It may be time to start looking at the defensive front residing in Green Bay as a force to be reckoned with if you're an opposing offensive coordinator. 

Passing the eye test with flying colors, the Packers' defensive line has performed beyond expectations in their four-game trial run. Despite being gifted with injuries to the opposing starting running backs of the teams they've matched up against thus far, there hasn't been a running back to surpass 39 yards since T.J. Yeldon did it in week one's scorching win.

Chris Ivory missed that game, but the Packers slowed down Adrian Peterson the following week in Minnesota, who has been the bane of their existence in recent years. Toss in a Lions' running game in week three that lacked the presence of Ameer Abdullah, and rightfully, some skeptics may remain. Going into week five, the Giants were without Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen.

Nevertheless, for the fourth straight game, the Packers shut down the enemy's ground plans and put heavy pressure on Eli Manning in the process. It took said pressure applied by Nick Perry, Clay Matthews and co. to force Manning to get rid of the ball faster than he would typically want to, making a depleted secondary's job a whole lot easier.

The Giants didn't abandon the run game in the second half in last night's 23-16 win, either. In fact, they ran the ball eight times in comparison to the first half's seven, but to no avail. The Packers' front seven bottled up Bobby Rainey, Orleans Darkwa and other ball-carriers to just 13 yards on those seven carries. The 1.8 yards the Packers allowed on the ground in the first half matched up perfectly with the 1.8 average amount of rushing yards they were allowing coming in — which was still miles ahead of the league average.

From a graphic supplied by ESPN's Rob Demovsky, the Packers have allowed 171 rushing yards through their first four games. Why is this relevant? 

In the Super Bowl era, only the 1995 49ers allowed fewer rushing yards through a four-game stretch. The 2016 Packers surpassed the 2000 Ravens and 1990 Giants by double-digits. A testament to how well this group has performed in their brief audition.

In addition, the rapid-playing talents of the edge-rushers and brute force of the interior defensive linemen have accumulated 33 tackles for a loss of yards. Matthews, who has had at least one sack in each of the three games he's played in when healthy this season, is clearly embracing his natural role on the outside. Meanwhile, Perry has accounted for 4.5 of the defense's 14 total sacks this season, already toppling his best season in terms of getting to the opposing quarterback. He had four in 11 games in 2013.

It may just be in teams' best interests to avoid the heart of this menacing defensive front, who have allowed an average of 1.72 yards per carry when tailbacks run beside the center and between the guards.  After week five, the Packers' average rushing yards allowed bumped up slightly to 42.8, still 60.2 yards below the league average, which is 103. A convincing stat that doesn't speak enough volume to how efficient they've been as a unit up front.

They'll face possibly their biggest test so far when the NFL's rushing leader in Ezekiel Elliott comes to Lambeau Field. A hope is that the sights and illustrious history the stadium holds will deter Dallas' rookie sensation, but don't put your money on it.