It must be tempting to rest on your laurels when your defense has put together solid showings in consecutive weeks like the Green Bay Packers have. It becomes even easier to fall for the trap when you’re going up against one of the worst statistical offenses in the league like they did on Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Thankfully, Joe Barry’s scheme was bulletproof.
The Bears went eight plays and 80 yards for a touchdown on their opening drive of the game. For the remainder of the game, they could only carve out 197 total yards and seven more points. Barry didn’t have to get too exotic with his play-calling, and he didn’t have to put his foot on the accelerator because the Bears kept their own offensive scheme pretty vanilla.
On Sunday, it felt as though the Packers were waiting for the Bears to finally unleash rookie quarterback Justin Fields. They were waiting for that moment, and then they would make adjustments. Barry was ready to let the chess match begin between Matt Nagy and Bill Lazor and him, but that time never came. Like Fields’ other starts, this one too passed by without Chicago really letting it fly.
Perhaps it’s the route the Bears would prefer to go for now. The offensive line has struggled, and the defense has been pretty solid. They may believe they don’t need to get overzealous on offense. When you go up against the reigning MVP in Aaron Rodgers, who has historically torn Chicago apart, one would imagine it would call for a more aggressive mindset. The Bears thought otherwise and lost 24-14.
What’s most impressive from the defensive side of Green Bay’s performance on Sunday is that, even though they appeared to keep it pretty simple while trying to get Fields to make throws on the run, they still kept up the aggressiveness. It’s as if Green Bay was opening the door for Chicago to make it a wild scene when the Bears had the ball, but instead, Chicago shelled up and didn’t take the bait.
Kenny Clark led the way, notching two huge sacks for Green Bay. His first came when the Bears had 1st and 10 with 2:26 to go at the Green Bay 32-yard line. Clark sacked Fields for a loss of 12 yards. Chicago was staring down the barrel of a 3rd and 15 from the Packers’ 37-yard line two plays later, and Clark again got to Fields for a sack and a loss of 11 yards, knocking them completely out of field goal range. Chicago trailed 24-14 at the time, needing a touchdown and a field goal to tie. Clark emptied the gas tank on that drive and almost single-handedly assured Green Bay’s victory at Soldier Field. He wasn’t the only one to dial in despite Green Bay not needing to do anything overly fancy on defense.
Two weeks ago, the Packers claimed Rasul Douglas off of the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. On Sunday, he played a vital role on the defense.
On Chicago’s opening drive, they picked on Isaac Yiadom early and often. Yiadom was filling in for the injured Kevin King at cornerback, who had been filling in for the injured Jaire Alexander. You need a flowchart to keep up with all of Green Bay’s injuries.
Yiadom was torched on the first drive, and the biggest chess match Barry had all day was between his players. He pulled the plug on Yiadom and put in Douglas. The veteran cornerback came in and immediately pinballed around the field. What his role will be going forward with the Packers and how much he will play is yet to be determined. What doesn’t need a second look is this guy’s confidence — he plays with a ton of it.
Douglas was an immediate upgrade over Yiadom, and Barry deserves a ton of credit for pulling the plug on that blueprint after one drive. A lot of coaches and coordinators would cling to the original plan. Barry didn’t double down, and allowing Douglas to walk onto the field was the right choice. Douglas played with edge and swagger, ending the game second on the team in tackles with five.
Green Bay brilliantly responded to what Chicago laid out offensively. Granted, the Chicago offense came into the game 32nd-overall in the NFL and 32nd in passing. As everyone should know by this point, that means nothing if you don’t go out and execute. The Packers patiently waited for the Bears to take their chances and let their rookie quarterback sling it around, but it never really got to that point. As a result, the Packers could keep it simple and trust their players, and it worked out. Sometimes keeping it simple is the right strategy.
