The Green Bay Packers dominated the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday en route to a 34-13 home win at Lambeau Field that pulled them closer to the 4-1 Detroit Lions at 4-2 on the season.
The Packers are now a half-game behind the 4-1 Detroit Lions, three weeks out from their home tilt with Dan Campbell's bunch in Green Bay.
As the Packers continue to chase the Lions and the 5-0 Minnesota Vikings, Coach Matt LaFleur's team is blossoming in unexpected ways.
ESPN host Marcus Spears pointed out a key area of growth for LaFleur's team as they headed toward the first half of the season's forthcoming conclusion.
"Now (the Packers' defense and run defense is) starting to show up," Spears said on NFL Live Monday. "Listen, the Arizona Cardinals are a phenomenal running football team.
"The (Packers') defense has done in a phenomenal job in game planning each and every week to take away the strength of the other team."
The Packers outrushed Arizona by a final tally of 179 to 89 yards Sunday, holding the Cardinals' Trey Benson to 26 yards on the game.
The Packers now rank 8th in the NFL in opponents' rush yards per game at 110 per contest, in stark contrast to this time last season when the Packers ranked 27th in the NFL.
Next week's matchup against CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans will test the limits of Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley's defense with the NFL's fifth-ranked passing offense and 13th-ranked rushing offense (in terms of yards per game) set to enter the not-so-friendly confines of Lambeau Field.