Were These the Real Packers? 3 Reasons To Be Truly Excited After Rout of Bears

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers played four lackluster games to start the season and were fortunate to have a 2-2 record entering their rivalry showdown against the Chicago Bears.

All the missed assignments, boneheaded penalties, careless ball-handling and other assorted self-inflicted wounds disappeared on Sunday. The Packers crushed the Bears 31-7. It’d be almost impossible to overstate the importance of the game.

Just like that, the Packers are 3-2. While they’re two games behind the undefeated Vikings in the NFC North, they might emerge from Week 5 within the group of seven teams leading the race for a playoff spot in the NFC.

It’s rather startling, really. For all the horrendous football they played to start the season, the Packers are 3-2 and in a good spot.

Coach Matt LaFleur, for his part, wasn’t about to take a victory lap. There’d be no pounding on his chest, no “F*** the Bears” comments, no middle fingers directed to the doubters. Instead, the search for growth – the same message as the past four weeks, and one that obviously resonated – was the theme after the game.

“That’s what you have in mind all the time,” he said. “But it’s easier said than done. I was a little disappointed with parts of the game, if I’m being truthful. At the end of the half, obviously, and then we’ve got to establish a better run attack.

“There were moments where we ripped off some big runs, but it’s just got to be I would say a little bit more consistent to help us stay in conflicting situations where you don’t know if it’s going to be a run or a pass. It’s harder when you’re sitting there in second-and-9, second-and-10, second-and-11 when everybody in the stadium is probably thinking pass.”

Can the Packers keep it going? Or will this be a fart-in-the-wind performance, to borrow a line from Ron Wolf, and nothing more than a fired-up team beating up on a backup quarterback?

Here are three reasons to believe in these Packers.

1. Jordan Love With Time

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) passes the ball against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Packers really struggled offensively the first three games, and a big reason why was the mismanagement of the offensive line. However, general manager Brian Gutekunst deserves credit for pivoting to veteran Laken Tomlinson at left guard and offensive line coach Luke Butkus deserves credit for suggesting Travis Glover take over at right guard.

Nobody is going to mistake this Packers offensive line with the 2014 juggernaut that powered the Packers to the cusp of the Super Bowl. But Tomlinson has been an excellent replacement for injured Aaron Banks and Glover has solidified the void at right guard.

Given plenty of time for most of the game, Love was 25-of-31 for yards and two touchdowns. He had as many completions of longer than 30 yards as he threw incompletions. It helps to have time, obviously; he was sacked twice – both at the end of the first half.

“It’s something we’ve talked about throughout the course of the season so far, and I thought they did a great job,” Love said. “They gave me a lot of time on a lot of those plays. Especially the one to Christian [on their 53-yard touchdown pass on third-and-forever in the third quarter], I had all day back there.

“They did a great job. I thought our run game has been improving. We’ve got some big runs going and we’re playing complementary ball right there. That’s what it needs to look like. We got to keep stacking stuff, but I thought O-line did a great job in pass pro.”

At some point, Kevin Zeitler will take over at right guard, but LaFleur said Glover had earned the right to start again.

“I think it's been immense – an immense improvement in terms of it allows us to call our offense, and it's a hell of a lot easier calling plays when the guys are blocking for the quarterback up front,” LaFleur said.

If the line continues growing, which should be the case as Jordan Morgan and Anthony Belton grow into their roles as the starting tackles, this line will be plenty good enough to help the team win games.

2. Opportunistic Defense

Green Bay Packers linebacker Ty'ron Hopper (59) runs back an interception against the Bears. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Obviously, five takeaways isn’t something that can be replicated on a weekly basis. And, just as obviously, it helps that the Packers were playing against Tyson Bagent instead of Caleb Williams. And, also obviously, the Packers will face better receiver tandems the next two weeks than they did on Sunday against Rome Odunze and Luther Burden.

Still, this was complete dominance. The Bears were limited to 246 yards, 3.6 yards per play and 4-of-14 on third down. They were limited to three plays of 15-plus yards; two of those came in the fourth quarter, with the outcome determined.

“There’s no asterisks,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said.

While Chicago’s offense was depleted without Williams and running back Kyle Monangai, the Bears still had their powerhouse line, starting receivers, starting tight ends and 1,000-yard rusher D’Andre Swift.

“It’s very important,” said safety Xavier McKinney, who had two interceptions. “It gives guys confidence. It reassures guys in the locker room of who we say that we are and who we preach about who we are every day.

“I think it gives us confidence and I think it helps us up the level of urgency because we understand what the standard is. This is our standard. This is what we should do every week. We have the talent to do it. We have the coaches to do it. We have the building to do it. We just have to go out there and make sure we do it. We can’t just talk about it. We have to be about it. Today, we were about it and we have to continue that.”

The task will grow tougher next week against Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott and his premier receivers on Sunday night. The following week will bring a trip to Detroit and a matchup against Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams.

3. Mentality

“Finish” has been the team’s mantra ever since it failed to finish at Chicago in Week 16 and again in the playoff rematch.

Against the Bears, it was 14-7 at halftime and a runaway in the second half.

“It’s always finish,” Love said. “The mindset for us, no matter what it is, we went into halftime, it was finish. We got a lead, we got to take control of that lead, we got to keep putting up points as an offense, defense keep flying around, keep getting us the ball back. It’s all about finishing.”

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson shake hands following the game. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

So, with the Packers up 23-7 late in the third quarter, Love went deep to Matthew Golden. The long completion set up MarShawn Lloyd’s touchdown run to start the fourth quarter.

With the Packers up 31-7 early in the fourth quarter, Love went deep again to Golden for a gain of 50. They didn’t turn that possession into points, but it had nothing to do with LaFleur taking the air out of the ball to run out the clock.

“We kept our foot on the gas,” Love said.

And because they did, the Packers didn’t just earn a measure of revenge for last year’s losses to Chicago. They made a statement that the version of the team that showed up on Sunday is good enough to compete with anyone.

“That we can be as good as we want to be,” receiver Christian Watson said. “We’ve just got to go out, execute, have faith in each other and just play some complementary football.”

LaFleur knows it’s just one game, really no different than the blowout loss to Atlanta a couple weeks earlier was just one game.

Now that the Packers have proven they can play a complete game, they have to prove they can do it again. And again. And again.

“It’s important to win every week,” LaFleur said. “It’s a week-to-week league, and we know that. Certainly, I think it’s more for the fan base and everything. I love the excitement around the rivalry and all that. It weighs in the back of your mind how last season ended a little bit, but it’s still about us and what we do moving forward and how we come in and how we prepare and the product we put out on the field.”

The win – and the dominance of it – proves that the team has been on the right track and hard work could dig it out of its early hole.

“We showed that we got our best ball on the way,” defensive tackle Karl Brooks said. “That's all I'm going to say. We got our best ball coming ahead of us.”

Spin it however you want, the Packers just beat the crap out of their rivals.

Here's the early story from Green Bay's 31-7 victory over the Bears. ⬇️https://t.co/SC5hxlfxQP
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 11, 2026

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