Green Bay's recent dominance on defense has Packers believing they can make a deep playoff run

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Even though their long-shot hopes of winning the NFC North have vanished, the playoff-bound Green Bay Packers believe they can make a legitimate run at their first Super Bowl appearance since their 2010 championship season.

A rapidly improving defense gives them ample reason for confidence.

The Packers (11-4) followed up a seven-sack performance in a 30-13 victory at Seattle by producing the first shutout of the NFL season, a 34-0 playoff-clinching blowout of the New Orleans Saints on Monday night.

Green Bay delivered its first shutout since a 17-0 triumph over Seattle in 2021 and its most lopsided victory since a 55-14 rout of the Chicago Bears in 2014.

“We’ve noticed all along that the defense is a lot different this year, and they’ve been making some big-time plays all along,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “But any time you can hold anybody to zero points in the National Football League is pretty awesome.”

The Packers were seeking to produce a championship-caliber defense to go along with their dynamic offense when they fired Joe Barry as coordinator in the offseason and replaced him with former Boston College coach Jeff Hafley. Green Bay switched from a 3-4 scheme to a 4-3, with Hafley emphasizing the need to produce more big plays.

Green Bay has done just that by collecting 28 takeaways — 10 more than it had all of last year — to match the NFL’s third-highest total. The Packers haven’t forced this many turnovers since 2011, when they had 38 takeaways.

That’s not the only area in which the defense has made strides.

Green Bay is allowing just 19.1 points per game to rank sixth in the league in scoring defense. The Packers haven’t finished a season among the top six teams in scoring defense since their 2010 title run, when they yielded just 15 points per game to rank second.

The Packers are giving up 312.1 yards per game for the league’s seventh-best total. That also puts them on pace for their highest season-ending rank since 2010, when they finished fifth in total defense.

“We’re all working together, and we’ve just got some nice playmakers,” linebacker and rookie second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper said.

The Packers have given up as many as 20 points just once in their last six games, a 34-31 defeat at Detroit on Dec. 5. That is the only time Green Bay has lost during that stretch.

Whether this kind of success can carry over to the playoffs remains uncertain.

The Packers’ shutout performance came against a New Orleans offense that was starting rookie fifth-round draft pick Spencer Rattler at quarterback in place of the injured Derek Carr and was missing five-time Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara.

Green Bay’s defense faces a much tougher task Sunday night against the Minnesota Vikings (13-2), who beat the Packers 31-29 at Lambeau Field on Sept. 29. This will mark the first time in the series' 64-year history that both teams had at least 11 wins when they face off.

The Packers are eager to see what they can do against another team headed for the playoffs as their defense gears up for another postseason.

“We can do whatever we want to do,” defensive lineman Kenny Clark said. “We write our own story at the end of the day. We’ve just got to keep on building.”

Green Bay outrushed New Orleans 188-67 and improved its season total to 2,209 yards rushing. The Packers haven't rushed for that many yards in a season since 2003, when they had 2,558. … The pass rush has produced 16 sacks over Green Bay’s last four games. … Green Bay is outscoring teams 102-34 in the first quarter. ... The Packers didn't give up a sack Monday and have allowed just five over their last eight games. That represents the fewest sacks the Packers have given up over an eight-game stretch within a single season since 2004.

Penalties remain a bit of an issue. The Packers were penalized six times for 60 yards.

Love has thrown eight touchdown passes without an interception over his last five games. … RB Josh Jacobs has run for a touchdown in six straight games. His 13 TD runs this season are a career high. … K Brandon McManus made field goals from 55 and 46 yards to improve to 16 of 17 this season. His 55-yarder was a season long. … S Zayne Anderson had his first career interception in his first career start. … DL Brenton Cox Jr. has three sacks over his last four games.

There really aren't any candidates for this category, considering the Packers produced their biggest victory margin in a decade.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur offered an encouraging update on WR Christian Watson, who hurt a knee against the Saints. “We got good news on him, so more just a bruise. ... So we'll see how he practices this week and see where we're at," LaFleur said Tuesday. … CB Jaire Alexander (knee) missed a fifth straight game. S Javon Bullard (ankle), S Evan Williams (quadriceps) and LB Quay Walker (ankle) also didn’t play.

30 – The Packers have scored at least 30 points in each of their last five games. That represents the second-longest string of games with 30-plus points in franchise history. Green Bay had seven such straight games in 1963.

The Packers close the regular season with two divisional games, visiting Minnesota on Sunday before hosting the Bears (4-11). Green Bay is 1-3 against NFC North opponents this season.

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Green Bay Packers defensive end Rashan Gary (52) celebrates a fumble recovery during the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Green Bay, Wis.(AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Green Bay Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare (55) and defensive tackle Colby Wooden (96) celebrate a fumble recovery during the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

New Orleans Saints running back Kendre Miller (25) is stopped by Green Bay Packers linebacker Eric Wilson and safety Zayne Anderson, right, during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) is sacked by Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (95) during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (95) celebrates his sack with defensive end Rashan Gary (52) during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Green Bay Packers safety Zayne Anderson (39) celebrates his interception during the second half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Green Bay Packers safety Zayne Anderson (39) celebrates his interception during the second half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. flu infections showed signs of a slight decline last week, but health officials say it is not clear that this severe flu season has peaked.

New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to flu-like illness and in the number of states reporting high flu activity.

However, some measures show this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history. And experts believe there is more suffering ahead.

“This is going to be a long, hard flu season,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, in a statement Friday.

One type of flu virus, called A H3N2, historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that is the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, more than 91% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.

The last flu season saw the highest overall flu hospitalization rate since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. And child flu deaths reached 289, the worst recorded for any U.S. flu season this century — including that H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009-2010.

So far this season, there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses and 180,000 hospitalizations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. It also estimates there have been 7,400 deaths, including the deaths of at least 17 children.

Last week, 44 states reported high flu activity, down slightly from the week before. However, flu deaths and hospitalizations rose.

Determining exactly how flu season is going can be particularly tricky around the holidays. Schools are closed, and many people are traveling. Some people may be less likely to see a doctor, deciding to just suffer at home. Others may be more likely to go.

Also, some seasons see a surge in cases, then a decline, and then a second surge.

For years, federal health officials joined doctors' groups in recommending that everyone 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine. The shots may not prevent all symptoms but can prevent many infections from becoming severe, experts say.

But federal health officials on Monday announced they will no longer recommend flu vaccinations for U.S. children, saying it is a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors.

“I can’t begin to express how concerned we are about the future health of the children in this country, who already have been unnecessarily dying from the flu — a vaccine preventable disease,” said Michele Slafkosky, executive director of an advocacy organization called Families Fighting Flu.

“Now, with added confusion for parents and health care providers about childhood vaccines, I fear that flu seasons to come could be even more deadly for our youngest and most vulnerable," she said in a statement.

Flu is just one of a group of viruses that tend to strike more often in the winter. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, also have been rising in recent weeks — though were not diagnosed nearly as often as flu infections, according to other federal data.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE - Pharmacy manager Aylen Amestoy administers a patient with a seasonal flu vaccine at a CVS Pharmacy in Miami, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)