Instant Takeaways from Packers Bounce Back Win Over Bears

The game began with the Green Bay Packers stalling out in the red zone and then the Bears’ offensive putting up a quick touchdown. But the Packers settled in quickly, and as the more talented team, took control—although they failed to put the game away.

Here are the instant takeaways from the Packers’ performance.

-After seven snaps together last week, on the opening drive, we saw Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon on the field together on four occasions, and that continued throughout the game. Those two playing together not only gives each more opportunities, but it provides Matt LaFleur added flexibility as a play-caller and can open up the passing game for others. However, this past week, LaFleur did say they had to be mindful of how often they are used together; if the Packers have a large package of plays for those two and one gets injured, a portion of the playbook will not be utilized. Perhaps LaFleur felt more comfortable using them together against the Bears because Patrick Taylor was elevated as the third running back.

– As there should have been, there was an emphasis on getting Jones and Dillon touches early on. Something that didn’t happen as often as it should have in Week 1. This also isn’t ground-breaking info, but Jones is so dynamic with the ball in his hands. He has excellent vision, balance, quick burst, and is a hard runner.

– On several of those wide runs, you will find Marcedes Lewis and Josiah Deguara taking their man out of the play as blockers.

– Another week, another rough opening drive for the Packers’ defense. There were a lot of wide running lanes for David Montgomery, and Jarie Alexander got spun around on a flea-flicker to Equanimeous St. Brown. They bounced back incredibly well after that, at one point forcing four straight punts, but really struggling to tackle the Bears’ running backs in the second half, which helped extend a few drives.

– You could tell early on that there was a little bit of rust that Elgton Jenkins had to shake off.

– With that said, the play of the offensive line was so much more improved. Jones and Dillon had big running lanes, and Rodgers had time on longer developing routes, for the most part.

– It didn’t look like the best outing for Josh Myers, who missed a block early on, was called for a penalty, and had that miscommunication while Watson was in motion, causing another fumble.

– Allen Lazard returned, and his impact was felt right away. He came up with a third-down conversion and made a key block on Aaron Jones’ touchdown run in the second quarter. He then had a touchdown of his own from the slot.

– Matt LaFleur had a heck of a night as a play caller, specifically with the run game. He was finding all sorts of creative ways to get Jones and Dillon the ball and, as already mentioned, utilizing them on the field together. However, the offense did a poor job of putting the Bears away in the second half—to many miscues between the fumble and botched snap by Josh Myers with Watson in motion.

– It was only a matter of time, but the Packers’ defensive front began winning the line of scrimmage in that second quarter. This is a matchup against the Bears offensive line that they should have dominated. The defensive front, specifically the edge rushers, did a good job as well of keeping Fields in the pocket and not letting him extend plays.

– Preston Smith has had a really nice start to the season.

– Packers were really mixing and matching their receivers throughout the first half. Overall, nine different pass-catchers had at least one target.

– After a quiet Week 1, Sammy Watkins totaled 93 yards on three receptions against the Bears. Randall Cobb also had a few key receptions as well.

– LaFleur and Rodgers have to continue to find ways to get the ball into the hands of Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson. Both are so dynamic with the ball in their hands.

– The Packers didn’t have to lean heavily on the passing game, but at least upon the initial viewing, there weren’t a ton of openings for Rodgers with his first read. Rodgers did, however, look more comfortable maneuvering the pocket, which I’m guessing comes with the confidence of having Jenkins at tackle.

– Last week, the Packers were just 1/3 in the red zone, and as we know, they struggled inside the 20-yard line last season. Tonight they were an improved 3/5 on attempts.

– Once again, it was another fundamentally sound performance by the special teams unit. They maintained their lane integrity, swarmed to the ball, and were reliable with their tackling and blocking.