Packers defense shows cracks as the Broncos win to stay undefeated

DENVER — When Clay Matthews went to the bench to have his ankle looked at in the third quarter, C.J. Anderson ran through the middle for an easy touchdown like the Green Bay Packers forgot to put an 11th defender on the field as a replacement.

Really, it seemed all night like the Packers were playing shorthanded in a 29-10 loss to the Denver Broncos. There was always a receiver open in Green Bay’s secondary, or an open running lane for the Broncos to glide through.

Getting beat by an undefeated team on its home turf isn’t any reason for concern, especially when it’s not even a conference game. And the Broncos defense was unbelievable, holding the great Aaron Rodgers to only 77 passing yards. But the Packers have to wonder how good their own defense really is.

Most of the chatter Sunday night, as the Broncos rolled Green Bay in a rare matchup of 6-0 teams, was that the Broncos finally got it together on offense. Peyton Manning looked better. Ronnie Hillman ran well and Anderson looked better than he has all season. The Broncos hadn’t scored a first-quarter touchdown all season before Sunday night. Against the Packers they did.

So did the Broncos offense finally come to life, or should we take a closer look at the Packers defense that allowed 503 passing yards to San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers its last time out?

The Packers were not impressive on defense. Whether it was Hillman bouncing out of a scrum in the second quarter and running past some waving Packers defenders for a 15-yard touchdown, or the many times Demaryius Thomas just beat his man on the perimeter for another catch from Manning, there was always something open for the Broncos. The Anderson touchdown aside, the Packers’ linebackers weren’t much of a factor all night. The Broncos ran the ball better than they have all season. The Packers secondary wasn’t good either, as Manning looked like he turned back time a couple years. Manning passed for 340 yards. C.J. Anderson had 101 yards and Hillman had 60 with a pair of touchdowns. And coming into Sunday night’s game, the Broncos were 28th in total offense and only the San Francisco 49ers were gaining fewer yards per play.

​

Usually if the Packers’ defense plays poorly the offense will play well enough to keep Green Bay in the game. That wasn’t the case Sunday. Rodgers was frustrated by the coverage and harassed by the pass rush all night. The Broncos’ defense is unquestionably the best in the league right now. There was just nothing available for the Packers all night. The Broncos turned out the lights early in the fourth quarter when DeMarcus Ware sacked Rodgers, whose fumble was eventually recovered by Green Bay in the end zone for a safety.

It was quite a contrast to the defense on the other side of the field. Green Bay’s defense did play well early in the season, but now it’s fair to wonder how much it helped to face quarterbacks like Nick Foles, Colin Kaepernick and Alex Smith in the weeks before Rivers shredded them.

The Packers are still the clear favorite in the NFC, mostly because we all know the offense can play at a championship level. Can the Packers’ defense match that? There have to be a lot more doubts about that after Sunday night.

More NFL coverage on Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab