Still, there were signs from the beginning that the Packers' defense could keep them in games, even if it couldn't win them outright. Coach Matt LaFleur probably lost track of how often in the first half of the season he said the defense did enough to win.
A month ago, all that meant nothing because the Packers couldn't marry it with an effective offense. But now that LaFleur and quarterback Jordan Love have found a rhythm, people have begun to notice a defense that in consecutive weeks has turned away Justin Herbert, Jared Goff and Mahomes.
"They're starting to look like some of the good defenses they've had in the past," a scout for a team on the Packers schedule said. "If they can get ahead and play with the lead, they can get after the quarterback. But they've got to be playing from ahead."
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"I think I was the last man standing from the starters out of training camp," Nixon said.
"Same thing I said last week in the media: C.V. and C.B. been playing hella ball. C.B. earned every opportunity since he been here, and he's been showing it. We came in together in 2019, and I watched him grow, and I don't know what it is about this [Packers] G [logo], but it turns players into great players, for real."