GREEN BAY – With Mike Daniels on injured reserve and Kenny Clark out with an elbow injury against Chicago, young Packers' defensive linemen Tyler Lancaster and Montravius Adams saw their workloads increase substantially.
The undrafted rookie out of Northwestern and the 2017 third-round pick from Auburn, respectively, held their own up front against the Bears and are showing the type of promise that will get them a long, hard look through the offseason and training camp in 2019.
Here's a handful of plays that stood out, all in the second half at Soldier Field.
Play No. 1: First-and-20 from the Chicago 39, third quarter, 3:23 left
Result: Sack of QB Mitchell Trubisky
The Packers almost get a big turnover here, as Adams (90, circled) takes advantage of the fact that Lancaster is being double-teamed next to him. If you watch Adams closely as he powers through RG Bryan Witzmann (78), he succeeds in getting his opponent slightly off his feet with a Reggie White-like hump move, and then he meets LB Kyler Fackrell (51) at the quarterback, knocking the ball loose. Unfortunately, Chicago recovered.
Play No. 2: First-and-10 from the 50, third quarter, 1:37 left
Result: 2-yard run by RB Jordan Howard
The young duo gets the job done in tandem here against Chicago's guards. First, Adams beats LG James Daniels (68) with a swim move to get in the backfield and affect Howard's course. That sends the ball carrier right into Lancaster, who has stood up Witzmann with an extended left arm and then shed the block to bring down Howard. Textbook work.
Play No. 3: Second-and-5 from the Green Bay 27, fourth quarter, 15:00 left
Result: 4-yard run by Howard
This time Lancaster is lined up right on the nose, or zero technique, across from C Cody Whitehair (65). Once again, the rookie holds the point, gets off the block, and is the first to wrap up Howard. A 4-yard gain is not a great defensive stop, statistically, but this one is significant because by keeping Howard one yard short of the first down, it led the Bears to trying their tricky shotgun-wildcat formation on the next play, and the botched handoff by RB Tarik Cohen became a turnover for the Packers' defense.
Play No. 4: First-and-10 from the Green Bay 25, fourth quarter, 11:51 left
Result: 5-yard reception by TE Trey Burton
Adams makes an impressive play here on a shovel pass to Burton that almost certainly would have gained more without his recognition and reaction. Lined up in the three-technique spot, on the outside shoulder of Daniels, Adams initially gets pushed inside by LT Charles Leno Jr. (72). But as he sees Burton cutting across the formation to take the shovel pass, he spins back around and is right there to limit Burton to just five yards.
Play No. 5: First-and-10 from the Green Bay 15, fourth quarter, 11:05 left
Result: 2-yard run by Howard
This is very similar to Play No. 2, with Lancaster on the nose, except he holds the point even stronger and is able to get away from Whitehair a tad quicker. That, combined with help from Fackrell crashing from the outside, holds Howard to just a 2-yard pickup.
Play No. 6: First-and-10 from the Chicago 8, fourth quarter, 3:04 left
Result: No gain for Howard
One more from Adams, very late in the game, with him on the nose this time. He makes a nice move to get around Whitehair and manages to grab onto Howard's leg as his teammates help clean up for a stop right at the line of scrimmage.
