GREEN BAY, Wis. -- There are two ways to look at a comeback win like the one the Green Bay Packers pulled off Sunday against the New York Jets.

Coaches and players alike can be lauded for their resiliency and, as coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers both said following their 31-24 victory that came after they faced an 18-point deficit, their grit.

Or they can see through temporary camouflage of elation and figure out how to prevent the problems from returning.

"I really like the character and makeup of our players," McCarthy said. "Everyone likes to talk about talent and measurables, experience and production. But this group, they're wired the right way. They work the right way."

But for a group that has underperformed on defense, the Packers can't allow the euphoria of this win to mask the view of their struggles on coordinator Dom Capers' side of the ball.

Yes, the Packers stuck together on defense when, as cornerback Tramon Williams said, "It gets a little heated sometimes." For that, they deserve credit. But the same breakdowns that burned them in the Week 1 loss at Seattle foiled them again Sunday.

Capers' new-look 4-3 defense -- the one the Packers practiced but never showed during the preseason -- once again had problems, both in matchups and execution. On their first three possessions, the Jets had 180 yards, three touchdowns and a 21-3 lead. For the second straight week, Capers had to adjust on the fly after breakdowns early.

"We stayed in our same alignment," defensive end Datone Jones said of the changes. "We stopped substituting a lot, keeping our main personnel on the field and letting the starters make the plays."

Not until Williams picked off Geno Smith at the Packers' 3-yard with 1:52 left in the second quarter did it look like the Packers had any life in their defense. That play, which was made in part by the pressure Mike Daniels put on Smith, turned things around. Rodgers took the offense on a 97-yard touchdown drive before the half, and suddenly the 18-point deficit -- the largest one that Rodgers has overcome in his career -- didn't look so insurmountable.

The Packers gave up just 100 more yards and three points on six Jets possessions in the second half.

"The most frustrating part is when you see what guys can do, when you know what we’re capable of doing," Williams said. "To come out like we did the first game and two quarters of this game and play like we did, that's the most frustrating part of it. But you never want to get too down because we know what we're capable of doing. And we did. We came out in the second half and showed what we can do."