It’s never easy for the Bears to beat the Packers, especially at Lambeau, and it certainly won’t be an easy task tonight. But this scrappy, try-hard, disciplined group of Bears believe they have the formula to compete with anybody.
By Herb Howard
The Chicago Bears are taking their talents to Green Bay, into Lambeau Field to face the Packers. The Monsters of the Midway arrive with great confidence, having opened their season last week with a victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Soldier Field. Not many people have high expectations for this Bears team. Some NFL power rankings had them listed as the worst team in the League coming into this season. Lots of analysts predicted they’d win 3 or 4 games all year. But if the Bears can pull off the upset over Green Bay on Sunday Night Football, they will have a pretty good chance at starting the season 3-0, with the Houston Texans coming to Chicago next week.
It’s never easy for the Bears to beat the Packers, especially at Lambeau, and it certainly won’t be an easy task tonight. But this scrappy, try-hard, disciplined group of Bears believe they have the formula to compete with anybody.
Here are my keys to the game for a Bears victory:
Chicago cannot turn the ball over
Every Bears offensive drive must end with points or a punt. That starts with securing the ball in the return game, so they can’t have any muffed punts or fumbles by a returner. Then, Justin Fields and the offense has to protect the ball. No misreading coverages, like we saw on the interception last week. No ill-advised throws into heavy traffic, like the one that nearly resulted in a Pick6 on the first play of the season. And they cannot be careless ball carriers. The Bears simply cannot give Aaron Rogers extra possessions. It’s gonna be hard enough to limit the Packers scoring when they’re supposed to have the ball. But if the Bears give A-Rod extra possessions, they will certainly lose the game.
Steal a possession
The Bears are gonna need an extra possession in this game. They must find a way to manufacture an extra drive. How they do it doesn’t matter. But if they can give themselves an additional possession while taking one away from Aaron Rogers, it could mean as much as a 14 point swing. The most conventional way is to create a turnover on Defense. Get an interception, force a fumble. Rogers is notoriously hard to pick off. But, if the opportunity presents itself, the Bears must take advantage. They cannot afford to drop what is likely to be their only chance at an interception. They must continue to punch at the football all game. That mentality earned them a critical turnover last week. It would be huge if they could get another this week. The Bears may also be able to steal a possession on Special Teams, either via a turnover or a trick play. Forcing a fumble, a surprise onside kick, or a fake punt are all things the Bears should be looking for opportunities to execute.
Apply pressure
Aaron Rogers has been very good against the blitz throughout his career. So much so that many teams opt not to bring additional defenders to pressure him. They try to drop as many people into coverage as possible, in hopes of limiting him that way. NEWSFLASH: Aaron Rogers is pretty damn good against that tactic too. The Bears Defense needs to take the game to Rogers. Don’t sit back and let him dictate to you what’s going to happen. He has the patience and the discipline to pick you apart if you try to make him take the “long hard road”. The Bears have speedy, instinctive Linebackers that could get home on a well-timed, well-designed blitz. They also have Kyler Gordon, their talented Rookie Corner, who showed a good ability to bring pressure from the slot during training camp. The Bears aren’t gonna be reckless and leave themselves susceptible to the big play too often. But they should certainly choose some times to bring pressure, and make Rogers uncomfortable. The Bears didn’t blitz the 49ers at all last week. That could play in the Bears favor, as the Packers don’t have any tape of their pressure packages.
Bold Predictions
David Montgomery, who was bottled up all last week versus the 49ers, will have 100 yards rushing against the Packers. D-Mo is an excellent Running Back, and I don’t see him being shut down two weeks in a row. The Bears need to get him the ball early and often. He’ll help them win the time of possession battle, shorten the game, and keep Aaron Rogers on the sideline. Let’s go O-Line!
Dominique Robinson will register another sack this week. The 5th Rd Rookie Defensive End announced himself to the League in his NFL debut, notching 1.5 sacks against the 49ers. I think the kid will get to Rogers on Sunday Night Football.
Final Score
While writing this game preview, I almost talked myself into picking the Bears to win. But I just can't do it. As much as I want to, I won’t be picking the Bears over the Packers again until they actually beat them. Let’s face it, Aaron Rogers’ last name might as well be McCaskey.
The Bears will play hard, tough, disciplined football for four quarters. But it just won’t be enough. I’m taking the Packers to win, 20-13, in a hard-fought game that comes down to the last possession.
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