One week after the Green Bay Packers defense was run over by the Philadelphia Eagles, they will face another run-heavy opponent in the Chicago Bears, who will put this porous unit to the test.
Led by quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Eagles rushed for a whopping 363 rushing yards against Green Bay at 7.4 yards per rush. Hurts totaled 157 yards while running back Miles Sanders rushed for 143, with most of his damage coming between the tackles. Undisciplined football by the Packers, which included over 20 missed tackles, poorly set edges, and an inability to shed blocks, was fully taken advantage of by the Eagles.
Quarterback Justin Fields and the Chicago running game can also give the Packers fits. Fields would miss last week’s game with a shoulder injury, and as of now, his status for this Sunday’s game is still up in the air. However, for Matt LaFleur and the Packers, they will be game-planning as if he is going to be under center.
“I would say the majority of the plan is directed toward him being in there,” said LaFleur on Wednesday. “Obviously, with him not playing last week, that’s another week for him to get healthy and get rest. It’s a guessing game, but you have to hedge your bet in that area.”
On both designed runs drawn up by offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, along with Fields adlibbing when needed, he has rushed for 834 yards this season at 6.9 yards per rush, seven touchdowns, and is tough to bring down. He also has 10-plus rush attempts in his previous two games played.
“We’d be foolish not to plan for Justin because if you don’t, you will get gutted,” added LaFleur. “That quarterback run game they have is pretty spectacular, and it doesn’t always show up in the run game, but even on his ability to drop back and if nothing is there to find a window, or an escape lane and make you pay in that regard. So I think we’re going to have to have everybody in tune and on the same page because you can’t give that guy a sliver of light or he will make you pay.”
If Fields can’t go, it will either be Nathan Peterman or the recently signed Tim Boyle under center for Chicago. Although neither brings the same mobility to the position that Fields does, which could very well shift the Packers’ game plan, Green Bay still needs to be prepared for a Bears’ run game that leads the NFL in rush attempts per game.
The Packers won’t have to contend with Khalil Herbert, who is on IR and has been one of the more dynamic backs in the NFL this season, averaging 6.0 yards per rush, but David Montgomery can cause problems, as the Packers know well. Despite oftentimes facing a heavy dose of eight-man boxes, Montgomery is still averaging 4.0 yards per rush and has been difficult to bring down, ranking 13th in total yards after contact, along with being tied for seventh in missed tackles forced.
The last time these two teams met back in Week 2, the Bears rushed for 180 yards at 6.7 yards per rush, led by Montgomery’s 122 yards on only 15 attempts. The Green Bay run defense certainly wasn’t great, but it’s worth mentioning that a good chunk of these yards per picked up when the Packers had a two-score lead and were defending against the big pass play. Chicago, meanwhile, continued to stick with the ground game.
As bad as things were last week against the Eagles, the Packers did slow Derrick Henry and the Titans rushing attack the week before. While Joe Barry was slow to adjust versus Philadelphia and often stayed put in his base nickel defense against Tennessee, we saw more blitzes and six-man fronts. This then left Green Bay more susceptible against the passing game, which Ryan Tannehill took advantage of, but one would think that the game plan will look closer to this than what we saw in Philadelphia, given how often the Bears run the ball and that they will be without Darnell Mooney–although with this defense, you never truly know what to expect.
However, as LaFleur again reiterated on Wednesday, it doesn’t much matter what they have called defensively if the players are going to miss 20-plus tackles. From a schematic standpoint, the Green Bay defenders were in a position to make plays, said LaFleur earlier in the week; they just simply didn’t.
“We are going to have to get multiple hats on the ball because it’s not only Justin Fields; they have tremendous running backs as well,” said LaFleur. “It’s collectively as a unit you have to have multiple hats on the ball, and you have to do a great job of not only grabbing cloth or finding ways to get a guy on the grass, whether it’s a knife tackle or what we call a roll tackle, you have to have a great tackling plan. We have to own our leverage and know how to leverage the ball, and know where your help is at instead of over-pursuing and allowing a cutback lane where there is nobody there. If your leverage is to your right, you better stay inside out on the ball carrier and let your help get to your right.”
It goes without saying, but whether or not Fields is able to play is going to have a major impact on the game, not only from a rushing standpoint with his playmaking but that added threat under center can help the passing game as well. But regardless of who is under center for the Bears, the Packers should be prepared for a heavy dose of the run game. However, can they find a way to slow it down this week?
