The Chicago Bears (1-0) will battle the Green Bay Packers (0-1) on Sunday Night Football, where Chicago will be looking to finally turn the tide in this rivalry.
Chicago is coming off an upset win over the San Francisco 49ers (0-1) while Green Bay is nursing a brutal loss to the Minnesota Vikings (1-0). But that doesn’t change the fact that no one expects the Bears to manage their second consecutive upset of the 2022 season, especially against their kryptonite in the Packers.
As the Bears prepare to face the Packers, here’s what Chicago’s defense needs to do to slow down the Green Bay offense in Week 2.
1
Set the tone early
While there was some initial hesitancy to Matt Eberflus’ H.I.T.S. principle, it was the reason the Bears were able to upset the 49ers last Sunday. They played smart, discipled football and wore San Francisco down in less-than-favorable weather conditions. Chicago committed just three penalties and won the turnover battle, and that’s going to be huge for this game.
So often we’ve seen the Packers get off to fast starts in these contests, which has sometimes put the game beyond reach by halftime. The Bears defense is coming off a solid performance against a talented 49ers offense, where they set the tone early forcing a turnover and only allowing seven points at the half. It’s never easy going against Aaron Rodgers and this talented Green Bay offense, but if Chicago can set the tone early with another strong defensive performance, the Bears could have a chance to win this game.
2
Contain Aaron Jones and AJ Dillion
The Bears struggled at times to defend the run against the 49ers (allowing 176 rushing yards), and now they have a potent duo of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon on deck. Green Bay’s offense runs through those guys, but the Packers didn’t lean too heavily on them in the opener. That will surely change heading into this prime-time game against Chicago, where the Bears defense faces a tall order containing both Jones and Dillon.
In the last meeting in 2021, Jones had five carries for 35 yards (7 YPC) with a touchdown and added three catches for 30 yards and a score. Dillon had 15 carries for 71 yards (4.7 YPC). While Chicago’s strength is getting after the quarterback and the backend, they’re going to need to do a better job defending the run in this game.
3
Bring the pressure on Aaron Rodgers
It was a rough start for Aaron Rodgers in Week 1, whether it was finding chemistry with his new receivers or dealing with pressure from the Vikings defensive front. Rodgers was sacked four times last week and faced heavy pressure, something the Bears will look to replicate. There are plenty of questions across Green Bay’s offensive line, where both starting tackles David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins, as well as left guard Jon Runyan out with a concussion, could all miss Sunday night’s game.
It’s certainly an opportunity for the Chicago pass rush to feast, especially fifth-round rookie Dominique Robinson, who’s coming off a 1.5-sack outing in his first NFL start. The Bears didn’t blitz Trey Lance in Week 1, which is something that could change heading into this matchup as they simply can’t give Rodgers time to pick them apart.
