It was only one game for the Green Bay Packers, but one game was all it took for the new-look defense to set the tone.
Yes, Mitch Trubisky is probably not going to be who the Chicago Bears hoped he would be and yes, Bears’ head coach Matt Nagy called a horrific offense. Let’s not let the Bears' inefficiencies take away credit from a great game called by Mike Pettine and his defensive staff, though. Half of the reason Trubisky and the Chicago offense looked so bad was because the Packers made their lives a living hell on Thursday night.
When is the last time the Packers had a defense that could actually get a big stop on third downs? When is the last time this team had consistent pressure off the edge, or sticky coverage in the secondary?
Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst basically bet the future of his job on the defense this past offseason, and at least through one game, the payoff from his investment appears to be immediate.
All three of Gutekunst’s big defensive free agent signings made impact plays against the Bears on Thursday night.
Za’Darius Smith was a constant presence for the Packers, finishing the game with three tackles and a sack, but he had plenty of pressures that made all the difference in keeping Trubisky wide-eyed all night. In all, he finished with three quarterback hits, tying for hits with his “brother” Preston Smith – another one of Gutekunst’s signings. Preston Smith notched a sack and a half, and also added in five tackles to boot.
Of course, any talk about the off season signings can’t go on without a mention of Adrian Amos, who ended up being the game-changer for Green Bay – as predicted.
All offseason long, water was thrown over the Amos signing (mostly by Bears fans) because he was “consistent but not flashy.” He proved that analysis wrong by picking off Trubisky when the Bears were threatening to tie the game at 10 apiece late in the fourth quarter. He also finished with three tackles and was a solid defensive backfield-mate to rookie Darnell Savage – who also looked very solid.
Savage was Gutekunst’s second pick of the first round in this past NFL Draft. The first pick, Rashan Gary, didn’t get a ton of playing time, but he did capitalize on his snaps. Most notably, Gary teamed up with Preston Smith to get a hit on Trubisky late in the fourth quarter that may have thwarted a big pass play from the Bears.
Rashan Gary didn't play a ton, but he combines here with Preston Smith for a big-time pressure that caused Mitch to throw this short. Davis had a step on Greene. Two plays later was the Amos INT. A touchdown here would have tied the game. pic.twitter.com/jveSGN1xbb
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) September 6, 2019
In all, we saw a completely different Packers defense. It was a unit that didn’t just stop the Bears, but they arguably out-played Chicago’s defense. Who could have anticipated that heading into this matchup?
When is the last time the defense actually won a game for Green Bay? When is the last time Packers fans felt more confident in a defensive stop than in an Aaron Rodgers-led offense?
“What we did on defense, I think we showed the league and folks watching that we’re not just an offensive football team anymore,” Rodgers said after the game, via Mike Spofford of Packers.com. “We’ve got a defense.”
The exciting thing for Green Bay is that this performance was just act one from Pettine and his crew.
The Packers' defense played lights out, but there’s reason to believe they’ll only get better.
The “Smith Brothers” appear to be the real deal. Kenny Clark played like a Pro Bowler and made Chicago’s offensive line look silly. He'll continue to wreck offensive lines this season. Jaire Alexander absolutely shut down his side of the defensive air-space and Kevin King looked good when he played. He almost had an interception (read: He should have had an interception). The Packers are deep in the defensive secondary with guys like Tramon Williams, Tony Brown, and even Raven Greene all looking solid against the Bears and the safety unit of Amos and Savage could end up being among the best in the league.
Savage didn’t make the big play that Amos did, but he was extremely solid in closing after the catch and there was a drive where he single-handedly shut down the Bears. He’s the real deal and appears to be as good as advertised.
Throw in the fact that Gary will only continue to develop and improve and Pettine is arguably one of the top defensive coordinators in football and there’s reason to believe that this Green Bay defense has a chance to be elite.
Again, it was only one game, but in one game against a bitter rival on the road, we saw signs of greatness.
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