PFF Top 5 Packers grades on Defense

The defense struggled mightily in the first half. They had an incredible first drive forcing a three-and-out on Buffalo’s first drive of the game, but then let Buffalo score on five straight drives. The Packers did contain the Bills to only three points in the second half, but too little too late. The Packers’ defense caused two turnovers, both interceptions by Rasul Douglas and Jaire Alexander. The defense needs more splash plays like these, or teams will continue to run all over them. Here are the top 5 defensive performances according to PFF. 

Jaire Alexander – 90.8 PFF grade

After allowing 4 catches for 67 yards and a poor PFF grade of 53.1, Jaitre turned in his best game of the season. Alexander showed why people put him in the upper echelon of CBs, tallying up 3 passes defended and an interception. Josh Allen had a 0.0 Passer Rating when targeting Alexander. Allen was 0-4 for 0 yards and 1 interception when throwing toward Alexander. It’s quite the enigma why Alexander wasn’t guarding Diggs more throughout the game. 

TJ Slaton – 76.2 PFF grade

Slaton didn’t play many snaps against the Bills (22), but he made the most of his opportunities. He pressured Allen once and was the team’s highest-graded run defender, with a 74.4 grade. 

Quay Walker – 75.3 PFF grade

Walker had quite the up-and-down day against the Bills. He started the game very strong, with 5 tackles and a forced fumble. He did all of that in just 15 defensive snaps. Walker looked poised to have one of the best games of his career. PFF awarded him an 85.7 coverage grade and a solid 70 run-defense grade, which has been his Achilles heel this year. 

Then he made a big mistake that got him ejected from the game. All we can hope is that this outburst of emotion comes from his love of the game, and it just spurs him to perform better moving forward. 

Jarran Reed – 71.1 PFF grade

Reed has been up and down all year. At times he seems to be the “Rasul Douglas” of this year, but other times we wonder why he’s a starter. He didn’t have that type of impact against the Bills, but his passing grade was among the best on the defense. Reed caused three pressures to go along with two QB hits. He also had two run stops. Hopefully, Reed can stay at this level rather than his play dipping and rising. The Packers could use his best run-stopping ability to improve this porous run defense. 

Devonte Wyatt – 69.6 PFF grade

Wyatt has had a very slow year thus far. He has never played more than 12 snaps in any game. That being said, Wyatt has been graded pretty well by PFF in his limited playtime. PFF has given Wyatt a solid 70.5 PFF grade for the whole season. This grade is higher than both of the defensive linemen starting over him, Lowry and Reed.

Wyatt didn’t log any stats against the Bills, but PFF still awarded him a solid run-defense grade at 68.7, the highest of his short career. Hopefully, the Packers take notice of this and start playing Wyatt more. The run-defense needs help. Could this first-round pick be the answer?

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