Before they ended up on the wrong end of a memorable Aaron Rodgers’ performance in Week 1, the Chicago Bears looked like a team that was ready to make a leap.
The final result was a disappointment for Chicago, but what they showed for much of the contest, especially in the first half, was encouraging on both sides of the ball.
Mitchell Trubisky and the offence scored 20 points in the first two quarters as Matt Nagy’s play-calling opened up the attack and used creative wrinkles.
However, Trubisky looked somewhat rattled in the second half when the Packers pass rush started to get in his face as the second-year quarterback often chose to tuck the ball and run instead of keeping his eyes downfield.
Monday’s clash against the Seattle Seahawks will help reveal if the Bears’ offensive improvement was for real, or just an aberration.
“We just saw that there was a lot of good plays and then there’s plays in there too that we can learn from and correct,” Nagy said. “And that’s very natural in [Trubisky’s] position. With where we’re at in this offence, that’s going to happen.”
On the other side of the ball, what looked like a dominant unit for the first three quarters of the opener, led by newcomer Khalil Mack, slowed down late in the game as conditioning played a factor.
Despite playing only 42 defensive snaps in his Chicago debut, Mack still had a sack, a a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception for a touchdown.
After getting a full week of practice leading up to Monday, Mack should be in better shape to play more against Seattle, who are extremely vulnerable against pass rushers at the moment.
In their opener last week, the Seahawks were run over for six sacks by the Denver Broncos, who constantly put pressure on Russell Wilson.
Seattle’s task will be made harder by the fact that three of their most important players – wide receiver Doug Baldwin, and linebackers Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright – are all out to injury.
They could also be without right guard D.J. Fluker and cornerback Tre Flowers, who are both listed as doubtful, while cornerback Shaquill Griffin is tabbed questionable.
