Joe from Fargo, ND

All I have to say is, anyone who still doesn't believe this is a week-to-week league, is not paying attention. Great win though. GPG!

I say it all the time not because I enjoy repeating myself but because it's unequivocally true.

Colton from American Folk, UT

So this is how this team can look when everything is clicking?

I wouldn't say everything's clicking yet. But Sunday provided major progress.

Bruce from Palatine, IL

Didn't see that coming.

Neither did the Bears.

John from Tulsa, OK

Well, that was certainly what the doctor ordered. There's nothing more fun to watch than an effective air attack. But how do they get the running game going? It seems to be more of a blocking scheme problem than a running back problem. Especially on the left side.

The running game feels like the last big piece that needs to fall into place for the offense. The explosive passes were everywhere Sunday. The penalties were reduced. Ball security was better. Pass protection was sound for a second straight week. But the ground game still has too many negative plays. I don't know what the answer is but if LaFleur & Co. can find it, look out.

Lee from Citrus Heights, CA

Is it me or does catching the ball make a huge difference?

That, too, along with no offensive holding penalties, only one false start, no lost fumbles …

Mike from Geneva, IL

Before the season started, the Bears fans and Chicago media constantly talked about the fact the Packers didn't have a No. 1 wide receiver. In fact, many in the national media said the same thing. In hindsight, they were correct. The Packers have two No. 1 wide receivers! Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are becoming a very special tandem. Aside from the Bengals, is there a team in the league with a better duo this season?

I couldn't care less about comparisons. Watson and Golden are doing what they've been unleashed to do. Losing Jayden Reed wasn't part of the plan, but there's a reason the Packers moved on from Doubs and Wicks. They kept their best, most explosive guys, who are no longer job sharing but instead commanding attention from defenses out there. Future opponents are going to adjust and not let the Packers gash them like that, which should help the running game find its footing. Play single-high against these guys at your own risk. The Bears insisted on it, counted on their pass rush getting home, and paid for their miscalculation. Too much reliance on the big play is a valid concern, but by the same token, if defenses are daring you to attack over the top, you must make them regret it.

Nik from Moore, SC

When was the last time the Packers had two WR with over 100 yards in the same game?

Nov. 21, 2021, at Minnesota – MVS (123 yards) and Davante Adams (115) in a 34-31 loss.

Joe from Swansea, IL

Obviously, the play of the O-line was a big key Sunday. Do you think the starting five will change, or is it more important to keep continuity there?

Those will be interesting decisions for the coaching staff. Kevin Zeitler will be ready at some point, and Aaron Banks will be healthy again. I'm not sure what they'll do, but Laken Tomlinson and Travis Glover deserve kudos for calming the chaos of the first few weeks. Anthony Belton also appears to be settling in nicely.

Dave from Phoenix, AZ

Good morning II, it's gonna be a much brighter Inbox today! No question, just want your thoughts on MarShawn Lloyd's first rushing TD. The way he put his head down and barreled over Jaylon Johnson, that was a much-needed and great TD run. I believe that set the tone for us. Dude was not going to be denied and literally blew him up. Great game by the Pack but those missed kicks are a glaring concern, we left six points out there! Big SIGH of relief though!

Seven points actually including the missed PAT. The rookie kicker just got hit with a sizable dose of adversity. It's less important that it happened than how he responds to it now. As for Lloyd, that first TD was his best run as a pro in my view. More to the point, he was the most decisive he's been. There's still a long way to go with the ground game, as mentioned, but it was great to see Lloyd run with conviction.

Jackson from McLean, VA

Were you more impressed with the Packers' offensive line play or the defense shutting down the run yesterday?

The run defense deserves props. I know the Bears didn't have Monangai, but other than the one long drive in the second quarter, Swift couldn't get much going. Ben Johnson likes to control games on the ground to set up everything else for his offense – which is an even greater imperative with a backup QB – and the Packers didn't let that happen.

Gary from Bear Valley, WI

Was sun bathing at Lambeau today. Great game. I was impressed with No. 44, what a great communicator. How long is Zaire Franklin under contract?

Through next season. Franklin is the embodiment of leadership. He just exudes it in everything he does. He's right in the middle of all the action and provides a stabilizing force for a unit that unfortunately keeps losing key players to rough injuries. I'm sure he's not happy about that third-down holding penalty on Chicago's TD drive, but he'll own it and use it as a tool to show accountability in the film room with his teammates.

Brian from Phoenix, AZ

Great all-round game yesterday. Offense put it all together, great to see the long balls to our WRs and Lloyd seems to have taken a big step. The defense really played well and the turnovers were great. But what I really want to draw attention to was the play of rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton. That guy was everywhere. I think he's learning fast and is going to be quite the player. I would like to hear your thoughts on a guy we haven't heard much about.

DDS is a very active player out there who's still learning on the fly. He got sucked in twice by play fakes and lost contain on his edge for the QB to just run for easy yards, so he's got to square that away. But his effort is all out, all the time, and he looks like he belongs.

Doug from Neenah, WI

Good morning, Mike. What did you think of the OPI call against J. Michael Sturdivant?

Maybe the worst OPI call I've ever seen, and that's saying something after the one on Watson last week. Just a totally ridiculous call. Officiating remains a big problem in this league, and it's not going away. All teams can do is just play through the muck. To the Packers' credit, they did on the very next snap.

Terry from Elroy, WI

After watching how Jordan Love played, don't you feel an urge to tell (some of) us, "See, I told you so!"?

I try to be nice, and I've tried to say in as many nice ways as possible that anyone who believes Love's play was holding this team back doesn't know football. He's attempted 61 passes the last two games and made exactly one bad throw. He deserves more credit than most are willing to give him for standing in there the first three weeks and delivering the ball while getting clobbered.

Susan from Santa Cruz, CA

Coach said, "That is the essence of team." I hope all the Jordan haters recognize what a difference it makes when players hold on to passes, the defense creates turnovers, etc. Jordan is a great QB, and the team rose to meet him this week.

I can't wait to see what he can do with a legitimate running game.

John from Los Angeles, CA

Still lots to clean up, but I thought it was huge for the Packers to win the momentum game. They didn't let mistakes compound and snowball.

The entire second half, somebody was there with a pick-me-up whenever something went wrong. That's also the "essence of team."

Gabe from Genoa City, WI

Great win, good postgame locker room speech by LaFleur. No mention of the opponent at all. There are levels to this coaching game.

LaFleur said at the beginning of the week he was keeping the game about the players, and he followed through. In that spirit, I want to hand out one more game ball – to Nick Niemann. His tackle on the long kickoff return saved a touchdown and a lot of potential angst at crunch time.

Matt from Watertown, SD

Can we talk about how sleek those rivalry unis are? The boys beat da bears and looked dang good doing it.

I said last Friday on our live Packers Preview show those are the best alternate duds the Packers have worn in my 21 seasons here.

Dan from Westerville, OH

That was cathartic. Talk about one Sunday turning the entire outlook of the season around. I hereby solemnly swear I will never make sweeping conclusions based off September football ever again.

It amazes me how many fans and pundits simply write off the opportunity to improve over the course of a long season. You are what you put out there. That's certainly true. But what you put out there can change. While improvement is never guaranteed, it's always possible. Why is that such a difficult concept for some to grasp? I'm not trying to be a smart aleck. I'm legitimately asking. Is it the video-game culture? The on-paper-only nature of fantasy football? Something else?

James from Asheville, NC

Wow! I've been waiting for the statement game the gives the Packers back their swagger, and I guess this is it. Still things to clean up and work on, but I think we may have put the rest of the division on notice.

I don't know if I'd go that far, but it is interesting everyone in the NFC North is above .500 now through five games. The AFC North is the only other division that can say so. The Vikes, Pack, Bears and Lions are a collective 14-6, and 11-3 outside the division. Buckle up, folks.

Monty from Velva, ND

Hey Mike, did you happen to see the end of the Commanders-Giants game? The Commanders had around 30 seconds left in overtime, in field-goal range, no timeouts, ran a QB keeper, and failed to get a field-goal attempt off. I have never seen that level of ineptitude in professional football.

It ranks up there. They actually had just 12 seconds left. The FG would've been 42 yards. With no timeouts I have no idea what they were thinking. Just kick the ball. Pure malpractice in the realm of game management.

Dana from Santa Fe, NM

Mike Ditka was a great tight end, good coach, and wonderful character...sorry about his passing. But it is a shame, in my opinion, that he was the first tight end elected into the Hall of Fame, four years before John Mackey. Perhaps it was Mackey's union activism as president of the NFL Players Association because it was he who changed the face of the tight end.

Their careers ran close to concurrently, but Ditka entered the league two years earlier than Mackey and posted a 1,000-yard receiving season with 12 TDs as a rookie before Mackey ever played an NFL game, and Mackey never reached those numbers. So I don't find it controversial that Ditka was inducted first. Certainly both players were instrumental in changing the position. Whether Mackey's union activism played a part in him waiting four extra years to be inducted, I don't know.

Steve from Andover, MN

I boarded a plane once, and Mike Ditka was in a first-class aisle seat, having just taken over a head coaching job. As I waited for the aisle to clear, I looked at him and said, "Good luck in your new role coach, just not against my Packers." He chuckled, making that a fond memory. RIP, sir!

When I was a kid and the Bears held their training camp in my hometown, Ditka rode around campus on a golf cart, usually trying to stay away from crowds and such. With some proper sleuthing, my friends and I figured out his circuitous route from the locker room to the practice field, and when we saw him leave the locker room before practice one day, we sprinted to cut him off behind an out-of-the-way grove of trees, holding out our notebooks and pens. He could've sped right by if he wanted, but he stopped to sign and the look on his face indicated two things: He was rewarding us for our outsized efforts to track him down, and he didn't want us to do it again.

Lynn from Somers, WI

And just like that, there is a run on "transitive property" searches on Google. I do wonder how many times the Insider Inbox sends its readers to research its various references. I know I am often looking up references to movies and shows I am not familiar with. Heck, this column introduced me to the movie "Draft Day," and now it's an annual tradition. Mike/Wes, have you ever had to search something from a submitted question?

Oh sure. More in the offseason when there's more time to write the column.

Matt from Waunakee, WI

Mike, didn't you mean to say the Dodgers need to take two from us first?

Ha. Whatever works. Happy Monday.

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