4 Ideas the Bears Can Steal from the Falcons' Stunning Upset of the Packers

To the delight of millions of Chicago Bears fans around the world, the previously 0-2 Atlanta Falcons stunned the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football, leaving Lambeau Field with a 35-14 victory. Third-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. returned as the Falcons' starter for the first time this season, and he shook off a rocky start to get his team into the win column for the first time this year.

While Bears fans got to watch this contest purely for the entertainment value, Atlanta may have offered the Bears, and indeed the entire league, a blueprint for handling the Packers. Specifically, here are four ideas that the Bears can and should steal from the Falcons' successful game plan when they travel to Lambeau in two weeks.

1. Pressure the right side of the offensive line

Montez Sweat and Bryce Young — Chicago Bears DE Montez Sweat pressures Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Whenever the Falcons got pressure on Jordan Love, it more often than not came from the right side of his offensive line, and that should come as no surprise. The Packers lost right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele to a season-ending ruptured patellar tendon earlier in the week, and his replacement, second-year player Anthony Belton, couldn't hold up.

The Bears should take note of this and relentlessly attack the right side when they face Green Bay in Week 5. Montez Sweat should have no problem putting Belton in a spin cycle for 60 minutes, and that should have a ripple effect across the rest of the line.

2. Attack the edges in the run game

The Bears don't have a running back of the same caliber as Atlanta's Bijan Robinson, but between D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai they can approximate the damage he did to Green Bay's defense. Robinson was a menace all night, racking up 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 29 attempts. He found success all across the field, but he was particularly dangerous running outside of the tackles, and that's Swift's bread and butter.

The Bears' offensive gameplan, then, should start and end with a heavy dose of outside-zone concepts for Swift, especially to the right side of the line where Jonah Jackson and Darnell Wright should be able to open up massive running lanes.

Even if Green Bay didn't look particularly vulnerable to the run, the Bears would be wise to keep it old school. Ideally, they get Caleb Williams back from his injury for their Week 4 game against the New York Jets, but there's a decent chance that Week 5 will mark his return. Being his first game back from injury, the Bears will want to make sure he doesn't have to stress his hamstring with too much scrambling.

3. Erase Matthew Golden's impact and make someone else beat them

Second-year receiver Matthew Golden continues to look like a legit WR1 and the top threat in Green Bay's offense. Against Atlanta, he was clearly the focal point of their passing attack until garbage time. Golden earned a team-high 12 targets, racking up 80 yards and a touchdown, the first of his NFL career. And that doesn't include a massive pass interference penalty he drew early in the second quarter.

The rest of the Packers' pass catchers are decidedly less threatening, especially after losing Jayden Reed to a neck injury. Tight end Tucker Kraft, who was on an All-Pro pace last year before a season-ending injury, doesn't look to be back to 100% yet, either. Chicago's secondary has its problems, but I don't think they need to sweat any of Green Bay's pass catchers aside from No. 0.

4. Spam slant routes in the short-to-medium range

Chicago Bears TE Colston Loveland stiff arms a Cincinnati Bengals defender. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Anytime the Falcons needed some chunk yards in the passing game, Penix seemed to have a wide-open man in the middle of the field seven to 10 yards ahead of the line of scrimmage, and the Packers had no answers. This seems to me like an ideal opportunity to finally get Colston Loveland involved on offense, though they will have hopefully ramped up his usage well before their Week 5 game at Green Bay.

To this end, the Bears should be prepared to run as many slant routes as they can when they face the Packers. Not only would these routes attack what appears to be a weakness in Green Bay's defense, they would also help protect Caleb Williams by forcing him to get the ball out quick and not risk any big hits or having to scramble.

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