5 Takeaways from Packers Week One Win Over Bears

The Green Bay Packers could not have asked for a better start to the regular season, as they defeated the Chicago Bears 38-20 this past Sunday. While there’s a lot to take away from the first game of the season, I came up with five main takeaways that stood out to me.

1. Packers Offense Moved The Ball

Out of all the things that stood out, this one ranked pretty high. While missing their young star wide receiver Christian Watson and having a limited Romeo Doubs, Jordan Love came into week one with a lot of unproven young talent around him.

While having the arguably best running back duo around him in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon helps a lot, the Packers moved the ball both on the ground and, more importantly, through the air. Love and Doubs were the leading drivers through the air. Some highlights included Doubs with two touchdown receptions, on two perfectly placed balls from Love, as well as rookie playmakers Jayden Reed and Luke Musgrave both having big receptions as well. Jones proved once again he is a top running back in the league by driving the offense both on the ground and through the air as well.

2. The Packers Dominated The Trenches On Both Sides Of The Ball

They say the game is truly won in the trenches, and the Packers were able to dominate them on both sides of the ball.

First, on the offensive side of the ball, the offense rarely even gave up pressure. One sack later in the game was the one and only for Chicago, as the offensive line all the way across locked down the Chicago pass rush and shoved them backward in the running game. Having that same protection for Love will also be ideal next week against Atlanta.

As for the defensive side of the ball, Fields was under consistent pressure all day, both due to the secondary playing great, but also much thanks to the pass rush. Some standouts included Rashan Gary, who had five pressures on only ten snaps, which is an insane rate. Other standouts included the rookies stepping up as both Lukas Van Ness and Karl Brooks recorded their first career sacks. If you thought the defensive line was stacked already, Devonte Wyatt showed he is putting it together as well. He was in the backfield all game and led the Packers’ pass rush with one and a half sacks.

3. The Secondary Balled Out

All of the offseason hype with the Bears adding DJ Moore was shut down on Sunday. Along with the pass rush, the secondary also balled out and shut down the Bears’ offense.

Jaire Alexander being able to roam with the wide receiver one proved itself again, with Moore only catching two balls for twenty-five yards. Another standout in the secondary was Darnell Savage. With an up-and-down season last year, Savage was flying around and led the team in total tackles with ten. Rasul Douglas would also get in on the highlights with a fumble recovery as well. In the first game of the season, this defense was truly dominant and won the turnover battle for the Packers too.

4.  Jordan Love Proved He Is Capable

One thing that stood out on the offense, was none other than the one commanding it. As you can imagine, your first time starting the season as quarterback with a game against a big rival, means that you will have all eyes on you. Love was poised in the pocket and didn’t flinch when the pressure came.

One highlight was the first touchdown throw to Doubs. Watching the film, you can see the pocket start closing in. Instead of tucking it and taking the sack, Love stepped up strong in the pocket and delivered a strike to Doubs in the back middle of the endzone.

Those plays are the ones you talk about why he is not viewed as a rookie. While his experience is just getting started playing-wise, his experience goes beyond that. Another clip to go back and view is the touchdown throw to Doubs for the second time. Not to compare the two, but that throw from Love to Doubs had a Rodgers-like ball placement on it. There are not many quarterbacks in the league who make that throw currently. While Romeo made a wide receiver one-type catch, the ball was placed where only Doubs could go up and make a play. Otherwise, it was an overthrow. Overall, Love threw for 245 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions on a day where you couldn’t have asked for a better start with beating an NFC North rival to top it all.

5. The Rookies Are Making Plays Already

Whether on offense or defense, the rookies were already making plays in their NFL debuts on Sunday.

On offense, Jayden Reed made a catch on a long third down in the second half that really seemed to keep the momentum in favor of the Packers. Reed, who finished with two receptions for forty-eight yards, wasn’t the only one making plays for the offensive rookies. Luke Musgrave was also very effective in his first career start as well. Including a huge deep ball reception off a fumbled snap, Musgrave showed his ability to get open for Love and finished with three receptions for fifty yards as well. If the rookies can continue to get open on offense, the possibilities where Love can throw the ball will expand even more.

On the defensive side of the ball, Lukas Van Ness, and Karl Brooks both recorded their first sack of their NFL careers. In a deep defensive line and edge room, the rookies shined in the snaps that they were given. One more rookie who stood out was Colby Wooden. He made multiple plays in the run that bottled up the Chicago run game. If these rookies are starting off this effectively already, hopefully, they can continue to do so, as it will give this young team an even bigger boost.

Overall, this was a very positive start to the year for the Packers, and they will look to continue this momentum into week two on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. If you’re looking forward to week two, watch out for my things to watch in the week two article coming out soon!