Khalil Mack proves his worth
Head coach Matt Nagy told the Chicago media they would limit Khalil Mack’s snaps against the Packers Sunday night, as the All-Pro defensive end missed all of training camp due to his holdout with the Raiders. That didn’t stop the University of Buffalo product from causing havoc early and often, and proving to anyone who may have doubted, that he was indeed worth the two future first-round selections Chicago sent to Oakland.
While he did not play more than seven consecutive snaps Sunday night, Mack consistently provided pressure off the left side of the Bears defensive line. Working against Bryan Bulaga for the majority of the evening; 27 times one-on-one, Mack proved to be too much to handle for the former Pro-Bowler as he continually collapsed the pocket. In a critical moment on third-and-goal, Mack got to Packers back-up quarterback DeShone Kizer, causing a turnover and igniting Bears fans who infiltrated Lambeau Field. Those fans would have more to cheer about as Mack intercepted Kizer on a broken-down screen play and took it all the way back for a touchdown, all while Aaron Rodgers got his knee evaluated in the locker room.
When all was said and done, Mack ended with a sack, two turnovers , and a defensive touchdown staking an early claim to defensive player of the year. It’s performances like that which make every quarterback in the AFC West thankful that they no longer have to look across the line at No. 52.
Trubisky flashes potential, but still has work to do.
Mitchell Trubisky entered his sophomore season in the NFL hoping to follow in the footsteps of Jared Goff, who made immeasurable strides from year one to year two. For Trubisky and the Bears, it is evident that there is still work to be done in order for him to take that next step.
It was a tale of two halves for the young quarterback, as he came out having the Bears offense firing on all cylinders. Trubisky started the game off a perfect 7 for 7 for 104 yards. Quick and decisive decision making helped Trubisky lead the offense down the field with relative ease against Mike Pettine’s new-look Packers defense. Unfortunately for the Bears, those two drives would be the only glimpses of Trubisky’s potential.
After starting the game perfectly, Trubisky seemed unable to adjust to the Packers playing more zone coverage than he and the team anticipated. The confident passes to his first options in the first half faded into indecisive throws from the second-year quarterback, as he looked to try and find open receivers in smaller windows. He was only able to complete two passes over 10 yards in the second half. Finishing the game 16 for 28 for only 67 yards, he told reporters after the game, “We expected a lot of man on third-and-short and they came out and played a bunch of zone.”
Though this certainly a game that Trubisky and Co. would like to soon forget, there were moments; particularly in the first quarter, that should given Bears fans reason to be optimistic about their future. Once he is able to clean up his pre-snap reads, and access defenses more definitively, Trubisky could certainly be a quality quarterback.
Packers secondary shows depth and potential
When the Packers shipped off former first-round pick Damarious Randall to the Cleveland Browns, there were many fans questioning who exactly the team was going to have play corner come the start of the 2018 season. The Packers, to their credit, addressed the position by bringing back former Packer Tramon Williams, and using their first two draft picks on Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson. It was this new-look secondary that gave Pettine and Mike McCarthy reason for optimism after Sunday night.
Due to a lack of coverage linebackers, the Packers opted to play the majority of the game in a dime defense. It was the hope of Pettine that the athletic corners would be able to cover the likes of Tarik Cohen and Trey Burton, both of which seem to be in line for an increased workload in Matt Nagy’s new offense. Cohen and Burton only had 56 yards combined when the final whistle blew. They, however, were not the only offensive weapons held in check by the deep secondary, as no receiver had more than 25 yards receiving, besides Allen Robinson, who had a total of 61 yards.
With the additions of Alexander and Jackson, the Packers also seemed to be able to address one of the worst aspects of their defense last year, red-zone percentage. While admittedly a small sample size, the Packers held the Bears to a 25 percent red-zone percentage. That number is a staggering 35 percent increase over last year’s total, which sat at 60 percent. If this secondary, which did not allow a passing touchdown Sunday night, can continue to develop and build off a quality performance, this year’s Packers defense could find itself towards the top of defensive rankings at the end of the season.
In case it needed repeating, Aaron Rodgers is on another level
As Aaron Rodgers took the long drive to the locker room, Packer fans across the country let out a collective sigh. They had seen this play before, and it wasn’t pretty. Then, as the teams came out for the second half, Rodgers emerged and reminded everyone that we are all watching one of the all-time greats.
Opening up the second half, Twitter was ablaze with hot takes on how the Packers shouldn’t be running Rodgers back out there, with the Packers down, and Mack and Co. imposing their will upon the Packer offense. Rodgers spoke with McCarthy and explained with his lack of mobility, that he wanted the offense run out of the shotgun or the pistol, nothing under center. It was this necessary adjustment that allowed Rodgers to get the ball out of his hand at a far faster rate on his way to a perfect passer rating in the second half, albeit on one leg. Along with running the offense out of the gun, Rodgers and the Packers offense picked up the tempo and went no-huddle, which successfully neutralized the pass rush of the Bears.
It was this perfect passer rating that helped the Packers claw back from a 17-point deficit and a Bears winning percentage that topped out at 98.2 percent. In a career riddled with clutch performances, Rodgers brought the Packers back from the brink of defeat, and reminded the entire league that as long as he’s wearing the green and yellow, the Packers are never out of a game.
Packers offensive line has to find cohesion, and fast
It can be argued that the most important unit on the entire football field is the offensive line. For the Packers, it is that line that needs to be able to improve from their Week 1 performance against the Bears. While the Packers can hold their heads high after the impressive come from behind victory, much of the offensive line play was left to be desired.
Bryan Bulaga, who is coming back from a torn ACL, had his hands full when it came to blocking Mack. The former Iowa Hawkeye only received help on four occasions against the All-Pro defensive end, twice from chip blocks by Jimmy Graham, and two double-teams from right guard Justin McCray. None of those instances proved to be very effective as Mack had a first half for the record books with two turnovers, a sack and a touchdown.
Bulaga wasn’t the only Packer who struggled against the Bears front Sunday evening. McCray himself; who won the starting job out of camp, struggled against Akiem Hicks most of the night. It was Hicks who was caused a fumble early in the game, that the Packers were able to recover. He was also involved in the sack that sent Rodgers to the locker room.
The struggles of Bulaga and McCray were in part a result of the Packers gameplan to not rely on double-teams throughout the game. Bulaga told reporters after the game, “They expect us to win one-on-one matchups and we have to do that.”
While many will point to the protection improving during the second half, it must be stated that Rodgers’ quick release and work out of the pistol masked a lot of the deficiencies the offensive line was having. With Aaron determined to play next week against the Minnesota Vikings, the offensive line; which hadn’t taken a snap as a full unit until the very first snap of Sunday’s game, needs to come together quickly to protect him.
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