Three Overreactions From Week 1 Victory Over Bears

The Green Bay Packers kicked off the 2023 NFL season in style by beating the Chicago Bears 38-20. At this point, it’s fair to wonder if the Packers will ever lose to the Bears.

Author:
Bill Huber
Updated:
Sep 11, 2023 9:40 AM EDT
Original:
Sep 11, 2023

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers dominated the Chicago Bears with Brett Favre. In the sequel, the Packers dominated the Bears with Aaron Rodgers. Based on the opening scene of the trilogy, the Packers will dominate the Bears with Jordan Love.

The Packers cruised past the Bears 38-20 on Sunday for their eighth consecutive victory at Soldier Field. Love threw three touchdown passes, Aaron Jones was the best receiver on the field and Quay Walker was the best running back on the field.

Week 1 is about overreacting, though that’s what we’ll do after every game.

Matt LaFleur Will Never Lose to Bears

OK, so this isn’t just an overreaction but (probably?) an exaggeration after Packers coach Matt LaFleur improved to 9-0 vs. Chicago. Still, here’s the point. If the Bears couldn’t beat the Packers on Sunday, when will they beat their rivals? To recap:

- At quarterback, Justin Fields was entering his third season as the Bears’ starter while Love was making his much-anticipated debut.

- With the acquisition of D.J. Moore in a blockbuster trade and with Green Bay’s Christian Watson inactive, Fields had the advantage of having the best receiver on the field.

- Chicago had the worst record in the NFL last year but went out and bought a defense with the addition of five veteran starters in free agency.

- With the trade of Rodgers, Bears fans smelled blood in the water. Soldier Field was rocking.

None of it mattered. Rather than melt in the moment, Love dominated the individual matchup against Fields. Moore was a nonfactor, thanks to Jaire Alexander. In a big-play league, the Packers won on 30-yard plays (4-0) and turnovers (2-0).

With Green Bay up 10-6 at halftime, it was total domination in the second half. Walker’s pick-six made it 38-14.

“Nothing’s changed. We’re still the Packers,” Jones said.

And the Bears are still the Bears.

Joe Barry Has It All Figured Out

To say that members of Green Bay’s defense hinted at changes would be an understatement. Alexander said he’d be shadowing top receivers. Fellow cornerback Rasul Douglas, among others, said the defense would bring a more aggressive approach.

As defensive tackle Kenny Clark put it when asked about the team’s perennially porous run defense: “We’ve got a different plan and you’ll see on Sunday as far as the plan.”

Defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s plan was a winner. It started with sticking Alexander on Moore and taking away Chicago’s shiny new toy.

Moore, who averaged 73 receptions and 1,040 yards in five seasons with the Panthers, caught only two passes for 25 yards. Alexander followed Moore for most of the game and allowed just one catch.

“I thought it worked out well,” LaFleur said of putting Alexander on Moore. “Ja, he’s a guy that he wants those challenges. D.J. Moore is an elite receiver in this league. He’s a guy I’ve got a ton of respect for. He’s a dynamic playmaker and he’s dangerous when he gets the ball in his hands. Ja is an elite corner. He’s one of the best in the game. He’s got a lot of confidence, and we’ve got a lot of confidence in him.

Jaire Alexander (Photo by Mark Hoffman/USA Today Sports Images)

“But that could change on a weekly basis because I feel like we’ve got other guys. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Rasul Douglas, as well, and same with CV (Carrington Valentine). That will all be dictated by whatever game plan we have.”

The run game looked like a huge mismatch. In 2022, Chicago was first in yards per carry and Green Bay was 28th in yards allowed per carry. But the Bears managed just 4.21 per carry with a long of 12 yards. On 20 handoffs, the Bears running backs gained 3.15 yards per carry. Khalil Herbert, who ranked fifth in the NFL with 5.67 yards per carry last year, managed just 27 yards on nine attempts (3.0).

Chicago had just 219 yards until two meaningless possessions to end the game.

“We feel like everybody was sleeping on us,” Clark said. At the end of the day, it’s just one game, but it’s no secret to us. We put in the work. We know how we’ve been practicing. We know how we’ve been preparing. We know how locked in we’ve been. And for us to come out and get a win and make a statement like we did, put up as many points as we did and be plus-2 in the turnover ratio and how we played, it was just awesome to see.”

Brian Gutekunst Aces the NFL Draft

Rebuilding? Reloading? Retooling? Whatever “re” word you want to use, the Packers needed a resounding draft by general manager Brian Gutekunst as they transitioned into the Love era.

Gutekunst delivered.

First-round pick Lukas Van Ness didn’t have much of a training camp or preseason but his sack of Fields was rather incredible considering how dangerous Fields is in the open field.

“I thought it was a TFL, so I wasn’t sure,” said Van Ness, an Illinois native who had 15 supporters in attendance. “And then I realized I got my first sack there. It took a second to set in, but it was a special moment and just felt great.”

The second-round picks, tight end Luke Musgrave and receiver Jayden Reed, did what they did throughout training camp and the preseason: They got open and made plays. Musgrave caught three passes for 50 yards, including a 37-yarder to set up a touchdown. Reed caught only 2-of-5 targets but had a 30-yarder to set up a field goal at the end of the first half and added a 35-yard punt return to set up a touchdown.

The Day 3 defensive tackles, Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks, helped shut down Chicago’s powerhouse rushing attack, and Brooks added a fourth-quarter sack.

“I was really surprised I was able to get one my first game,” Brooks said. “I was praying last night. I just sat back and just imagined the game in my head a little bit. Getting one, it feels good. That’s my first career sack in the NFL. It’s a great feeling.”

Undrafted rookie receiver Malik Heath started after a tremendous training camp and fifth-round receiver Dontayvion Wicks played 62 percent of the snaps. Neither caught a pass and Wicks was penalized twice. Seventh-round cornerback Carrington Valentine played in obvious passing situations and got some garbage-time snaps in the base defense. Fifth-round quarterback Sean Clifford, who had an excellent preseason, closed out the game.

“I was really proud of our young guys. I’m not quite sure how many rookies we had out there today, but there were a lot of them,” LaFleur said. “That rookie class has got just, they love ball.”