Packer Central

Packers 38, Bears 20: Five Standouts

The Green Bay Packers began a new era of football on Sunday. Here are five standouts from the Green Bay Packers' dominant victory over the Chicago Bears.

Jacob Westendorf

Packers 38, Bears 20: Five Standouts
Packers 38, Bears 20: Five Standouts /
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A new era in Green Bay has begun.

You'd have to forgive the Chicago Bears if they were wondering what was supposed to be new. 

Matt LaFleur improved to 9-0 against the Bears as the Packers' dominance over their rival continued on Sunday with a 38-20 victory. 

That includes outscoring the Bears in the second half 28-14.

Jordan Love made his first start and was solid if unspectacular, finishing the day 15-27 for 245 yards and three touchdown passes. That included a play that could have ended in disaster, but Love kept calm. 

After a fumbled snap he fired the ball down the field to a wide-open Luke Musgrave for a 37-yard completion. 

He threw a touchdown to Romeo Doubs on the next play, Love's third of the day. 

Love wasn't the only player that played today. 

Here are some of the standouts from the Packers' dominant win over the Bears. 

Lukas Van Ness

Tackling Justin Fields is tough work for any defensive player. Fields is one of the best running quarterbacks in all of football as evidenced by his 1,143 rushing yards from a season ago.

It's probably even more difficult when you're a rookie playing in your first NFL game, but Lukas Van Ness found a way to get Fields on the ground for the first sack of his career. 

The athleticism of Van Ness was on full display during the play, chasing Fields down before pulling him to the ground. 

Men who are as big as Van Ness are not supposed to be able to move like that. That's clearly part of what the Packers liked when they picked him 13th overall.

They have to be thrilled with his debut.

Rashan Gary

Rashan Gary is back. Gary being on the field alone is a big accomplishment considering he tore his ACL in November of last year. 

Gary was on a pitch count but announced his presence in a big way toward the end of the first half. 

Gary's pressure on Justin Fields, beating Chicago's first-round pick Darnell Wright to hit Fields' arm which caused a third down incompletion. 

Anders Carlson would hit a 52-yard field goal on the ensuing possession to give the Packers a 10-6 lead before the half. 

On a defense loaded with talent, Gary has a claim to be the team's best player on that side of the ball.

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Gary should only get better as he gets further removed from the injury. In addition, the further removed he is, the more snaps he should get. 

That should terrify opposing offenses. 

Aaron Jones

The first half felt like a game that was made for children.

The difference was instead of "Where's Waldo?" the question could have been "Where's Aaron?" 

Aaron Jones had five carries for 24 yards and a touchdown on Green Bay's opening drive. That drive led to a touchdown to give the Packers an early 7-0 lead.

It would be his last rushing attempt of the first half. He would not have any catches.

Whatever happened at halftime, Matt LaFleur changed his tune as a playcaller in the second half.

Jones touched the ball five times on an 8-play 75-yard drive, including a 51-yard play on a nifty throwback screen that got the Packers into the red zone. 

Jones finished the drive with a touchdown, giving the Packers a 17-6 lead. 

Jones' big day wasn't over. On 4th and 3 with 6:40 left to play in the third quarter, he caught a short pass from Jordan Love on a Texas route then left the Bears' defense in the dust. 

The play gave Green Bay a 24-6 lead. 

Jones is one of the most productive players at his position. If there's any issue with him, it's that he does not touch the ball enough. 

When he did today, the Packers offense looked good. When he didn't, it'd be nice to call it uninspiring. 

Jones left the game with a hamstring injury, which will be something to monitor as we go to week 2. 

Devonte Wyatt 

Wyatt was quiet toward the end of training camp after a strong start. 

With the inexperience along the defensive line, there was likely some concern as to what type of presence Wyatt and the young Packers could provide next to Kenny Clark. 

Wyatt announced his presence in a huge way during the second half.

After the Packers took the ball and scored to make it 17-6, Wyatt ensured the next Bears drive would not be an answer.

Wyatt didn't take the bait of a play-action fake of Justin Fields, rather staying with him on the bootleg.

Wyatt grabbed Fields and threw him on the ground for a huge loss that essentially ended the drive for Chicago.

Later, he'd make his presence known again. Fields escaped the clutches of Rashan Gary and took off down the field. 

Wyatt grabbed hold of Fields and helped knock the ball out for a forced fumble that was recovered by Rasul Douglas.

The Packers didn't score, but it was a huge play by Wyatt in year where the Packers desperately need him to have a big impact. 

Quay Walker

What a redemption story for Quay Walker.

The last time he was on the field, he was on the wrong end of an ejection in the Packers' season-ending 20-16 loss to the Detroit Lions. 

That was arguably the game that put into motion this new era in Green Bay.

Walker's ejection was the second of the season. 

Matt LaFleur was visibly upset with him during the game and even more so after. 

Walker talked about those ejections early in camp. He relied on teammate Jaire Alexander, who has taught him about meditation.

Walker said he had to give himself grace to move on from the issues that plagued him a season ago.

Today, Walker was on the receiving end of the exclamation point of a dominating win over his team's biggest rival. 

Justin Fields dropped back to pass and stared down his receiver. Walker secured the interception and showed off his return skills.

He broke a slew of tackles on his way to a 42-yard return for a touchdown to make the score 38-14. The game at that point for all intents and purposes, was over. 

The interception was quite a turnaround from the last game Walker played. 

More Green Bay Packers News

Packers vs. Bears: Yet another victory

Packers vs. Bears: Postgame grades

Packers vs. Bears: Five standouts

Packers vs. Bears: Jordan Love’s debut vs. Aaron Rodgers in 2008

Packers vs. Bears: Live updates

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Jacob Westendorf
JACOB WESTENDORF

Jacob Westendorf, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2015, is a writer for Packer Central, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: jacobwestendorf24@gmail.com History: Westendorf started writing for Packer Central in 2023. Twitter: https://twitter.com/JacobWestendorf Background: Westendorf graduated from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he earned a degree in communication with an emphasis in journalism and mass media. He worked in newspapers in Green Bay and Rockford, Illinois. He also interned at Packer Report for Bill Huber while earning his degree. In 2018, he became a staff writer for PackerReport.com, and a regular contributor on Packer Report's "Pack A Day Podcast." In 2020, he founded the media company Game On Wisconsin. In 2023, he rejoined Packer Central, which is part of Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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