Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears: 5 matchups to watch

4. Packers offensive line vs Bears defensive line

In Week 1, the Packers offensive line looked like swiss cheese against Khalil Mack and the Bears front. This week, it’s very possible that the Packers will be without the right half of their offensive line. Right tackle Bryan Bulaga is dealing with an ongoing knee injury that could cause him to miss this week. Right guard Byron Bell also went onto injured reserve which will leave Justin McCray in charge of blocking Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman.

The Bears are tied with the Packers with 40 sacks on the season. Mack has only gotten better as the season has gone on, and, if Jason Spriggs is in charge of keeping Rodgers’ front side clean, Rodgers will be running for his life early and often. In addition to Mack, Hicks is one of the best interior defenders in the NFL, and McCray has been one of the worst guards in football. He can collapse the pocket on Rodgers, which greatly restricts his ability to escape the pocket.

Rodgers is great on the move, but he is absolutely lethal when he is in the pocket carving up opposing defenses.  It is well known that the best way to attack an aggressive defensive front is to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly to neutralize their rush. That worked extremely well in the second half of Week 1. If the Packers let the Bears defense get rolling early, the pass rush will only get more fierce.