Matt LaFleur identifies critical area Packers’ defense must improve
The Packers staved off a second loss to 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco, hanging on 27-18 over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field where a punishing offensive attack paved the way to Green Bay’s first victory since Week 2 of the season.
After dropping to Flacco’s Cleveland Browns in Week 3, and tying the Dallas Cowboys the following week, it was Josh Jacobs’ bruising ground game and Tucker Kraft rumbling over Bengals defenders and into the end zone late the put the game out of reach.
However, as the Packers’ pass rush seems to have evaporated in recent weeks, there’s another concern bubbling for head coach Matt LaFleur.
“That would be nice, to get a takeaway,” LaFleur told reporters following Sunday’s game. “If we can do that — and there was opportunities out there — but I thought that was the difference from really allowing us to put the game out of reach. And credit to them, they did a good job of holding onto the ball and not putting it in harm’s way.”
Last season, one of the hallmarks of coordinator Jeff Hafley’s defense was creating turnovers, through the first six games of the 2025 campaign, only the New York Jets have fewer takeaways than the Packers’ two.
That is going to have to change if the Packers’ defense is going to become a driving force or at least complementary weapon to what quarterback Jordan Love and Green Bay’s offense are doing.
But, after holding on for a win over the Bengals, the next item on coordinator Jeff Hafley’s to do list may need to be watching film from last season and emphasizing what was working then that hasn’t ben so far this season.
Broncos Star Gets Honest About Jets QB Justin Fields After Historic Day
The Denver Broncos, and specifically their defense, had a historic day in Week 6 against the New York Jets. However, Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper is asserting that there was no personal motivation against Jets quarterback Justin Fields.
The Broncos sacked Fields 9 times during the contest.
It was a strong effort from Cooper and the Broncos’ defense when the offense did not have its best at different points.
Jonathan Cooper Gets Real About Justin Fields After Broncos Beat Jets
GettyDenver Broncos defensive ends Jonathon Cooper and John Franklin-Myers.
One fan asked Cooper on X what Fields had done to him, since the Broncos star and Jets QB were college teammates at Ohio State for two seasons from 2019 through 2020. The two reached the CFB National Championship in their final season together.
Naturally, Cooper expressed his affinity for Fields, citing their last campaign in Columbus.
“Lead me to a national championship,” Cooper posted on X on October 13. “I love him fr forever my brother.”
The 9th and most important sack of the day.
In addition to the Broncos snapping droughts of various lengths through different combinations of metrics, they held Fields to 45 yards passing on 52.9% completion. The passing yards are his fewest in a game that he finished as a starter.
Moreover, the Jets lost 55 yards on those sacks, giving them a net loss of 10 yards in the game.
That is the fewest passing yards allowed in Broncos history, the first time a team has been held to negative passing yardage since 2023, and the fewest in the NFL since 1998, per Stathead.
Notably, the Broncos also own the NFL record for fewest passing yards in a game, finishing with a loss of 53 yards against the then-Oakland Raiders in a 51-0 shutout during the 1967 regular season campaign.
Jonathon Cooper Helps Tide Star Take Down Former Buckeyes Teammates
Cooper and Fields’ Buckeyes lost that National Championship Game 52-24 against the Alabama Crimson Tide
Eight Broncos players recorded at least one half-sack in the game.
Cooper, who signed a four-year, $54 million contract extension last November, led the Broncos with 2.0 sacks on Fields in the win over the Jets. In a twist of fate, Cooper is now teammates with Pat Surtain II, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and a star for that Tide team.
Surtain drew attention in this game for helping limit Jets star wideout Garrett Wilson, who was Cooper and Fields’ teammate on that Buckeyes National Championship squad.
Up next, Cooper and the Broncos return home to face the New York Giants in Week 7.
Former Broncos QB Russell Wilson, who was also Fields’ teammate on the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, is now with the Giants, and would have been a good matchup for the Denver defense to pad its sack totals.
However, he ceded QB duties to rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart in Week 4. Wilson is now a backup who has been mentioned in trade speculation.
Justin Fields Accepts Blame for Jets Passing Game Woes vs Broncos
Fields came under intense scrutiny during and after the game. However, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn pushed back against a question about whether the coaching staff was considering benching the former No. 11 overall pick (2021, Chicago Bears) after falling to 0-6.
“Come on, man. What kind of question is that?” Glenn said in response, after acknowledging that Fields’ numbers were poor in the game. “Sometimes this league is [up and down], and there’s a number of guys that have bad games. That doesn’t mean you just bench them. Come on. You know better than that.”
Fields, who has a 799-4-0 line on 65% completion this season, accepted blame for the Jets’ passing game woes against the Broncos, saying, it “starts with me.”
“It wasn’t good enough and that starts with me”
Justin Fields talks about the passing game struggles in today’s loss:
Glenn defended Fields
again on Monday after the loss to Cooper and the Broncos.
