - there have been plenty of lapses in key moments and overall that have contributed to losses in 2023.
There have been plenty of other moments before this year, too. Many wanted Barry gone after 2022, but LaFleur decided to keep him around.
The Packers defense won't reach its ceiling until Barry is removed from the picture. That's obviously not happening during the season, but his job status will certainly be something to monitor once Packers football has officially shut the lights off when it comes to the 2023 season.
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