Week 6 Know the Foe: Packers @ Chicago Bears

Know the Foe: Packers @ Chicago Bears

What a wild ride Week 5 was for the Green Bay Packers. In an overtime battle that neither team wanted to take, Mason Crosby sealed the deal. Green Bay went to 4-1 with a 25-22 final. Now it’s on to Bear Week for the first meeting in 2021 with the team from The Windy City. Green Bay will head south to face the Chicago Bears who have won two straight to bring their record to 3-2. Like the last 100 years, throw the records and numbers out the window because this rivalry is always unpredictable.

A New Era on Offense

Just looking at the numbers on offense for the Bears, they appear underwhelming. Entering Week 6, Chicago is coming in at 30th in scoring offense. Their passing game is even lower with just 728 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season. However, there is optimism from Bear Nation as the Justin Fields era has begun. The rookie is off to a rough start but he did throw his first career touchdown pass last week. The first-round pick out of Ohio State is an impressive athlete. Fields is a good-sized quarterback with a live arm. He also can move and presents problems running the rock.

Fortunately for Fields, he has some nice targets to work with. Eight-year veteran Allen Robinson has always found ways to produce with sub-par quarterback play. In his 3 seasons with the Bears, Robinson has over 3,100 yards and 17 touchdowns. Robinson is a bigs strong problem for any CB one-on-one, but he is far from the only threat. After flashing in his rookie campaign, Darnell Mooney has arrived. Leading the team with 20 receptions and 261 yards, Mooney is a slot type wideout that can separate quickly. While he hasn’t found the end zone yet it’s just a matter of time that he and Fields find some success.

When lead back David Montgomery went down the running attack took a hit. The Chicago offensive line is a weak spot but Montgomery was still averaging 4.5 per carry. Now the load is on free agent edition Damien Williams and rookie Khalil Herbert.  With a struggling OL, Green Bay will need to win in the trenches.

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Monsters of the Midway

Though the Bears defense has been middle of the league statistically, they still are respected league-wide. This unit fields big names at all levels that can give offensive coordinators fits. Of course, it starts with the pass rush and the dangerous Khalil Mack. He is off to a hot start in 2021 with 5 sacks in the last four games. Mack has everything you want in a pass-rusher. He’s explosive, strong, and plays with a nasty streak. Also, an eleven-year vet is on the other side in the form of speedy edge rusher Robert Quinn. Quinn comes in with 4.5 QB takedowns to his credit. The Bears lost backup Jeremiah Attaochu for the season, but Trevis Gipson has back-to-back games with a sack as well.

Respected DL

As good as the Bears edge rushers are, I’ve always held their interior defensive line in hard high regards. Akiem Hicks didn’t play last week but he is an absolute load. Hicks controls the line of scrimmage and wrecks plays before they start. The younger Eddie Goldman isn’t much different. He too is huge (6’4″ 325 lbs.) and pushes the pocket up the middle. Bilal Nichols and Mario Edwards both work the other five-tech position and can also get up field.

This stout defensive line keeps their uber-athletic linebacker Roquan Smith clean to work. He has done nothing but improve during his four-year career. Smith flashes around the field and leads the team in tackles. He is really fun to watch but can get out of position at times. Pro Football Focus has always been hard on him but he is a good player.

The Bears secondary is where Green Bay wants to attack. Second-year pro cornerback Jaylon Johnson has become the guy. Johnson is an up-and-coming player with sticky coverage skills. He will have his hands full with all-world Davante Adams though. In 2018 Eddie Jackson emerged as one of the best safeties in football. Since then, however, he has fallen off a cliff. Putting it bluntly Jackson has become a liability especially tackling. Outside of Johnson, Green Bay will look to attack the rest of the secondary and should have a distinct matchup advantage.

Thank you for reading Know the Foe: Packers @ Chicago Bears. Be sure to check out all of the great NFL content available on Full Press Coverage.

– Jesse Hall is a writer for Full Press Coverage Packers. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @hall_jhall1212 Follow @FPCoverage and Facebook.

– Kyle Senra is the managing editor for Full Press Coverage Packers. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @SenraSays Follow @FPC_Packers and Facebook.