The differences in execution where and when it matters most accurately depicts where these teams are at the moment. Meanwhile, Green Bay’s first true test without having top wideout Jordy Nelson, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, went better than many expected.
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Jones, who spent seven seasons in Green Bay before signing with Oakland previous year , caught four passes for 51 yards. “I think that’s a credit to him and the way that he approaches his job”.
The ideal evidence in this is the adjustment the Packers made in the second half. That being said, his Week 1 performance was impressive, and Forte would drastically improve the running back situations of many competitive teams around the NFL.
That call set up a short touchdown run by Eddie Lacy that clinched the game, putting the Packers ahead, 31-16. “We were really fortunate that he was available at the end of the cuts”.
“We were in double-digits missed tackles”. Only thing is you can’t predict what team will show up on game day.
“From the standpoint of the fight that we had and the resilience that we had out there at the end of the game, it speaks volumes of the culture that’s being instilled here and the demeanor that’s being instilled here in our players by our coaching staff”, Long said Monday.
Running back Matt Forte nearly single-handedly kept Chicago in the game by rushing for 141 yards on 24 carries but the Bears, mystifyingly, did not hand off to Forte at a critical point in the fourth quarter.
Much of the day went according to plan for John Fox and the Chicago Bears. “Maybe they were using me as a decoy and I didn’t know about it”. “But it didn’t come to fruition”. Sure enough, after going more than 55 minutes without a turnover, Cutler threw an ill-advised pass to tight end Martellus Bennett over the middle deep in Green Bay territory, and roving Packers linebacker Clay Matthews jumped in front of Bennett to pick it off to foil Chicago’s late rally.
So should Packers fans worry about their defense after one game?
Cutler completed 18 of 36 passes for 225 yards.
“There’s a reason Jay (Cutler) can’t make that throw – it’s because there’s a guy with his arms up his face”, Long said. “I mean, it’s nothing they did”.
The Bears were considered big underdogs going into the contest, which may have surprised some viewers as the game was closely contested throughout. Coming into this game, the Bears were outscored 72-14 in the last six quarters against Green Bay. “I think Jay was right in the way he was looking at his progression”.
After watching several re-runs of the Bears’ 31-23 loss to the Packers Sunday, it’s hard not to be encouraged about the ability they showed to compete on offense, but also difficult to be too optimistic about how long it’s going to take the defense to catch up. Aaron Rodgers & Co. didn’t have many opportunities to work with the football Sunday.
Forte also got involved in the passing game, hauling in five of his eight targets totaling 25 yards through the air. On their opening series, right guard Vladimir Ducasse’s false start put them in second-and-11 from the 13, and they settled for a field goal.
– Mixed reviews on Kyle Long’s first game at right tackle. Defensively, the Bears tried to avoid the big mistake and did, but it let Rodgers nibble away and get the Packers down the field.
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GB-R.Cobb 5 yard pass from A.Rodgers (Crosby kick), 10:26.
