Good afternoon, everyone. On Sunday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers will take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. This game will be the 203rd matchup between these 2 teams. The Packers enter this game at 4-1 after a wild overtime win over the Bengals in Cincinnati. A win over the Bears on Sunday would not only improve their record to 5-1, but it would also give them a 2-game lead in the NFC North after 6 weeks. I am here to give you my thoughts on what the Packers need to do to get their 5th straight win. Without further delay, let’s get started.
On offense, it all starts with running the football efficiently against the Bears defensive front. A few players on that defensive front, including Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks, are listed as questionable on the injury report. When it comes to game time, the offensive line and the running backs need to be ready to take on that front no matter who plays on Sunday. There is hope that both Elgton Jenkins and Josh Myers could be back. Regardless of if they come back or not, I have confidence in OL coach Adam Stenavich, who has coached guys like Yosh Nijman and Jon Runyan, Jr. to play well. As always, the offensive linemen (plus any additional blockers) need to create the holes for Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon to run through. The RBs, in turn, need to follow those holes and either evade or truck defenders on their way to plenty of yards. Running the ball well can help set up the passing game by keeping the defense honest. It would also make them fall for any play-action fakes. The job for the offensive line in the passing game is simple: keep Aaron Rodgers upright. If they are able to do this, then Rodgers will have time to find an open receiver (it doesn’t matter if it’s Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, Robert Tonyan, Allen Lazard, or either of the running backs) and throw accurately to him. I am sure that Matt LaFleur and Nathaniel Hackett will come up with creative ways to get those receivers open. The receivers, in turn, need to run their routes and catch each pass that is not a throwaway or a pass inexplicably thrown into the ground. Sustaining long drives and finishing them with touchdowns (especially in the red zone) is the most important thing that the Packers need to do on offense. What can help them do this is by executing well on early downs so that the third downs are not too long. Another thing that can help is by avoiding turning the ball over in any fashion. The ball carrier needs to secure the ball on every play and Aaron Rodgers needs to avoid throwing interceptions. As long as everyone does their job on offense, I am sure that the Packers will have at least 30 points on offense.
On defense, it all starts with keeping the Bears running game in check. With David Montgomery on IR and Damien Williams dealing with COVID-19 issues, the Bears running backs are Khalil Herbert and Ryan Nall. Regardless of who gets the carries on Sunday for the Bears, it is up to the defensive front (which includes Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, and Preston Smith) to fill in the gaps and tackle the ball carrier for minimum gain. The defense also needs to look out for any read-option runs by rookie quarterback Justin Fields. If the defense is able to stop the run game, then they can get after the rookie QB all game long. Like against Joe Burrow last week, the key to get pressure on Justin Fields is to keep him in the pocket. If the pas rush is able to collapse the pocket, then Fields would not have a lot of options with the ball. The defense can’t let him scramble away from the pass rush and find an open receiver. If the pass rush is able to keep him in the pocket and not let Fields run away, then he could make some rookie mistakes in terms of turning the ball over (either an interception or a strip-sack would do). With Kevin King out due to injury in addition to Jaire Alexander still being on IR, the CB room is very thin. There still is Chandon Sullivan, but joining him on Sunday will be Issac Yiadom and Eric Stokes (who has been playing well so far). Hopefully safeties Darnell Savage and Adrian Amos will be able to help the cornerbacks with covering the receivers well. The defense needs to pay attention not only to the deep threat in Darnell Mooney, but also the running backs in check down situations. In both run and pass plays, it is extremely important for the defenders (including also De’Vondre Campbell) to make the tackle without letting the ball carrier go for extra yards. What’s most important for the defense is to stop the Bears offense from converting third and fourth downs. What can help them do this is to keep the offense from dominating on early downs. Forcing turnovers can also help the Packers defense on Sunday. If the Bears offense gets into the red zone, the Packers defense needs to keep them from scoring touchdowns on each trip. Forcing them to settle for a field goal a couple of times could help the Packers win this game comfortably (as long as the offense does their job well). I have hope that Joe Barry will get the defense ready for anything on Sunday.
On Special Teams, all the Packers need to do is to avoid making crucial mistakes, including turning the ball over or missing field goals. I am sure that Mason Crosby got his misses out of the way last week. For now, he needs to continue making every kick. That includes PAT attempts, of which he missed one against Cincinnati (in addition to his three missed field goal attempts). Everything needs to done right, from the snap by Hunter Bradley to the hold by Corey Bojorquez to the kick by Crosby. The line protecting the kicks needs to block the defenders intent on blocking Crosby’s kick. The same goes for punt attempts, in which Bojorquez needs to flip the field with his punts when he is called upon (hopefully not too many times). On kickoff and punt returns, Kylin Hill and Amari Rodgers (respectively) need to make the most out of any opportunity for a long return. In other situations, the returner needs to fair catch the ball or let the ball go to the end zone for a touchback. The blockers need to create the holes for the returner to go through without being called for any holding or block in the back penalty. On the other end, the return coverage unit needs to keep a long return from happening on kicks or punts that are not touchbacks or fair catches. As long as mistakes are avoided, the Packers should be fine on Special Teams.
After the craziness that was last week, I hope that this game will be more normal. As long as the Packers get the job done on all sides of the ball, they should win against the Bears by a comfortable margin. Regardless of the outcome, I pray that neither team suffers more injuries or COVID-19 issues. I’ll be back with my postgame thoughts on either Monday or Tuesday. Have a great day, everyone. Go Pack Go!
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