
For a majority of their game in Week 3, things looked bleak for the Green Bay Packers. They were being shut out at home in their home opener at Lambeau Field, trailing 17-0 as the game entered the fourth quarter. Luckily for them, a switch flipped on at that point.
For how poorly the team performed in Week 2 in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons, Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints was the opposite. The Packers ended up scoring 18 points, sealing an 18-17 victory when New Orleans rookie kicker Blake Grupe missed a 46-year go-ahead kick.
There were a lot of reasons that the Packers were able to put together the historic comeback. The offense, naturally, was what a lot of people discussed. They erased three-quarters of poor play with one excellent one to steal the win.
But, a lot of credit should also go to the defense. Green Bay surrendered only one touchdown on the afternoon, as the second came via special teams. One of the standouts from that defensive unit was edge rusher Rashan Gary.
Gary registered three sacks in the game as he lived in the Saints’ backfield. Rob Demovsky of ESPN picked the former first-round pick as his player whose stock is on the rise the most following the Week 3 victory.
“So far, it doesn’t look like last year’s torn ACL has impacted him at all. With his first career three-sack game Sunday, the Packers might want to lock up Gary with an extension sooner rather than later. He is playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal worth $10.892 million this season.”
Whatever leverage the Packers had to try and sign Gary to a discounted deal has gone out the window. He is producing at a very high level despite not being close to his normal full allotment of snaps.
To this point, Gary has played only 57 total snaps, which is 26 percent, on defense. Even with the limited playing time, he leads the team with 3.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and is tied with Kenny Clark with five quarterback hits.
Currently ranked as the No. 20 edge rusher in the NFL, Gary has recorded an overall defensive grade of 80.6 this season, which is the best on the Packers. His pass-rushing grade of 82.9 is good for eighth place in the NFL.