4 takeaways for the Green Bay Packers after impressive win over the Chicago Bears

The new era for the Green Bay Packers got off to a hot start this weekend, crushing the Chicago Bears 38-20 in an impressive rout. Jordan Love played superb and looked like a vet in the pocket, Aaron Jones was outstanding, and all the young players made a significant impact on the game.

Head coach Matt LaFleur was very pleased with his side’s complete performance and will hope for more of the same in the coming weeks.

1. Lean on Aaron Jones and the Packers will win games

We have known for a while that Jones is a seriously good running back in the league and can do it all, but at times last season fans were calling for LaFleur to use him more as he is the most elite weapon they have on the roster. 

The first drive of the game he had five carries for 24 yards and then didn’t see a carry for the rest of the half. In the third quarter he took over.

A well worked throwback screen found him open with three blockers in front and he went down the sideline for 51 yards to eventually set up a rushing touchdown for himself on the 1-yard line. The following drive he caught a pass from Love on fourth-and-3 from 35 yards out and took it to the house. 

That drive did see him leave the game with a slight hamstring tweak, but the hope is it was just cramp. He finished the game with 41 rushing yards and 86 receiving yards and those two touchdowns.

If the Packers lean on him for their offense, they have enough pieces around that they will win plenty of games and may catch teams out.

2. Jordan Love was worth the wait

The biggest question mark surrounding the Packers was that of quarterback Jordan Love. With just minimal plays to his name in his three years in the NFL, the only thing to rely on was the noise coming out of the Green Bay camp and it’s far to say they were right.

With just one game left with Josh Allen facing off with Aaron Rodgers in Monday Night Football, Love leads the league with a 123.2 passer rating and was the only quarterback to throw for three touchdowns this weekend. Throughout the game he stayed in command and didn’t look phased by the prospect of playing at a divisional rival. 

The Packers converted nine of 15 third downs, one fourth down and went three for three for scoring a touchdown in the redzone. He led the team with composure and looked like he had played in that offense for years.

Of course it is only one game but Love looks like he could be a huge success leading the Packers.

3. Even without Watson, the weapons are dangerous

I personally was mostly excited to see the new tight ends that were drafted and the young wide receivers that the team have. Romeo Doubs was the real standout and the fourth round pick from last year finished with four receptions for 26 yards and two touchdowns.

The second of those was an excellent fade thrown by Love and Doubs reached high to bring it down for the score.

Fellow receiver and rookie Jayden Reed was explosive and went for 48 yards, including a 30 yard reception that would lead to a field goal and had a couple of impressive punt returns. Rookie tight end Luke Musgrave went for 50 yards with a huge 38 yard reception following Love dropping the ball from the snap. 

The only worry for the Packers is that they may miss Watson, Reed and Jones for next weeks game against the Atlanta Falcons and they would all be big losses. 

4. The Packers defense came to play

The Packers defense held strong throughout the game and having initially struggled with Justin Fields ability to scramble, they got to grips with him and stifled anything the Bears tried. As a whole, the defense finished with four sacks, six QB hits, seven tackles for a loss, five pass deflections, a force fumbled and then an interception for a pick six. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Fields finished with nine carries for 59 yards and that was mostly due to pressure. Outside of him the Bears had 20 carries for 63 yards and passing wise their biggest play was for just 23 yards. To sum up the difference in defenses, the Bears gave up the most pressures in week 1 with 25, the Packers gave up the fewest with just two.

The defensive line saw rookie Lukas Van Ness breakout and earn his first career sack on a scrambling Fields by showing off his athleticism. Sophomore Devonte Wyatt finished with three tackles, 1.5 sacks and was awarded with the forced fumble. Add in the return of elite pass rusher Rashan Gary, the experience of Kenny Clark and Preston Smith, the Packers have a scary pass rush. 

Quay Walker returned an interception for a touchdown and in his second year he will continue to grow alongside De’Vondre Campbell. Add in the cornerback duo of Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas and this defense could be one of the best we see this season.

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Next week Green Bay are on the road again to face the Atlanta Falcons and it will be interesting to see if they can keep impressing.