The Green Bay Packers scored first, went into halftime with an advantage and then held leads of 24-6 and 38-14 in the second half before coasting to a decisive 38-20 win over the Chicago Bears during Sunday’s season opener at Soldier Field.
A game that was 10-6 at the midway point broke wide open in the second half as the Packers scored four touchdowns and raced away from their long-time rivals, clinching a ninth straight win in the series.
Buy Packers TicketsWinning by three scores in the NFL isn’t easy, even against a team that had the worst record in football a year ago. The Packers did a lot of things right in all three phases en route to blowing out the Bears.
Here are the biggest reasons for the Packers’ win in Week 1:
1
Pass protection
Jordan Love will get all the headlines, and rightfully so after tossing three touchdown passes without a turnover in his debut as the Packers starting quarterback. But the battle was really won up front, and especially in pass protection. Love consistently played from clean pockets, even on obvious passing downs, and he took just one sack (on a play he was starting to take off-schedule). Dropback after dropback, Love was able to hang in the pocket and wait for receivers to come open in passing windows, especially in key spots. Combining Love’s poise in the pocket and his willingness to attack the middle of the field with the level of pass protection he enjoyed on Sunday will likely result in a lot of productive days for the Packers passing game this season.
2
Pass-rush
Protecting the quarterback is vital on offense, so, naturally, pressuring the opposing quarterback is vital on defense, and the Packers were relentless in disrupting Justin Fields in the pocket. The Bears quarterback took four sacks and might have taken three or four more had he not been Houdini on a few dropbacks. The consistent pressure eventually manifested in the form of turnovers. On the first, Justin Fields was stripped by Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt while trying to escape the pocket. On the second, he felt pressure coming and forced a throw into double coverage over the middle, resulting in Quay Walker’s pick-six.
3
Win the turnover battle
Speaking of turnovers, the Packers scored a decisive win in the takeaway battle. While Jordan Love and the offense avoided a turnover, the Bears turned it over twice and also had a turnover on downs in their own territory. The Packers turned the fourth-down stop on the Bears’ first possession into seven points, and Quay Walker’s pick-six provided seven more points off turnovers. The closest the Packers came to turning the ball over might have come on a fumbled snap by Love, who quickly picked up the ball and found Luke Musgrave down field for 37 yards. Backup Sean Clifford also had a botched snap in garbage time. Otherwise, the Packers played a clean game. Protect the football and take it away — always fundamental factors of winning football.
4
Explosive passing plays
Despite not having Christian Watson available, the Packers still found a way to create four different explosive plays in the passing game. Jayden Reed had a 30-yard catch to set up Anders Carlson’s field goal before the half. Aaron Jones created a 51-yard catch-and-run, setting up his own short touchdown run. A drive later, Jones caught a 35-yard touchdown on 4th-and-3. Finally, Luke Musgrave had a 37-yard catch to set up Romeo Doubs’ final touchdown catch. Add it up, and that’s 24 points as a direct result of explosive plays in the passing game. Big plays remain the lifeblood of scoring points in the NFL. Driving the field in 15 plays is hard to do, so chunk gains are often required. The Packers got enough of them — and made the most of them — on Sunday.
5
Big in big situations
Young offenses often have to learn how to operate consistently in the game’s biggest situations. Think third down, fourth down, end of half, red zone. But Jordan Love and the Packers were nearly flawless in big spots on Sunday in Chicago. With Love under center, the Packers converted nine third downs and the lone fouth down opportunity, drove the field for a field goal to end the first half, doubled up with a touchdown to open the second half and scored touchdowns on all three red zone trips. That’s about as good as it gets at the NFL level.
6
Took away DJ Moore, Chase Claypool
The Bears spent a lot of resources to add receivers D.J. Moore and Chase Claypool over the last year. On Sunday, the two combined for nothing more than two catches for 25 yards. All of Moore’s production came on one drive, and Claypool didn’t have a single catch. Overall, the pair saw only four targets despite the Bears trailing for much of the second half. It’s tough to know if the Packers locked down both in coverage, or Justin Fields had issues reading coverages and distributing the ball. A combinaton of both is likely. Either way, the Bears got little from their passing game.
7
Special teams shine
Question marks littered the Packers special teams entering Week 1, but the third phase shined overall and didn’t have any glaring or game-changing mistakes. Anders Carlson made all five extra points and a 52-yard field goal. Daniel Whelan had a 68-yard punt and made a terrific catch and hold of Carlson’s lone field goal. Jayden Reed produced a 35-yard punt return that set up a touchdown drive. Innis Gaines, Dallin Leavitt and Keisean Nixon all made impressive tackles covering kicks or punts. Playing complementary football will be an important part of the Packers’ winning formula in 2023.
8
Run defense holds up
The box score says the Packers gave up 122 rushing yards, but don’t let the numbers fool you. Joe Barry’s defense held up just fine against the run. Maybe better than fine. While Justin Fields escaped pressure and created 59 rushing yards on his own, Bears running backs rushed for only 63 yards on 19 carries, or 3.3 yards per carry. And most of the damage was done on only a handful of carries. Khalil Herbert had a 12-yard run but just 15 yards on his eight other carries; Roshon Johnson had an 11-yard run but just nine yards on his three other carries; and D’Onta Foreman had an 11-yard run but only five yards on his four other carries. Lacking a consistent running game, the Bears never got in rhythm and had to rely on Fields as a passer far too often.
