Justin Fields and the Bears have back-to-back wins — but the rookie quarterback faces his toughest test so far as he takes on Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on Sunday.
It’s the oldest rivalry in football, but the Packers have had the upper hand for most of the past decade. The Bears have won just three games against the Packers and lost 19 since 2011.
James “Big Cat” Williams’ three keys to the game.
Former Bears offensive lineman James “Big Cat” Williams give us his take on Fields as starter and his three keys to the game against the Packers. (WTTW News graphic)
1. Okay, I know a lot of people will not agree with me after some of the hits quarterback Justin Fields took on Sunday from the Las Vegas Raiders, but I think the Bears need to get the most out of Fields’ ability to run with the ball — and not only scrambling. Fields also has to learn how to protect himself and that means doing a better job of sliding and getting out of bounds before taking a big hit. This isn’t college anymore, everyone on defense has the ability to drop the boom. Plus, the game has changed in such a way that referees are looking for any reason to throw a flag on a defender who hits the quarterback.
2. This week I’m looking forward to seeing what defensive coordinator Sean Desai comes up with for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Last week vs the Raiders we saw them stack the line of scrimmage with players to give the perception of blitz only to drop players out and only rush four. This forced the Raiders’ offensive line to block more one-on-one than they intended, allowing Mack, Quinn and Gibson to get sacks and pressure on Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr. This week Desai has the benefit of having senior defensive assistant Mike Pettine who was the Packers’ defensive coordinator from 2018-2020 on his team. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when they were talking about how to attack and upset Rodgers.
3. The Bears are three and 19 since 2011 against the Packers. It’s time to get back on track. For the first time in a long time we saw the Bears play good complimentary football against the Raiders. It’s going to take more of that to beat the Packers. The Bears offensively need to run the ball to keep third downs short and manageable, take shots down the field when they have the opportunity, and keep Aaron Rogers, Aaron Jones and Davante Adams off the field. Defensively, confusing Rogers has proven to be difficult over the years but confusing that offensive line is a good direction to go with Packers’ left tackle Elgton Jenkins and center Josh Myers both being listed as questionable. Blitzing Roquan Smith and different combinations of players along with the combination of Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn rushing on the same side hopefully adds up to a long day for that Packers offense.
Prediction: Bears 21 - Packers 24
Video: Williams attempts to name the Bears’ 16 starting quarterbacks since 2008.
