Keys To Victory: Can the Chicago Bears Pull Off A Week One Upset?
By Usayd Koshul
3. Protect Mitchell Trubisky and protect the ball
Sometimes, people tend to look at the Packers defense and cite the lack of pass rush as a major reason as to why Green Bay seems to have a bottom ten defense each season. To be fair, the Packers front seven consists of four players (Mike Daniels, Clay Matthews, Kenny Clark, and Nick Perry) that consistently pressure the opposing team’s quarterback. In 2017, the same four players accounted for 24 of the Packers 37 sacks. The same four players forced five of the Packers ten fumbles last year as well.
A big key to the Bears winning on Sunday will be protecting Mitchell Trubisky. The biggest reason for doing so is because this is the first time that the Bears starting offense will be playing together, which means there’s a chance some mistakes can occur. While these will likely not be major mistakes, they could end up having a game-changing effect that could negatively impact the Bears.
The Packers will be looking to force more turnovers under new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. The last time Pettine was the coach of an NFL team (2014-2015 with the Cleveland Browns), he constructed a top-ten defense which had a total of 32 interceptions in two seasons. Now, as he gets ready to return to NFL sidelines, it looks as if the Packers will have an offense that will fly all over the field. It’s extremely critical that the Bears protect the ball. Jordan Howard had just one fumble in 2017, and if he can protect the ball on Sunday night after the Bears have established a lead, then the Bears can win the game.
Conclusion
If the Bears can win on Sunday night, then the entire city of Chicago will be given new hope. The last time the Bears beat the Packers was on Thanksgiving night in 2015 during the John Fox era. If the Bears first win of the Matt Nagy era is over the Green Bay Packers, then this game will be talked about for a long time. However, the Bears cannot get too ahead of themselves. The Bears easily have a more talented team at every position besides quarterback, but they must learn to gel together and play consistently if they want to win. There’s no denying that Green Bay will do everything in its power to slow this team down, meaning the Bears must be aware of what the Packers are doing every moment of the game.
Prediction: Bears 24, Packers 17