Green Bay’s Luther Robinson tips a pass that Julius Peppers then intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Credit: Rick Wood

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Green Bay — When Ted Thompson entered the Bermuda Triangle that is football in March for the Green Bay Packers, this is the play he had in mind. A play this defense has lacked.

Luther Robinson deflects Christian Ponder's pass. Julius Peppers is there for the interception.

And then Peppers flashed back to his days as a high school running back, off to the races for a 49-yard touchdown return.

"Pep's a sensational athlete," outside linebacker Clay Matthews said. "He surprises us every day he's out here with every facet of his game."

And yet, Peppers wasn't alone. He got to the quarterback. Matthews got to the quarterback. Even Nick Perry — remember him? — got to the quarterback. The Packers' maligned defense caved the pocket all game long. The result was a mash-up of game-changing plays and a 42-10 win.

The lesson? Pressure can cure all.

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers' unit finished with six sacks and 16 quarterback hits. Part of the equation was, of course, the putrid quarterback play of Ponder. This nationally televised game could have used a disclaimer once Teddy Bridgewater was declared inactive. But Thursday night also unveiled everything the Packers want out of their defense, be it 4-3, 3-4, nickel, whatever.

Get to the quarterback and good things happen.

On Ponder, it snowballed. Matthews can't recall the last time it went quite like this.

"It's been a while," Matthews said. "But any time you can force a team to be one-dimensional, then you can turn your guys loose. We weren't able to do that last week. And looking further back, we weren't able to do that in weeks prior. Running backs were able to rush on us.

"Once we're able to shut that down, we've got some special athletes as far as rushing the passer. It's just a matter of time before we get home. I felt like we did that tonight."

And then some.

The Packers raced ahead, 14-0, and teed off. Five different players were responsible for the six sacks. Everyone joined the party.

There was Perry, that 2012 first-rounder, getting two sacks. There was Letroy Guion, cast off by Minnesota, recording 11/2 sacks and performing a strange shimmy he doesn't have a name for yet. There was Mike Daniels, the one who said he wanted to "spit" on his game at Seattle and said he "sucked" at Chicago, leading the Packers with four hits.

Capers sent linebackers, sent defensive backs, and Ponder resembled a deer-in-headlights undrafted rookie. Not a fourth-year pro making his 35th career start.

The roof effectively caved on the Vikings in the second quarter. On first and 5 from the their own 39-yard line, Ponder's pass was tipped by Robinson and Peppers was there for the interception. He got a step on Jerick McKinnon, thee of 4.41 speed at the NFL scouting combine, and raced to the end zone.

Morgan Burnett pointed to the crowd, motioning Peppers to spring into the stands, and the rout was on, 21-0.

Two, three days ago, Robinson admits he never imagined making such a Howard Green-like play. He was getting reps with the defense, but wasn't positive it'd lead to a chance. And right after lunch Thursday, the Packers told him he'd be elevated to the roster.

"I saw an opening, so I just ran through the opening," said Robinson, undrafted out of Miami (Fla.). "Put my hand up. Knocked the ball down."

The next drive, Jamari Lattimore picked off Ponder and the Packers scored again three plays later. Peppers could sense the pressure was getting to Ponder.

"We got a lot of hits on him early," Peppers said, "got a lot of pressure on him and I think it affected him a little bit."

Glaze over the schedule. It's packed with quarterbacks who'll shred a defense when given time: Matthew Stafford, Cam Newton, Drew Brees, Nick Foles, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan and Jay Cutler.

For a defense that's been searching for something, anything opposite Matthews, Thursday's wreckage is about as good as it gets.

Midway through August, Perry could've been considered a player on the proverbial "bubble." Lifeless early in the preseason, he made a charge late. This night, he bench-pressed the 6-foot-8, 343-pound Phil Loadholt backward into Ponder.

If Matthews brings relentless, Peppers' athleticism, the Packers hope Perry brings raw strength.

The player who rarely frequents the locker room during the week was all smiles.

"It's just a start," Perry said. "I want to be out there and contribute like all my teammates. That's what I'm here for.

"I ain't going nowhere."

The Packers hope this pass rush isn’t, either. Matthews has lived the ups and downs before, has seen these one-week bursts before. He expressed tempered enthusiasm afterward.

“Hopefully,” Matthews said, “this speaks volumes for where we’re headed.”

Moments later, Peppers was more direct. It’s here. It’s always been here, he said. And the 34-year-old believes there are more avalanches on the radar.



“We’ve got guys who can rush,” Peppers said. “We’ve got guys who can come in off the bench and get sacks. That’s not an issue for this team.”