The Green Bay Packers are well into prep for the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2 after taking down the rival Chicago Bears by a 38-20 final in the season opener on Sunday.
While wary of over-reacting to anything in Week 1, the first game of the Jordan Love era in Green Bay did reveal several fascinating and important things about Matt LaFleur’s team to start 2023.
Buy Packers TicketsHere are a few things we learned (or even re-learned) about the Packers in Week 1:
Offense goes as Aaron Jones goes
Packers fans have known for years that Jones is one of the most dynamic backs in the league. And now that 12 is gone, 33 is the most important player to the offense. On Sunday, Green Bay’s offense went as Jones went. He had five carries on the team’s first touchdown drive and then watched as the offense grew stagnant when he didn’t get the ball again for the rest of the half. When the Packers finally wised up and started giving Jones more touches during the third quarter, he scored two touchdowns. In their defense, as frustrating as it is to watch three-and-outs with Jones on the sideline, the coaching staff has to try to keep their top offensive weapon healthy for the entire season. But injuries are a part of the game and sometimes unavoidable, i.e., Jones pulling his hamstring on his 35-yard touchdown catch. Green Bay will have to find the right balance, but Week 1 made it clear that even at age 28, Jones needs the ball in his hands early and often. — Brandon Carwile
Play in the trenches will keep Packers in a lot of games
If you can control the line of scrimmage, you can oftentimes control the game. One of the big reasons behind the Packers dominant performance against Chicago was because of the discrepancy between their ability to protect Jordan Love and get after Justin Fields in comparison to the Bears. The defensive front held the Bears running backs to under 4.0 yards per rush and forced 36 pressures. The offensive line allowed just two pressures on 30 dropbacks from Love. That time in the pocket contributed to his success on third downs and ability to take care of the football. With a first time starting quarterback and young pass catchers, ups and downs feel inevitable this season, but even through those inconsistencies, the Packers ability pressure the quarterback and protect their own quarterback will allow them to hang around in a lot of games, giving them, at the very least, the opportunity to come away with the win. — Paul Bretl
Jordan Love is *this* close to something big
Jordan Love threw three touchdown passes, didn’t have a turnover and finished with an NFL-best 123.3 passer rating in Week 1, creating a huge burst of optimism for the first-year starter. This isn’t to knock the performance, but Love was aided by a 51-yard catch-and-run from Aaron Jones on a throwback screen and a 37-yard completion to Luke Musgrave on a broken play, and his completion percentage ended up at 55.6. While poised in the pocket and willing to throw with anticipation, Love was just a fraction off here or there on a handful of throws, continuing a trend of occasionally erratic accuracy. But that’s the exciting part moving forward: Despite some lingering accuracy issues, Love still put together a winning performance because he hit almost all the big-play opportunities and was excellent on third down, fourth down and in the red zone. If his ball placement gets a tiny bit better, Love could quickly ascend into the upper tier of NFL starting quarterbacks as early as this season. — Zach Kruse
Defensive front is incredibly athletic
Facing Justin Fields in Week 1 was the perfect test for the new-look Packers defensive front. And while Fields danced his way out of a few sacks, the Packers front proved their collective athleticism will be tough to keep blocked in 2023. A variety of stunts and twists provided a chance for the athleticism up front to shine. The Packers also got impressively athletic plays out of Lukas Van Ness, who chased down Fields on the edge for a sack, and Devonte Wyatt, who both closed on Fields for a quick sack and later caught him from behind on another. The Packers also got quick, disruptive moments from the run defense, and maybe the most athletic player of the bunch — Rashan Gary — delivered five pressures on just 10 pass-rushing snaps. If nothing else, this defensive front is going to be fast off the ball, quick to close space to the passer and uniquely capable of running down quarterbacks when they break contain. — Zach Kruse
