GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The official NFL statistics will charge the Green Bay Packers with 46 points allowed over the past three games -- still a respectable number at 15.3 per game -- but Dom Capers' unit was truly responsible for only 37.

In the 19-7 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 3, running back Eddie Lacy lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and also was stuffed for a safety, which accounts for the nine-point differential.

Coach Mike McCarthy will take that anywhere, anytime -- especially in a run of three straight NFC North games, which concluded with Thursday's 42-10 win against the Minnesota Vikings that left the Packers at 3-2 and with a weekend off.

"We're averaging about 12 points a game in your division games," McCarthy said Friday. "That's what you're looking for."

Entering Thursday's game, the Packers ranked tied for 17th in the NFL in scoring defense, which takes into account all points scored by opponents. They jumped to ninth (at 21.2 points per game allowed) after the game.

But just as quarterback Aaron Rodgers said less than 24 hours earlier, when he called the offense "a little stagnant," McCarthy is by no means ready to proclaim his defense fixed, not after some of the problems they had stopping the run in the first four games.

"We can get better there," McCarthy said. "I think the flow of how we're using our players, it's come together and our substitution patterns are where they need to be. I think we have definitely gotten better on defense the last three weeks."

With the players off for a three-day weekend, McCarthy and his coaching staff spent Friday reviewing both Thursday's win against the Vikings and last Sunday's victory in Chicago, then turned their attention toward the Oct. 12 game in Miami.

"I like Thursday night games for a number of different reasons," McCarthy said. "More importantly, you're going to play in at least one a year now. I've always enjoyed the Thanksgiving game. I always felt it served as kind of a mini bye week for your football team, so just really after what we've been through [the first] five weeks, in particular the last three weeks to have these three division games, this is a perfect time for a mini bye, so this came at the right time."

One thing McCarthy should not have to worry too much about is the health of his defense. He said defensive end Josh Boyd, who missed Thursday's game because of a knee injury, could return to practice on Wednesday. Defensive end Datone Jones, who sprained his ankle in the first half against the Vikings, said after the game that he expects to be fine for next week.