The Green Bay Packers wondered how their pass rush would survive until Micah Parsons returned.
Two games into Jonathan Gannon’s tenure as defensive coordinator, the answer has begun to surface.
Green Bay owns a 40.5% pressure rate through two weeks, per Mark Oldacres of Packers Wire. That mark tops the 39.1% rate the Packers produced in Weeks 1-14 last season with Parsons on the field.
Their pressure rate in 2025 WITH Micah Parsons (weeks 1-14) was 39.1%.
(Jonathan Gannon might just be better at this than Jeff Hafley)
It’s a narrow edge drawn from a small sample, but it’s an eye-opening start for a defense playing without the three-time first-team All-Pro who powered its front in 2025. Parsons recorded 12.5 sacks in 14 games before tearing the ACL in his left knee last December.
Gannon has made up for the missing star with disguise, timely pressure calls and a deep group of rushers. The Packers’ 20-17 overtime win over the New York Jets marked the clearest proof yet.
Gannon Finds Pressure From Several Sources
The defining sequence came at the start of overtime. Barryn Sorrell and a blitzing Brandon Cisse split a sack of Geno Smith on first down. Dani Dennis-Sutton and Lukas Van Ness combined for another on the next snap, as Packers.com detailed.
The back-to-back sacks forced a punt and handed Green Bay favorable field position for the winning drive. They also captured the variety Gannon has introduced. One pressure involved a defensive back. And the other came from two edge defenders winning up front.
Gannon blitzed Smith on 34.7% of Green Bay’s defensive snaps, nearly seven percentage points above the league average, per Acme Packing Company’s review of SumerSports data. That’s an aggressive turn for a coach whose past defenses had a reputation for conservative rush plans.
The creativity appeared in Week 1, too. A simulated pressure freed Edgerrin Cooper for a sack of Carson Wentz while Gannon dropped seven defenders into coverage against the Minnesota Vikings.
Gannon’s opening fortnight suggests he will bend his approach around the personnel rather than wait for Parsons to rescue the front.
Van Ness Gives Packers a Parsons Partner
Scheme can create an opening.
Green Bay still needed a rusher to take advantage, and Van Ness delivered the finest game of his four-year career against New York.
The 2023 first-round pick finished with nine tackles, three tackles for loss, four quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks. He generated seven pressures and posted a 23.3% pressure rate, per Acme Packing Company. Dennis-Sutton was even more efficient in a smaller role, recording a 29.4% pressure rate on 40% of the defensive snaps.
Van Ness also helped make the critical fourth-and-1 stop late in regulation before sharing the overtime sack. He played like the “game wrecker” Green Bay has waited to see, a performance that prompted safety Evan Williams to say opponents can’t leave Van Ness isolated against one blocker.
When the $188 million star returns, Gannon may have another front-line threat capable of punishing protections tilted toward No. 1.
The Packers hired Gannon after Jeff Hafley left to become head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Head coach Matt LaFleur praised Gannon’s experience and leadership when Green Bay made the appointment official.
Two games won’t 100% settle which coordinator led the better defense.
But at least during this year thus far, Green Bay’s pass rush remains dangerous while its most accomplished player rehabs.
With the Atlanta Falcons visiting on a short week, Gannon gets a shot to extend a promising opening act.
Packers Pass Rush Slightly Better Without Micah Parsons, Speaks to Coaching