Good afternoon, everyone. On Sunday night, the Green Bay Packers will take on the Chicago Bears in the 201st meeting of the historic rivalry. The Packers look to not only get to 8-3 on the season, but to win their 100th game all-time against the Bears (they lead the all-time series at 99-95-6). As always, I am here to give you my thoughts on what the Packers need to do to win at Lambeau Field. Without further delay, let’s get started.
On offense, the key for the Packers is to have a balanced attack of run and pass (with some trickery added). For the offensive linemen (plus the receivers), their job is to make the key blocks and create the running lanes for Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams to go through for positive yards. The Bears do have a great defensive front, led by Khalil Mack. Even with that, I think that the O-Line will be up to the challenge on Sunday night. It is up to the running backs to make the cuts and get the positive yards that will move the chains. I also think that there will be some end arounds and jet sweeps by Tyler Ervin (if he is able to play) that head coach Matt Lafleur will scheme up. If the Packers can run the ball well enough, then there will be less pressure on Aaron Rodgers to play like Superman (although he has done that before). All Rodgers needs to do is make the right reads and throw each pass accurately to his receivers (who include Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard, Jace Sternberger, and Robert Tonyan). Those pass catchers need to win their one-on-ones and make each reception without dropping the ball or fumbling the ball after the catch. I am sure that LaFleur will scheme up ways to get the receivers open. All of this can’t happen if Rodgers is not kept upright by the O-Line (plus the occasional blitz pick-up by a running back). As always, a key for a Packers win on Sunday night is to win the time of possession battle. They can do this by going on time-consuming drives that result in touchdowns while converting third downs and avoiding any turnovers. Scoring touchdowns is extremely important in the red zone, where the Packers have done well so far this season. As long as no big mistakes are made and they play great for all 4 quarters, I think that the offense will put up at least 30 points on the Bears defense. For Rodgers, this game is a great opportunity to reach 50,000 career passing yards. As long as he does not struggle, I think that he can reach that milestone with no problem.
On defense, the key for the Packers is to make the Bears offense one-dimensional. The way that they can do this is by stopping the run game, which should be easy on paper. The Bears offense is last in rushing yards, but they might get better with the return of David Montgomery. For the defensive front, which is led by Kenny Clark, they need to tackle Montgomery and other ball carriers for minimum gain (while not missing any tackles in the process). This goes for everyone else in the defense, including the secondary and the linebackers. If the defense is able to keep the run game in check, then the pass rush can get after Mitchell Trubisky and frustrate him all night long. Even if they are not able to get the sack on each play, pressuring Trubisky will force him to throw passes that are prime for picking off by the defense. The defense also needs to keep him in the pocket and not let him scramble for first downs or find an open receiver on the run. If the pass rush is not able to get to the QB, the rest of the defense needs to make sure that there are no open receivers (especially on third downs). Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine needs to do a couple of things on Sunday night against the Bears offense. The first thing is to make sure that there are at least 4 players going after the quarterback, which he did last week against the Colts. The second thing concerns third downs of 10 yards or more. These third downs are perfect situations for the defense to get off the field and force the opposing team to punt (at least on paper). Pettine needs to avoid playing the defenders past the first down marker when the offensive play calls for a short pass. It is up to the players to make the tackle short of the first down marker regardless of what pass is thrown. Screen passes should not result in 50+ yard touchdowns, and a pass rusher (or a linebacker, in general) should not be put on a fast wide receiver like Allen Robinson. Stopping the third downs, plus forcing a turnover or 2, can help the Packers win the time of possession battle and keep a sizable lead. It’s also important for Green Bay to force the Bears to settle for field goals when they get in the red zone. I think that the defense will do well against the Bears on Sunday night. As long as they don’t allow any big plays and tackle properly, the Packers’ chances of winning will be good.
On Special Teams, the key for the Packers is to limit the amount of mistakes made. In the past couple of weeks, the Packers have allowed a punt return touchdown (against the Jaguars) and had a fumble on a kickoff return (against the Colts). Mistakes such as those can’t happen against the Bears. The Packers need to avoid allowing any long return to Cordarrelle Patterson, who has ran a few kicks back for a touchdown in his career. On kickoffs, the plan should be to kick each ball out of the end zone for a touchback. On punts, JK Scott needs to return to form and pin the Bears deep inside their own side of the field. When it comes to kick or punt returns, mistakes (such as penalties or turnovers) need to be avoided. Tyler Ervin should be back to run back any kicks or punts that are not touchbacks or fair catches. When there is a chance for a big return, he needs to follow the blocks while protecting the ball in the process. A big kick return for a touchdown would give momentum for either team. Hopefully the Packers get that momentum-shifting play (as long as there are no penalties during the return). I have no doubt that Mason Crosby will continue making every kick on Sunday night (*knocks on wood*). As long as Hunter Bradley snaps the ball accurately, there should be no issue on any field goal or punt attempt. The Packers also need to avoid having any of their field goals or punts blocked by the Bears on Special Teams. On the other side, there is still hope for the Packers to block a field goal or a punt during the 2020 season. I have plenty of confidence that Green Bay will turn things around on Special Teams. As always, we will have to wait to find out.
Even though this game looks like an easy win on paper, anything can happen against NFC North opponents. With division opponents, win/loss records are thrown out the window because each team plays (usually) with physicality and toughness. As long as the Packers keep the mistakes to a minimum on all sides of the football, they should win against the Bears by a comfortable margin. I also hope that the game is played with no additional injuries or COVID-19 cases for either team. Regardless of the outcome, I will be here with my post-game thoughts on either Monday or Tuesday. In the meantime, I hope that you all have a great weekend. Go Pack Go!
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