5 X-factors for Chicago Bears in Week 1
2. Tarik Cohen
With the injury of Trey Burton, Tarik Cohen is going to be a make or break player in this game. Remember back to the playoff game, the injury to Burton caused the Eagles defense to put attention of Cohen. Malcolm Jenkins, along with bracket stunted Cohen and the Bears had no other tricks up their sleeve.
However, the Packers defense is not the Eagles. They made some key acquisitions on defense, but a lot of them are up front in their pass rush. They drafted Darnell Savage and Adrian Amos, but those two are going to have to shuffle and play deep on the outsides. One will have to play deep.
The other can dip into the box to take on Cohen at times, but the addition of David Montgomery as a pass catcher and runner was made to keep starting safeties away from Cohen.
The Packers are thin at linebacker with Oren Burks out to start the season. They just released former second round pick Josh Jones. The Packers weakness is the short middle of the field.
This is a great spot for Burton to take advantage. However, with Montgomery and Patterson, this could open the middle of the field for Cohen to take advantage of weaker depth options on their defense.