Jeff Hafley's defense thriving where Joe Barry's couldn't

The Packers defense struggled mightily on third downs during Joe Barry's final season at the controls. At least so far, new DC Jeff Hafley has delivered far different results.

Only three weeks have passed since the kickoff of the 2024 NFL season. Historically, September provides some misleading results, both positively and negatively. So much can and will change even a month from now.

Those caveats represent the only reasons that the Green Bay Packers shouldn't feel a major sense of pride about their defense. Sure, the unit has experienced some issues -- that applies to every team -- but it has made tremendous progress under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.

The numbers paint a compelling picture. In just three games, the Packers have matched their interception total from all of last season (seven). On Sunday, they recorded eight sacks and, if not for an unrelated offsides penalty wiping out a Rashan Gary sack, would have tied the franchise record for a single game.

Still, an even more impressive development emerges when you take a look under the hood. To fully understand it, one needs to go back to the Packers' much-maligned Joe Barry era.

During Barry's time as Green Bay's defensive coordinator, his units did have some strengths. In each of his last two seasons, the Packers finished sixth or better in pressure rate. The defense also did a commendable job keeping opponents out of the end zone during that stretch, allowing the 17th and 13th fewest touchdowns to opponents in 2022 and '23, respectively.

However, that final season under Barry turned third downs into nightmares. The Packers allowed 0.08 expected points added per play on third down during the regular season, the fourth worst mark in the NFL. For context, only seven teams finished with an EPA/play above zero -- negatives represent a good result for the defense, positives for the offense -- and the league's best-performing unit finished with a -0.37 EPA/play that year.

Green Bay's third-down issues issue grew even worse in the playoffs. Despite the Dallas Cowboys wetting the bed in the wild-card round, the Packers still managed to allow 0.16 EPA/play on third down during the postseason. Even when the defense did a commendable job forcing opponents into third-and-medium or longer -- the very scenario in which the system's two-high looks and coverages supposedly thrive -- Barry's unit still let them off the hook, memorably yielded huge plays like George Kittle's 32-yard touchdown.

Those "Third-and-Barry" implosions eventually caught up to Green Bay, contributing to the team's loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC divisional round. They also cost Barry his job, ending his tenure after three lackluster seasons and kicking off a DC search that eventually lured Hafley from a head-coaching post at Boston College.

The Packers have tasked Hafley with fixing multiple problems, but getting the most out of those third-down situations ranks near the top of the priority list. At least so far, the team's new DC hasn't merely succeeded where his predecessor fell short, he has thrived.