Following Sunday’s game in which LB Preston Smith had 2 sacks against the Carolina Panthers, he indicated in an interview that he and Za’Darius Smith were in competition to see who can be the first to hit ten sacks. To celebrate Preston reaching that goal first, he will be buying Rolex watches for the entire defense:
Want to feel really poor? @mattschneidman asked the Smith's what the defense will get since Preston reached 10 sacks before Za'Darius #Packers pic.twitter.com/KjDBziDfem
— Baillie Burmaster (@baillie_burm) November 11, 2019
Za’Darius indicated that, had he won, every player would have received a chain with their numbers on it.
The Smiths have been the stars of Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine’s defense this season with the Packers. However, they did not come cheap as Preston signed a four-year deal worth $52 million and Za’Darius signed a four-year deal worth $66 million. Both were already defensive stars before signing with the Packers — Preston previously played with the Washington Redskins while Za’Darius played with the Baltimore Ravens.
Preston now has 10 sacks so far for the season which puts him tied at 3rd in the league. Za’Darius has 8.5 sacks so far which also puts him in the top 10 in the league.
The Packers are heading into their bye week which will follow in Week 12 with a game against the 49ers in San Francisco that is almost certain to be their toughest of the season. While the Seattle Seahawks recently thwarted the 49ers’ win streak, Kyle Shannan’s team is still one of the best in the league and their rushing attack will be the ultimate test for a Packer defense that has not performed well at stopping the run.