NASHVILLE – The takeaways came in waves, the sacks in bunches and a Packers defense champing at the bit to let loose was finally unleashed on the Tennessee Titans Sunday.
The results were historic during an eight-sack, three-takeaway performance that played an integral role in Green Bay upending the Titans 30-14 in front of 67,322 at Nissan Stadium.
When adding in Jaire Alexander's 35-yard pick six in the first quarter, it was only the second time in team history the Packers finished with eight-plus sacks, three-plus takeaways and a pick-six (at San Diego on Sept. 24, 1978).
Virtually every member of the Packers' defense spoke in the postgame locker room but perhaps nobody better articulated the unit's dominance than a player on the opposite side of the ball for Green Bay: Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins.
"Man, them boys were on their ass like a back pocket," Jenkins said.
That they were, from beginning to end. Playing for the second straight week without starting quarterback Jordan Love on the other side, the defense fulfilled its duty in the complementary football department in support of backup Malik Willis' first game against his former team.
The defense conceded an early touchdown on a 10-play, 70-yard drive, but quickly bounced back when Alexander darted in front of a Will Levis pass intended for DeAndre Hopkins and returned it for a 35-yard TD.
It was Alexander's first pick-six since high school and staked Green Bay to a 17-7 lead with less than a minute left in the first quarter.
"It felt really amazing. Words can't really describe it, honestly," said Alexander, who has two INTs in three games this season. "I just seen the formation and just the QB looking my way, so I just broke on it."
Alexander's pick was the first domino to fall on defense, which earned back-to-back stops after the drive. That included Lukas Van Ness' sack of Levis on third-and-3 to force a punt – the only one of Green Bay's eight sacks to come in the first half.
As the first drive of the second half began, the Packers really got after it with Quay Walkerand Isaiah McDuffie combining to sack Levis on an option play after the Titans chose to go for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 37.
Green Bay's offense parlayed the field position into a 30-yard touchdown on a screen pass to Emanuel Wilson to push its lead to 27-7. Playing from behind, Tennessee quickly abandoned its run game and finished with just 33 yards on 11 carries.
While the Titans mustered another TD-producing drive, Kingsley Enagbare reclaimed the momentum when he beat right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere inside for a strip sack of Levis, which Van Ness recovered at the end of the third quarter.
"J.J. is his own player, man – I love his growth. I love where he's at mentally," said Rashan Gary of Enagbare. "I'm happy that he's able to see the sets and make big plays for this team because we're gonna keep needing him to do that all year."
From there, the rout was on. Preston Smith had two sacks of Levis in the fourth quarter, including one for a loss of 11 on third-and-7. Devonte Wyatt, Enagbare and rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper combined for sacks on back-to-back plays on the next series.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley started dialing up more blitzes, too, with the Packers sending six rushers to turn up on the heat on Levis. It was exactly what the Packers were hoping for after needing to practice patience the past two weeks against mobile quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson.
"We knew what we're capable of," Enagbare said. "Last two weeks, we were just following the game plan and pretty much this just showed how dominant we could be."
The cherry on top for Green Bay was safety Xavier McKinney picking off Levis on a third-and-16 deep ball intended for Calvin Ridley late in the game.
It's the third straight game McKinney has had an interception, making him the first Packers player to have an INT in each of his first three games with the team since linebacker John Anderson in 1978.
"Nah, I expected to do this," said McKinney when asked whether he's exceeded his own expectations. "I know where I wanna get and what I wanna do and what I wanna accomplish, and I'm gonna just keep working hard and keep preparing the right way every week. I'm gonna keep trying to create these opportunities for myself and for this team to go out there and be successful."
The Packers now have as many interceptions (seven) as they had during 17 regular-season games last year. Nine is also the most takeaways Green Bay has had through its first three games since Dom Capers' first year as defensive coordinator in 2009.
It's also the first time since 2010 the Packers have had three-plus takeaways in three straight games.
Asked what the identity of this year's defense is, Smith said simply: "Make big plays." On Sunday, the Packers did plenty of that in limiting the Titans to just 237 total yards and 3-of-9 on third downs and registering their most sacks in a game since 2005.
"I just think we stayed with the plan," Smith said. "We knew the opportunities were going to come. We maximized on the opportunities.
"Guys played really hard. A lot of people were getting sacks. I was almost like, 'Oh man, when my turn coming?''
