Greatest Mismatches Facing Bears Against Packers
The biggest matchup problem facing the Bears when they play the Green Bay Packers is always finding a way to beat Aaron Rodgers.
However, Rodgers is not the weapon. He is the facilitator. He makes sure his weapons have the ball.
Green Bay's offseason personnel pursuits failed to produce much wide receiver help for Rodgers and he's forced to make players with lesser ability produce through their system knowledge and hsi own knack for knowing when the targets will come open.
Still, there are several positions where the Bears will have difficulty simply matching up talent-wise with Green Bay players.
Here are the worst possible matchups for the Bears come Sunday night.
Bears OLB Robert Quinn vs. Packers LT David Bakhtiari
Quinn has now gone 307 snaps and almost nine full games without a sack. It's not as if he is getting overwhelmed or vanishes. He's in position many times but doesn't quite get there in time to complete a play or even get a quarterback hit. He has only three of those. Perhaps something can change at some point for him but hoping for this against a former All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowl tackle like Bakhtiari is pointless. Bakhtiari has only been slowed by injuries in his career. This isn't one of those years. He has three penalties and hasn't allowed a sack this year. According to Pro Football Focus' grades, he is enjoying a spectacular season with an 89.5 overall grade. Quinn's quickness won't be a huge asset against Bakhtiari, who is not a slow tackle. However, Quinn has had some success in the past against this blocker. In 2018, he had 1 1/2 sacks against Bakhtiari while playing for the Dolphins and had another against him with the Rams two years earlier.
Bears TE Jimmy Graham vs. Packers SS Darnell Savage
An interesting matchup because of Graham's past as a Packer but beyond that Savage is a young, speedy safety who is better as a coverage player. Although he is suffering through a difficult season with a 113.3 passer rating against after posting a 71.1 rating as a rookie, he'll be more than a match speed-wise for Graham. And Graham is cominig off a game when he was a complete non-factor. He had no catches on two targets working against Vikings safety Harrison Smith and the Minnesota linebackers.
Bears RCB Jaylon Johnson vs. Packers WR Davante Adams
The Bears have enjoyed more success against Adams than many teams, as he has averaged 4.6 catches, 58.9 yards and half a TD against them every game. However, he is on a tear at the moment with an NFL-best 105.9 receiving yards per game. Adams working against a rookie who has been effective but is still inexperienced will be a mismatch, but Johnson has proven he can be a physical match even for bigger, fast receivers. The real problem for the Bears might be on the few downs when the Packers bring Adams inside and match him up on slot cornerback Buster Skrine. Adams' height, long build and leaping ability can turn this into a game of pitch and catch with Rodgers. But usually Adams won't line up on the inside.
Bears LT Charles Leno Jr. vs. Packers OLB Za'Darius Smith
Leno has been fairly dependable as a pass blocker with a 69.3 Pro Football Focus grade and two sacks allowed. Leno didn't handle Smith well in the first game last season as Smith made a sack. Leno is coming into this game with a toe injury suffered in Wednesday's practice, so while he'll play he won't be 100% and one of his bigger strengths is his technique and footwork. Smith has picked up the pace with two sacks in his last three games and has eight for the year after a standout 2019 season. A huge game against Atlanta in Week 4 padded his stats, though, as he had three sacks, four tackles for loss and five quarterback hits in that game. Overall, he's on pace slower than last year but not much.
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