The Green Bay Packers sure do love Soldier Field. By winning their fifth straight game in the NFL’s oldest stadium they improved to 2-2 and stayed a game behind the division leading Detroit Lions.
In the end it was Same Old Jay, as in Jay Cutler, whose two interceptions turned the game around in the second half. Without Jay being Jay the Packers’ defense could not stop the Bears, who rolled up 498 yards of offense but could only manage 17 points, none of which came in the second half.
The Packers’ no-huddle offense was clicking against the woeful Bears’ defense. All of their scores were drives four minutes or less. Yes, it’s great when they are scoring every time, but not so much when you are not. You would think you might want to give your defense a rest every now and then.
Eddie Lacy has still not had that breakout game but when Aaron Rodgers is on fire like that it doesn’t matter. Mike McCarthy said he should have been putting the ball in Rodgers’ hand sooner in games and he did just that against the Bears. The running game will open up if they can keep passing it like that.
The Packers will face a better defense Thursday night when the Vikings come to town. The Vikings new head coach, Mike Zimmer, has had excellent success against the Packers when he was a defensive coordinator. It will be much tougher sledding than it was in Chicago.
Considering all the weapons the Bears have on offense, the Packers get a pass for giving up so many yards. It’s the points that count but you would like to get off the field and give the ball back to Rodgers and Co. a few more times a game. I would expect a better effort at home this week against a Vikings team minus its best player in Adrian Peterson.
The Packers need to get some momentum going now to put some pressure on the Lions, who have another easy game this week with a home game against Buffalo. The Packers should be favorites the next three weeks with a trip to Miami and home against Carolina following the Vikings game. Time to start rolling.