By Eric Goska
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| Here is a summary of what the Giants did offensively. Note the 16-play and 15-play drives. |
The New York Giants stretched the Packers last-place defense almost to the breaking point Sunday. That the unit finally came up with a takeaway with less than a minute remaining allowed Green Bay to prevail 27-20 at MetLife Stadium.
Yes, you read correctly: last place. The Packers’ defense, much ballyhooed
by the media and fans alike, has a glaring weakness. One that could prove fatal
down the stretch.
Its defenders struggle to get off the field.
Exhibit A: Backup quarterback Jameis Winston – preferred starter Jaxson
Dart was out with a concussion – directs a 16-play, 56-yard drive that reaches
the Green Bay 10 late in the third quarter. Exhibit B: Winston follows up that
effort by capping a 15-play, 85-yard excursion with a 1-yard touchdown run to
put the Giants up 20-19 with seven minutes, 38 seconds to go.
Let that sink in for a minute. That’s back-to-back drives of 15 or more
plays. How much stress does that put on a defense?
The first advance took 9:46 off the clock. The second burned through 7:59.
Were these isolated incidents, one might write them off as aberrations. But
the Packers have been here before, more so than any other team.
Does anyone recall Detroit staging drives of 15, 13 and 13 plays in the season
opener? Or the Cowboys stringing together 12 and 14 plays for touchdowns? Or
the Bengals reaching the end zone in 17 plays? Or the Cardinals using 14 plays
to set up a field goal?
Defenses can be ranked in a number of ways: yards or points given up,
average yards per play, third-down conversion rates or turnovers forced. Here’s
a new one: marathon drives allowed.
A marathon drive is one that consists of 12 or more offensive plays. We’ll
break with NFL convention here and NOT count field goal attempts as a play.
Even in this ball-control, go-for-it-on-fourth-down league, advances of 12
or more plays are relatively rare. Yet, here are the Packers having allowed 11
marathon drives through 10 games – most in the circuit – one ahead of the second-place
Dolphins and Colts.
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| Christian Watson caught two TD passes Sunday. (photo by Eric Goska) |
In addition to its two marathon sessions, New York also staged drives of
11 and 10 plays. Devin Singletary finished off the 11-play affair with a 2-yard
run that knotted the score at 13 late in the first half.
Fortunately for the Packers, they found a way to squelch the 10-play outing.
With the Giants encamped at the Green Bay 14-yard line, Evan Williams
intercepted a throw intended for Jalin Hyatt. The steal, coming with just 36
seconds left, was the first pick in the fourth quarter for the Green and Gold
this year.
As a team that has played in only one game decided by more than 10 points,
the Packers have to know the opposition will come at them guns blazing in the
final 15 minutes. From first quarter to last, Green Bay has surrendered 487, 804, 562 and 992 yards.
Clearly, no one is backing down.
Prior to Sunday, five teams had gained more than 100 yards against the Packers
in the fourth quarter: the Commanders (118), Browns (103), Cowboys (116),
Bengals (131) and Eagles (113). The Giants bettered them all, amassing 137
yards (40.8 percent of their offense) on 25 plays while draining 11:14 from the
clock.
So, whether it’s Micah Parsons and Isaiah McDuffie collaborating on a
fourth-down sack as they did to end New York’s 16-play foray or Williams coming
up with a rare interception, the Packers’ defense needs to get off the field. Even
the best runners don’t compete in multiple marathons on the same day.
Extra Point
The NFC North-leading Chicago Bears have allowed a season-low three
marathon drives in 2025. That stat ought to bring a smile to one dyed-in-the-wool Bears fan residing in Kentucky!
Since 1950, the most marathon drives Green Bay has allowed in the first 10 games of a season.
11 1975 2-8
11 1999 5-5
11 2025 6-3-1
10 1972 7-3
10 1977 2-8
10 1979 3-7
10 1997 8-2
10 2014 7-3
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