GREEN BAY—The Packers defense took down the No. 1 scoring offense in the league on Sunday, and Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers is hopeful for even bigger things in December.
"I don't think anything breeds confidence like success. We've made strides in November. We have to play our best football in December. We have to strive to improve," Capers said.
How high can the Packers defense climb?
"I hope we can get as much better between now and the end of the season as we have since the bye week and now," Capers said.
With four games remaining in the regular season, the Packers have climbed to No. 28 in run defense, after having spent most of the season mired at the bottom of the league. Overall, the Packers are No. 25, 11th against the pass.
In the Packers' 26-21 win over the Patriots on Sunday, the defense made a game-saving stop after the Patriots had moved to the Packers 21-yard line with 4:10 to play in the game. On second-and-9, Tom Brady threw incomplete; on third down he was sacked. The Patriots then missed on a 47-yard field goal attempt.
"The one sack came at a good time in the game," Capers said.
"They're a big matchup team. They know your personnel and how you're going to match up. We played more of our 3-4 yesterday. If you saw the Colts game, you saw how they ran the ball, and we wanted to have an answer for that," Capers added.
The Packers held the Patriots to 84 yards rushing.
Offensively, the Packers amassed 478 yards, but failed to score a touchdown in four red-zone trips. It was the only negative for an offense that ran and passed with equal effectiveness.
"We looked pretty good against a good opponent. We're happy about it," Offensive Coordinator Tom Clements said.
Clements said the matchup defense the Patriots used was "pretty much" what the Packers expected.
Adjustments?
"We didn't make a ton. I wouldn't say we made a lot," Clements added.
Rookie wide receiver Davante Adams had a breakout game. He caught six passes for 121 yards, and dropped what would've been a touchdown catch.
"He got a lot of single coverage. Aaron (Rodgers) saw the one-on-one on Davante and he capitalized on his opportunities," Clements said.
The Patriots matched cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner on Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, and that left Adams in favorable matchups on which the Packers capitalized.
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE - DEC. 1
