Brenton Cox Jr. set tone for Packers’ 4-takeaway day

GREEN BAY – The crowd saw the burst, the hit and ultimately the fumble when Brenton Cox Jr. came charging around Seattle tackle Michael Jerrell on Saturday afternoon.

All Rashan Gary saw was the growth of the Packers’ third-year defensive lineman from a developmental prospect to crafty edge rusher who powered through the Seahawks’ offensive line during the two teams’ joint practice Thursday.

Instead of simply bull-rushing Jerrell this time, Cox Jr. dropped his shoulder and sped around to punch the ball out of Seattle quarterback Jalen Milroe in the first quarter.

Kingsley Enagbare quickly jumped on the ball to begin a four-takeaway day that helped propel the Packers to a 20-7 win over the Seahawks in front of 71,819 at Lambeau Field.

“This is what I expect from him,” said Gary of Cox Jr. “I feel like he put a guy on his back in practice, and they were thinking about that power. So, when he flashed the power, he was able to hit the edge. It’s small things like that. He’s becoming a great player, understanding how offensive linemen want to set him.”

Cox Jr. signed with Green Bay as a raw but gifted pass-rushing prospect. He played sparingly during his first 1½ years with the Packers but received a massive opportunity last November after veteran Preston Smith was traded to Pittsburgh.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound pass rusher capitalized, recording 12 tackles, seven quarterback hits and four sacks in just 160 defensive snaps over seven games.

Cox Jr. carried that momentum into his third summer in Green Bay. With the Packers placing an emphasis on generating more forced fumbles, the 25-year-old edge rusher punched his hand to the ball to dislodge it from Milroe’s grasp.

“We’ve been preaching takeaways this whole camp,” Cox Jr. said. “Coming off the edge, that was the opportunity for me to get it. That strip-fumble, that’s just a portion of what we were doing the whole camp. We’ve been punching at the ball and it’s finally paying off.”

The only disappointing part of the play is that Enagbare was ruled down at the spot of his recovery after he initially returned it for a touchdown.

The Packers still converted the takeaway into points with Brandon McManus making a 48-yard field goal to extend Green Bay’s lead to 10-0 at the time.

“I’m mad they called it back but I’m not tripping,” said Cox Jr. of Enagbare’s recovery. “We’ll just get it again the first week.”

More on the takeaways: The defense paved the way to a convincing win over the Seahawks, who had just two total yards of offense in the first quarter and didn’t score until the fourth.

After Cox’s punchout, linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper forced another fumble of Milroe while attempting a sneak on fourth-and-1 in Seattle territory one minute into the second quarter.

First-year cornerback Kalen King made the recovery and backup quarterback Taylor Elgersma engineered an eight-play, 47-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 3-yard touchdown pass to Will Sheppard.

“I feel like we started very strong,” King said. “We were just taking what we heard from Coach (Jeff) Hafley and Coach Derrick Ansley in meetings and just applying it to the field. I feel like it showed tonight.”

The Seahawks then failed to convert on fourth downs during their next two possessions before a scary incident on a Daniel Whelan punt in which Jake Bobo and Tyler Hall collided, resulting in a muffed punt and both players leaving the game.

Cornerback Corey Ballentine recovered the football at the Seahawks’ 24. McManus made a 52-yard field goal after the takeaway to stake the Packers to a 20-0 lead with less than a minute remaining in the first half.

After the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, defensive end Arron Mosby jumped on a loose ball after a botched shotgun snap to complete the four-takeaway day.

“They come in bunches. That’s what they say,” linebacker Kristian Welch said. “It was fun, man. It was kind of crazy reflecting on that after last game in Indianapolis that we didn’t have a turnover. It’s like, really? Man, I felt like we were flying around and it just never happened. We were close on a few. To have as many as we had today, it’s not a surprise.”

Golden’s opportunity: Midway through the first quarter, Malik Willis rushed the offense to the line of scrimmage in hopes of catching Seattle’s defense with too many men on the field.

While Green Bay’s backup QB didn’t get the flag, Willis wound up with the play of the day when he fired a 39-yard pass to rookie receiver Matthew Golden down the right sideline.

Golden made a good adjustment to the ball, zigging inside cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett to complete the catch. Golden’s heroics sparked a 14-play, 96-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs.

“We were trying to catch them substituting their defense, but we didn’t get the flag,” said Willis, who was 3-of-6 for 50 yards with the TD pass, plus an interception on the opening drive. “But I found a one-on-one with Matt and he made a great play, because I left it a little bit inside.”

One-and-done: Most of Green Bay’s defensive starters played against the Seahawks but exited after a strong first series.

On third-and-8, Hafley dialed up a double-linebacker blitz with Edgerrin Cooper running a stunt inside that helped free Quay Walker for an 8-yard sack of Milroe to force the first of six Seattle punts.

It was a big response for the defense after Seahawks safety Ty Okada made a circus catch on a deep interception of Willis to start the game.

“I thought we did good,” Cooper said. “We got off the field without the offense scoring points. So as long as you get that done, our defense will take that any day.”

Countdown to cutdown: With the preseason over, all eyes turn to the mandatory roster reduction to 53 players on Tuesday at 3 p.m. CT.

“I don’t know if you sweat it. It’s more just do what you can do and control what you can control,” receiver Mecole Hardman said. “I feel like I had a few good last weeks, so whatever happens after this happens. All you can do is wait and see.”