Turnovers not bouncing in their favor
GREEN BAY – Jaire Alexander backpedaled before the New York Giants even snapped the football.
It was second-and-19 in Sunday’s first quarter. From the 43-yard line, the cusp of field-goal range, the Green Bay Packers’ defense needed to dig its heels into Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium’s field turf. Alexander, the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history, lined up across practice-squad receiver Marcus Johnson.
Here was a chance to make a play. Spotted a 10-0 lead, the Packers had a favorable matchup. Alexander stepped backward as Giants quarterback Daniel Jones surveyed the defense. At the snap, Johnson had 8 yards of open field in front of him.
Johnson took three hard steps upfield, like he was going to challenge Alexander deep. He turned at the 40, squared his shoulders to Jones, and took what the Packers’ defense gave him. The short pass went for an easy 12 yards, pushing the Giants into field-goal range for their first points in what became a stunning comeback.
“Certainly when the opposing team is down a bunch of wide receivers,” coach Matt LaFleur said, “I think you can challenge.”
It’s the type of passive play the Packers’ defense has played throughout this slow start to its season. Too often, coordinator Joe Barry’s defense has made things easy on opposing offenses, preventing his unit from reaching the potential of a group loaded with firstround picks. Instead of challenging, soft coverage has handed out free yards.
In this league, offenses will take that all day.
Defense is about aggression. Knocking an opponent off the line of scrimmage. Making the other team uncomfortable. Defensive backs coach Jerry Gray was asked why his secondary hasn’t played more aggressively this season. Given the chance to back his