It’s Deja Vu all over again as Pack wins in Chi-town
The Packers started the season on a high note as they took it to their old rival, the Chicago Bears, to the tune of a 38-20 victory at Soldier Field.
The Bears got the ball to start the game and turned it over on downs when Preston Smith prevented Justin Fields from getting the first down on 4th and 1. Jordan Love and the Packers drove down for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The Bears answered with a few field goals, but rookie kicker Anders Carlson kicked a 52-yard field goal to end the first half for a 10-6 lead. They scored touchdowns on their first two drives after halftime before the Bears cut it to 24-14. The Packers answered with two more touchdowns, one on offense and one on defense, to take a commanding lead before the Bears scored a late touchdown for score cosmetics.
Thoughts about this game and there are many:
One of the ways to set up a young quarterback for success is to start him off with a short field. After Fields got stuffed at his own 40-yard line, Love and the Packers lost yards on their first two plays, but he delivered a clutch 13-yard pass to Romeo Doubs to move the chains. Aaron Jones got some nice chunks of yards, and Love converted on third down once again to Doubs, this time for an 8-yard touchdown.
The Packers would only get 33 yards of offense their next three drives, all of them ending in punts, but they moved the ball enough to get a field goal right before halftime. They did a nice job of making adjustments at halftime and scored three touchdowns on offense in the second half and even scored one on defense.
Aaron Jones had himself quite a game, but he appeared to suffer a hamstring injury after scoring his second touchdown of the afternoon. It doesn’t appear to be serious, but they still kept him on the sidelines the remainder of the game as a precaution.
The Packers still have areas to work on and I want them to clean up their penalties. The Packers gave the Bears 35 yards on penalties, including a 15-yard penalty on special teams, to aid the Bears’ first touchdown drive of the game. I was especially disappointed in Rudy Ford, who committed a very dumb unnecessary roughness penalty, moving the Bears to the GB 21-yard line. The Bears cut it to 24-14, giving the team life and getting the fans back into the game.
In the end, there was little to worry about as the Packers reestablished control of the game with another touchdown, a beautiful back-shoulder throw to Romeo Doubs for his second TD of the game and Love’s third TD pass. Quay Walker put an exclamation point on the game with his interception and runback for a TD.
All things considered, Jordan Love passed his first test. He put together some nice drives and didn’t turn the ball over. The Packers have won 9 straight games over the Bears and now lead the all-time series 106-95-6.
It is a nice start to the season, especially after the previous two seasons, where they looked flat and overwhelmed in Week 1 both times. It is a nice start, but that’s all it is, a nice start. They now head to Atlanta next Sunday to take on the Falcons. In the meantime, enjoy this win Packer fans and have a great week!
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackersFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
