GREEN BAY vs CHICAGO
PACKERS WIN 28-21
- Story of the Game – The Bears Fall Short to an Explosive Packers Offense
With the Bears struggling in the 1st Half to get anything going on offense the Packers managed to break open the Bears defense with explosives in the passing game to go into half up 14 – 3. Following a disappointing 1st Half the Bears managed to control the game for the majority 2nd Half despite trailing as they mounted multiple drives that ate up nearly all of the 3rd Quarter and a good chunk of the 4th as well. As the Bears chipped away at the lead and wore down the Packers defense with consistent hard nosed runs between the tackles the Packers offense continued to answer with two crucial touchdowns that either extended their lead or broke a tie in big moments late. Ultimately the explosive plays for the Packers offense and bend but don’t break nature of the Packers defense in this game proved to be too much. Caleb Williams and the Bears were able to mount a drive to end the game but came up just short on yet another rollout where Packers CB Keisean Nixon made a great play chasing a route from the backside of the formation to come up with the game sealing interception.
- Key Notes for the Packers
Jordan Love aside from the interception on the first drive was phenomenal this game. He found and exploited every matchup and hole the Bears defense gave them in the passing game which not only created the explosive plays for the Packers but also kept them ahead of this sticks and within rhythm. He was lights out against pressure when Chicago brought blitzes, consistently throwing off his back foot with pin point accuracy. Along with his great play as a passer his ability to check Green Bay into runs when they had a favorable look was key winning early downs throughout this game. Just an outstanding performance and had it not been for the poor under thrown ball that led to the interception on the first drive I don’t know that you could have asked more from him.
The Packers OL also deserves a ton of credit for their job this game in pass protection especially. They sorted out the large majority of the Bears blitzes which came early in often due to Chicago’s struggles with generating pass rush with 4. Along with the OL Christian Watson deserves to be highlighted for his role in Jordan having the game he did as Watson is beginning to ascend as the clear #1 WR on this team ever since coming back into the fold midway through this season.
The Packers defense started off very hit as they owned the LOS for the majority of this game and were constantly flushing Caleb Williams from the pocket. The way this team flies to the ball on every snap is beautiful to watch, especially players like Evan Williams, Javon Bullard, and Edgerrin Cooper who play such a pivotal role on any play that gets to the second and third levels of the defense. Micah Parsons continues to be held nearly snap with no flags being thrown once again in this game. Despite Parsons being mauled nearly every snap he showed once again why he’s one of the best players in the league regardless of position as he was constantly getting quick pressure on Caleb which moved him off his spot and ruined any chance of a drop back passing game for the Bears on the majority of the snaps throughout this game. This defense is incredibly well coached and tied to together on every snap which showed in this game as the Bears were forced into trying to keep up the Packers offensive explosives while having to mount 12 or more play drives every time they scored.
- Key Notes for the Bears
Caleb Williams continues to be up and down as a drop back passer but his ability to escape pressure and would be sacks in this game was outstanding and made all the difference in the Bears offense. He consistently found a way to extend plays and put but balls in the exact spots they needed to be when rolling out including an unreal throw for a TD to Zaccheus. While he didn’t give Kmet the best ball in the end zone on what turned to to be the game sealing interception he helped them march down the field and gave them a chance to win a game that they once again scratched and clawed their way into.
Caleb has things he needs to work on and certainly isn’t a perfect QB right now but he continues to flash incredible talent and enough consistency to give you hope for long term success with him in control of the Bears offense.
The run game was struggling early on as they were only able to chip away a few yards at a time and didn’t have the consistency the Bears needed to sustain drives with a passing game that was limited outside of rollouts and play action. As the game wore on and HC Ben Johnson started to lean on the run game more and more you saw the effect start to take place on the Green Bay defense, especially up front. Green Bay’s DL clearly started to slow down as the 2nd half wore on and Chicago continued to go on 10-15 or more play drives that were largely built on running the ball. The constant handful or yards per run was chipping away at the Packers front which limited their effect not only in the run game but the passing game as well as Caleb’s scrambling became even more effective and the Packers pass rush became more contain than penetrating or threatening.
It was a great game plan from Ben Johnson and very well executed in the 2nd half by the Bears offense. So much so they were only one play away from tying and possibly winning this game in Lambeau.
The Bears pass rush once again fell flat and forced DC Dennis Allen’s hand to blitz far more than he’d like against a QB that makes the most of when teams do. Along with the lack of pass rush the injuries to Nickle Kyler Gordon and all throughout their LB room showed as Josh Jacobs broke off a number of big runs when their DL didn’t get push into the backfield.
The secondary also gave up far too many explosives as they had a few miscommunications on the backend that cost them a TD to Bo Melton and at times looked outmatched against Christian Watson who got matched up on safeties Kevin Byard and Chauncey Gardner Johnson in man twice which both resulted in TDs.
If this defense was full healthy and on the field I believe they’d be one of the best run defenses in the league which would ultimately complement the high turnover rate their secondary has created throughout this year. They would still be limited as their pass rush is inconsistent at best and they have a boom or bust nature to their secondary but if this defense can get healthy down the stretch of this season and into the playoffs the Bears may have a much improved group at just the right time.
- Standout Performers
GB
Jordan Love – 17/25 234yds 3/1
- Consistently beat the Bears blitzes and did a great job of balancing ball control with aggressive throws downfield to attack mistakes or favorable matchups in the Bears secondary
Josh Jacobs – 20/86 1 TD – 2/6 rec
- May not have the numbers he did last year but continues to be a steady pulse in big moments for the Packers offense
Christian Watson – 4/89 2 TDs
Javon Bullard – 4 Tackles (2 Solo)
- Was aggressive out of the slot all game not only in coverage but in the run game as well
Evan Williams – 6 Tackles (4 Solo) 1 PBU
Edgerrin Cooper – 11 Tackles (5 Solo)
Micah Parsons – 7 Pressures + one that forced the only sack of the game on Caleb
- Week after week Parsons wrecks offenses with his quick and dominant wins as a pass rusher despite being held on a majority of his snaps
Kingsley Enagbare – 4 Tackles 1 Sack 1 TFL
CHI
Caleb Williams – 19/35 186yds 2/1 – 4/15 rush
- Wasn’t perfect today but did enough scrambling and extending plays to keep Chicago in a game that would have gotten out of hand without his athleticism at QB
Luther Burden III – 4/67 – 1/3 rush
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson – 10 Tackles (6 Solo) 1 INT 1 PBU
- Gave up a tough TD on a slant matched up man to man vs Watson but was flying around the field and was seemingly in on every tackle
Andrew Billings – 3 Tackles (2 Solo) 1 TFL
- Isn’t a flashy player at NT but owns the middle of the LOS for CHI
