In a game that featured the Green Bay Packers defense getting eight sacks and forcing three turnovers, it was two fourth quarter plays that showed the potential of this Jeff Hafley defense.

Twice in the fourth quarter, on third down and long, not only did Hafley bring six players on the pass pressure, he did so using his “Nascar” package. On both plays, in a nickel defense, the front six was Rashan Gary, Kingsley Enagbare, Lukas Van Ness, Preston Smith, Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper.

On the two third and longs, Tennessee’s last-chance efforts at a big comeback were thwarted on third down and forced to punt after sacks.

The first play was a sack by Smith, with pressures from Enagbare and Gary.

Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare, and Preston Smith all rushing the passer on the same play (with Edgerrin Cooper blitzing from depth). Jeff Hafley is a mad man. pic.twitter.com/3AKtzGFRmS

— Brandon Carwile (@PackerScribe) September 23, 2024

well, what would it look like if they weren't mush-rushing?

this, probably: pic.twitter.com/lLg3aPdWCF

— Ross Uglem (@RossUglem) September 23, 2024

On the second play, the sack was shared by Cooper and Enagbare with another pressure from Gary. The blitzing ability of the rookie inside linebacker was quite impressive on both plays.

Cooper does all the cool stuff Quay can do but he does it faster and better. pic.twitter.com/SLOYEADxKB

— Ross Uglem (@RossUglem) September 23, 2024

The “Nascar” group the Packers rolled out included all four of its edge rushers. On both plays, it put Van Ness and Enagbare on the inside, over the guards, with Smith and Gary outside over a tackle. For Van Ness, lining up as a defensive tackle over a guard, is a position where he had success at Iowa. Of the six players who were in this group on Sunday, five of them had at least half a sack. The lone exception was Gary.

“I just think we have a lot of depth, and we are rolling guys,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said Sunday on the depth of his defensive line. “A lot of guys are getting snaps, and I think that’s to the benefit of our team. We are going to stay healthy, hopefully, and stay fresher longer.”

The Packers had a lot of success with this package during the days of Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers as the team’s top two edge rushers. In 2014, Matthews led the team with 11 sacks, followed by Peppers with seven. In 2015, the two flipped flopped the top two positions with Peppers finishing with 10.5 and Matthews with 6.5.

Complementing Peppers and Matthews were Nick Perry, Mike Neal and Datone Jones as hybrid end/outside linebackers. It was a defense that led those Packers teams to its deep playoff runs a decade ago.

For this year’s defense to continue the momentum it's gained from the last two games, using this alignment more and more often could be a big problem for opposing offenses. It can also be a way for young players drafted in the last two drafts, Van Ness and Cooper, to see the field along with the more experienced Front 7 players.

If the Packers defense is going to take that next step toward a Super Bowl run, then rushing the passer will be one of the most critical aspects of its unit.