GREEN BAY – The Packers pulled away in the second half for a convincing 31-7 victory over the Bears on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Here are five takeaways from the triumph:
1. The Packers needed that one, badly.
Having lost to the North-rival Vikings in Week 1, and losing their home opener for the first time in 13 years two weeks later, the Packers would've put themselves in a tough spot with another division loss and another home loss.
Instead, they've pulled even with the Bears at 3-2 and gotten over .500 for the first time this year. They're still looking up at unbeaten Minnesota (5-0) in the division race, but they're squarely in the hunt.
"That was a huge win," QB Jordan Love said, later adding: "To be able to dominate somebody at home, NFC North opponent, it felt great."
2. The offense put up a barrage of big plays.
WR Christian Watson caught TD passes of 42 and 53 yards and had another 31-yard grab on his way to a six-catch, 143-yard day. Fellow WR Matthew Golden had receptions of 50 and 36 yards in his six-catch, 123-yard afternoon. Throw in a 46-yard catch and run by TE Tucker Kraft and the offense felt like an explosive play waiting to happen.
"Going into the game from a mentality standpoint, we wanted to be aggressive," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "We knew we were going to have to score some points, and our guys were making plays down the field."
On one sequence early in the third quarter, Love threw deep for Watson incomplete. Then he connected with undrafted rookie J. Michael Sturdivant for a 43-yard TD, only to have it called back on a dubious offensive pass interference call. So the next play was yet another deep shot, the 53-yard TD to Watson, who showed great body control as he hauled in the pass with defenders closing on him in the end zone.
"I said, 'Ball don't lie,'" Love said, referring to the fact the offense should've had a TD on Sturdivant's play but got one anyway to go ahead 20-7.
Love wound up with a sparkling 137.5 passer rating, throwing for 367 yards with just six incompletions (25-of-31). The offense would've approached 40 points if not for rookie K Trey Smack missing two field goals (43, 47) and one PAT.
"We kept our foot on the gas, Matt was dialing it up, and that's what it needs to look like," Love said.
"It's a flow state – feels like you're flowing out there – just play after play we're making those. It felt good to be able to do that at home."
3. The defense got into takeaway mode.
S Xavier McKinney intercepted Bears backup QB Tyson Bagent on Chicago's second drive of the game, diving to corral a deflection by S Javon Bullard. That set up Green Bay's second TD in as many chances to start the game, establishing a 14-0 lead.
The Bears put together one long drive before halftime, going 78 yards in 16 plays and taking 9:10 off the clock, scoring on RB D'Andre Swift's fourth-and-goal run from the 1.
But that turned out to be Chicago's only drive of consequence. Bears K Cairo Santos missed a 43-yard field goal to keep the score 20-7 in the third quarter, and then Green Bay's defense took over.
The Packers generated takeaways on four straight possessions. McKinney got his second INT of Bagent, who was replaced in the fourth quarter by Case Keenum. He was then intercepted by LB Ty'Ron Hopper at the goal line on fourth down, a scoring chance set up by a long kickoff return.
The Bears' next two drives both ended in fumbles, and the five takeaways became Green Bay's most in a game since 2016 (six vs. Seattle).
"It's amazing," Love said. "That's just a testament to the way they play, the play style. They were flying around. Just a terrific performance by them."
The Packers also held the league's No. 1 rushing offense, which was missing RB Kyle Monangai, to just 81 yards on the ground on 24 carries (3.4 avg).
"Hats off to the defense, they did a helluva job," LaFleur said.
4. The offensive line took another step forward.
Travis Glover stayed at right guard as Kevin Zeitler did not take over that starting job just yet. Laken Tomlinson started his second straight game at left guard.
Other than a rough sequence heading into halftime when Love was sacked twice by Austin Booker, the pass protection held up well for the second straight week.
Love was hit just five times total, the line wasn't called for holding and had only one false start, and the Packers got their first two rushing TDs on the season, also the first two of RB MarShawn Lloyd's career.
"The only time they really got to us was in that two-minute drive," LaFleur said of Chicago's pass rush. "We're getting better up front, and that makes all the difference in the world."
5. The defense lost another key player for the second straight week.
After seeing LB Edgerrin Cooper go down in Tampa last week with a season-ending Achilles injury, the Packers appear to have lost DT Javon Hargrave the same way.
Hargrave was carted off the field just after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, and LaFleur said "it doesn't look good," mentioning early indications of the Achilles.
"That kind of takes the air out of the room a little bit, when you lose such a … key piece to this team," LaFleur said. "It kind of puts a little bit of a cloud on the day."
WR/returner Skyy Moore (ankle) and CB Benjamin St-Juste (hamstring) also left the game with injuries, but no postgame update was provided.
