Behind Enemy Lines: Previewing Packers-Bears in Week 2 with Windy City Gridiron

After a tough loss against the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday, the Green Bay Packers will face off against another divisional opponent, the Chicago Bears, on Sunday Night Football in Week 2. To get a Bears fan’s perspective on the game, Acme Packing Company was able to ask a writer Patti Curl from Windy City Gridiron — our Bears sister site — five questions about the upcoming matchup.

APC: How is the Chicago Bears’ offensive line looking? We’ve seen the headlines about 2021 second-round pick Teven Jenkins struggling to see the field consistently.

Curl: They actually looked better than expected last week. Teven Jenkins has had a roller coaster off-season but his outlook has consistently improved since he made the switch to guard. Jenkins started last week but shared snaps in a rotation with (former Packer) Lucas Patrick. He played well in his time on the field. He’s the most athletically gifted Bear on the line and I think he’ll be the best player as well by the end of the season. Over all, the line looks to be below average but not disastrous.

APC: How much of Green Bay’s influence has new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy shown?

Curl: I’m not sure we’ve completely seen what Getsy wants to do on offense yet. The weather last week definitely affected Fields' ability to grip the ball which limited the passing game. We did see more zone runs, screen passes, and play action from last year and the offense certainly looks more like last year’s Green Bay offense than last year’s Bears offense, but those concepts aren’t unique to Green Bay.

Ultimately, I’d like to avoid giving Green Bay credit if at all possible. I assume he learned most of his relevant knowledge in his time as offensive coordinator for West Virginia Wesleyan College in 2009.

APC: Which new players are expected to be significant contributors to this Bears team?

Curl: Almost half of this team is new players. On defense, rookies Jaquan Brisker (safety) and Kyler Gordon (CB) have taken on big roles early, and Dominique Robinson terrorized SF as a rotational edge. On offense, rookie fifth-round pick Braxton Jones is starting at left tackle, and Darnell Mooney is the only carry-over receiver. The rookies have looked better than expected so far. I hope this isn’t the week we see their growing pains.

APC: We all saw the conditions that the Week 1 game was played in. How translatable was the success of the Bears on Sunday to future games?

Curl: It was a silly game at times, and the weather brought in some extra unpredictable factors that probably went the Bears' way on average, but I don’t think the win was meaningless. The translatable things that impressed me were the Bears' discipline (3 penalties to the 49ers 13,541) their resilience/mental toughness to come back after a thoroughly disturbing first half, and their ability to make successful halftime adjustments. These all come down to coaching on some level, and it's made me excited for the Eberflus era.

APC: Aaron Rodgers’ passing total is listed at 245.5 yards per DraftKings. What do the Bears need to do to hold him to the under there?

Curl: The Bears will have to keep him from getting too many passing yards from running backs. Luckily, Roquan Smith is one of the better coverage linebackers in the league. Besides that, they can’t let Christian Watson beat them deep two times because I assume he’ll drop it at least the first time.