Acme Packing Company
To say that the Green Bay Packers’ defense is banged up would be an understatement.
On top of losing superstar pass rusher in Micah Parsons to a torn ACL, the Packers also lost their ascending safety in Evan Williams on the very same play last week against the Denver Broncos. While Williams is officially listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against the Chicago Bears, it would be a surprise to see him suit up given the fact that he didn’t practice all week.
Those are two massive injuries for Green Bay’s run defense, which heads into Week 16 ranked 16th against the run in defensive DVOA, according to FTN Fantasy. To make matters worse, those injuries come just before facing Chicago’s fourth-ranked rushing offense by DVOA this Saturday.
Williams in particularly will be a massive loss if he can’t go, as he has been excellent at filling the alley and cleaning up plays on the ground. That injury is going to be even more pressure on linebackers Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper to perform on Saturday.
The linebacker duo was solid two weeks ago in Green Bay’s previous meeting with the Bears, generating 14 tackles, seven defensive stops, and just one missed tackle between the two of them, per PFF.
When playing at their best, Cooper and Walker are one of the best off-ball linebacker duos in the league. Just look at this chart of linebackers who consistently produced successful defensive plays with their tackles, with Cooper near the top of the league and Walker not far behind.
Injuries will amplify Chicago’s desire to run the football, and that’s not just on Green Bay’s side. The Bears will be without two of their top wide receivers in Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, with both already being ruled out for Saturday.
The Packers defense needs to find its identity without Parsons on the field, and their linebacker duo has the chance to take the reigns and control Saturday’s game by helping fill and stop the run.
