There’s plenty of reason to be excited about the Green Bay Packers game on Sunday — Season opener! Jordan Love’s debut as QB1! A legendary rivalry! — but one of the most intriguing matchups is the Chicago Bears’ speedy offense tested against the Packers’ D.
The Bears added three new receivers to their squad during the 2023 offseason. They traded the first-overall pick to the Carolina Panthers for D.J. Moore in March and selected Tyler Scott, who ran a 4.44 40-yard dash, out of Cincinnati in the fourth round of this year’s draft.
Moore also displayed speed in the preseason, and Justin Fields does not need to throw the ball deep for them to make a big play.
Outside of those two, Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool are Chicago’s other receivers with potential this season, and they have had productive seasons in the past.
So, how does Green Bay’s defense slow them down?
Moore last played against the Packers in 2019 and 2020.
In 2019, he had nine receptions for 120 yards:
In 2020, he caught six balls for 131 yards:
Now, those two games took place under defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. But the roster still has some of the same players.
Jaire Alexander will most likely guard Moore unless the Packers run zone coverage and Moore moves to the opposite side. Since Alexander also has speed of his own, he’ll most likely play Moore right at the line for two reasons.
The first reason is to jam Moore at the line of scrimmage and disrupt his route. The second is in case the Bears attempt to throw a wide receiver screen his way. Having a defensive back right at the line eliminates that option.
If Tyler Scott plays at all, expect him to be in the slot either being covered by a safety or Carrington Valentine in a nickel set.
Claypool will most likely play opposite Moore. With the Pittsburgh Steelers, he has proven that he can be an effective deep threat and someone to look for in the middle of the field. Eric Stokes would most likely play him. But with the young cornerback out of Georgia on the PUP list, it seems that Rasul Douglas will be responsible for Claypool.
Mooney is similar to Claypool in that he’s also a possession receiver who can be an occasional deep threat for Fields. To defend him, Green Bay will likely use multiple corners on him and Darnell Savage or Rudy Ford should also play him man-to-man.
It wouldn’t be the first time that the Bears used their wide receivers’ speed to slay a Joe Barry-coached defense or the special teams. Remember that in December 2021, the Bears scored two touchdowns in the first half off of short passing plays and an additional one off a punt return.
Fields flipped a pass to Jakeem Grant Sr., who took it 46 yards for a touchdown. Afterward, Fields threw a slant pass to Damiere Byrd, who ran 55 yards for a score. Near the end of the first half, Grant caught a punt and returned it 97 yards to the house.
The Packers gave up 24 points in the first half of that game. But they adjusted their defense to play the receivers down low, and they only gave up six more points in the second half. In that game, Green Bay matched Stokes up with Allen Robinson Jr., who was a major deep threat for that team. He also has similar characteristics to, and may be better than, Mooney and Claypool.
If this is the style of offense that the Bears plan to use in Week 1, it doesn’t mean that they will score long touchdowns on Green Bay’s defense. But because Fields hasn’t been productive down the field in the past couple of years, we should expect a short pass offense for this game plan.
Should the Packers play down low and jam the receivers at the line, it will force Fields to throw the ball deeper downfield. That will make their offense less dimensional and contain it enough to allow Green Bay’s offense to win the game.
