I only had one expectation for this Packers defense.

All I wanted was for this team to crank up the pressure and force opposing quarterbacks to make decisions they weren’t completely sure about making. 

“I think the defense has done a great job of mixing up looks,” said Jordan Love during training camp. “They never really give you the same two looks back to back. They do a great job of mixing it up. The safeties are always moving and they make stuff all look the same with their pressures, with their disguise. They’ll show pressure, drop out.”

That is the key word: pressure. The Packers are 13th in the NFL in quarterback pressures with 37. The Vikings are first with 69, the Lions are fourth with 46 and even the Bears are 12th with 38. 

That’s not good enough. Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold is playing well this season, but he was only hurried 11 times last week. The best way for a defense to make an impact is to put the opposing quarterback in awkward situations. Make him throw it off his back foot. Make him sling it with a sidearm delivery. Make him throw it over a linebacker’s head. Make him throw it on the run. 

Basically, make him do things that he normally doesn’t do. Minnesota’s pocket was pretty clean against the Vikings, which is why Darnold was 20-for-28 for 275 passing yards, three touchdowns and a passer rating of 123.4. He was afforded the opportunity to sit back and carve the Packers apart. A play that sticks out to me is third-and-14 at the Minnesota 40 early in the first quarter. Lambeau Field had an inclination that the Packers had just won the battle before Darnold waited and waited and waited some more before rifling a deep pass down the right side to receiver Jalen Nailor for 31 yards — his only catch of the day. On the very next play, Darnold threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Addison. 

We’ve seen this movie before. We know what it looks like when this defense does not get pressure and disrupt opposing offenses. You could argue that most quarterbacks should be able to pick defenses apart if they are allowed to stand in the pocket and survey the field. 

Kenny Clark leads the team with nine pressures followed by Devonte Wyatt and Rashan Gary with five but there are only four sacks for those 19 pressures. The Packers need to cause more problems at the line of scrimmage — especially because Clark is going to start getting more attention from offensive linemen and guys like Karl Brooks and T.J. Slaton have to get home and register a sack. 

Matthew Stafford is 36 years old. He has only attempted to run it one time. The possibility of overpursuing against Stafford is next to impossible, so it will be key to force Stafford out of the pocket as often as possible. 

If the Packers don’t get pressure on Stafford, his arm talent will make this defense frustrated and out of gas. And that’s with a Rams pass catching unit that has had issues staying healthy. 

Get pressure on Stafford up the middle and force him to make a decision in terms of which way he goes. There are so many athletic guys on defense that can track him down, or Stafford will put it up for Xavier McKinney’s potential fifth interception in five games. 

The Packers defense has flashed several times this year. Now they just need to be more consistent.