That one felt like a reset button.
After a week of noise surrounding the Chicago Bears coming into Lambeau Field as favorites without their starting quarterback - and after Ben Johnson said he wanted to make the Green Bay Packers "quit" - the Packers answered in the loudest way possible. They looked like the team with the edge, the speed and the swagger from the opening drive on.
Jordan Love was at the center of it. The early-season rhythm issues were gone, and so was any hesitation.
Love completed 25 of 31 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns, good for a 137.5 passer rating. Pro Football Focus gave him a 95.4 passing grade, with five big-time throws and only one turnover-worthy play, a fumble he recovered himself.
He played with no fear, and the Packers kept leaning into it.
One sequence said plenty. Love connected on what would have been a 43-yard touchdown to undrafted rookie J.
Michael Sturdivant, only to have it wiped out by a penalty. He came right back and launched a 53-yard touchdown to Christian Watson.
That was the night in a nutshell: no flinching, no backing off, just another deep shot.
Love has also been a problem for Chicago in particular. Over his past two games against the Bears, he has completed 49 of 77 passes for 690 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions, with a 118.4 passer rating.
The receiver duo of Watson and Matthew Golden was just as damaging. Chicago’s secondary had no answer for either one.
Watson finished with six catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns, while Golden added six receptions for 123 yards and a two-point conversion. Watson has now scored five touchdowns in his last four games against the Bears, and the Packers kept going back to his downfield burst because the Bears never solved it.
For the season, Watson has 26 catches for 474 yards and six touchdowns. Golden has 24 grabs for 397 yards and two touchdowns. The numbers track with the eye test: this pairing has become a real headache for defenses.
There was also a much-needed response from the Green Bay defense, especially after the rough outing against the Atlanta Falcons two weeks ago. Jonathan Gannon’s group held Chicago’s No. 1-ranked rushing attack to 81 yards and 3.4 yards per carry. The Bears never really got traction on the ground, and the Packers turned the game with takeaways - five of them, in all.
Xavier McKinney intercepted Tyson Bagent twice, Ty’Ron Hopper picked off Case Keenum, and Green Bay added two forced fumbles on top of that. If Trey Smack had not missed two field goals and an extra point, those turnovers would have pushed the Packers even closer to 40 points.
The ground game for Green Bay was more mixed. MarShawn Lloyd showed better decisiveness and plenty of force, including a run where he ran over Jaylon Johnson on his first of two touchdown runs.
Still, the overall rushing production remained thin. The Packers gained just 70 yards on 26 carries, a 2.7-yard average, even if the two scores were the kind of finish that can light up a highlight reel.
And then there was the postgame moment between Matt LaFleur and Ben Johnson. The handshake itself was uneventful, but Johnson’s look into the camera - a kind of stunned, caught-in-the-act expression - was the lasting image.
LaFleur, as usual, didn’t stir the pot. He let the result do the talking.
In Other News...
Packers Mourn The Loss Of A Champion Who Never Left Green Bay
Nelson Toburen was one of those Packers whose impact lasted far beyond his playing days. The former Green Bay linebacker was part of two NFL championship teams, and when his football career ended early, he built another life in Wisconsin as an attorney and later as a state district judge. Even after leaving the field, he stayed tied to the franchise and remained a familiar part of the Packers extended family.
Toburens story carried a toughness that fit the era and the organization, from championship runs in Green Bay to the abrupt end of his career in 1962. He went on to earn respect in the courtroom, but his connection to the Packers never really faded, which is why his passing on October 4 lands as more than just a footnote for the team. It feels like the loss of one of the last links to a championship generation that helped define Green Bay. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Suddenly Need Pierre Strong Jr. More Than Anyone Expected
Green Bay turned to Pierre Strong Jr. this week, activating the running back from the practice squad ahead of Sundays matchup with the Bears. The move comes with the Packers searching for any spark they can find on the ground, a concern that has only grown as the offense has struggled to get its rushing game moving.
The timing underscores how urgent the problem has become. Through four games, Green Bay sat last in the NFL in rushing yards with 232, a startling figure for a team that expected more balance early in the season. Whether Strong can change that picture right away remains unclear, but the Packers are clearly willing to give him a look in a spot where they need answers fast. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Love Faces A Pressure Game The Packers Can't Afford
Jordan Love heads into a divisional matchup with Chicago carrying the kind of early-season numbers that can be read two ways. He has thrown for 1,041 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions, but the more telling number is his 56.5% completion rate, which reflects the uneven rhythm Green Bay has had on offense and the stretches where the quarterback has not looked fully settled.
The next test comes with the Packers needing him to be steadier in the pocket against a Bears defense that figures to bring pressure, all while working behind a patched-together offensive line. Green Bay also knows it has to help him out with the right structure, and the expectation is that the coaching staff will need to lean into a quicker passing plan to keep the game on schedule and give Love a cleaner path to answering the pressure game ahead. [Read more 🡒]