6 stats to know from Packers’ 41-25 win over Bears
The Green Bay Packers put on an offensive clinic on Sunday night against the Chicago Bears, and a little help from the opportunistic defense helped Matt LaFleur’s team create a blowout win over their NFC North rivals at Lambeau Field.
Here are six stats to know from the 41-25 win:
Calm under pressure
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Aaron Rodgers was only under pressure on eight of his 31 dropbacks on Sunday night, but he was terrific when dealing with disruption. The Packers quarterback completed six of his seven passes under pressure for 94 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 13.4 yards per attempt and had a perfect 158.3 passer rating, and he also scrambled for a first down on third down. The Bears needed to disrupt Rodgers at a high rate and get stops when creating pressure. They could do neither consistently.
Third/fourth down dominance
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
The Packers converted six third downs – including their first five of the game – and all three fourth downs against the Bears defense. Aaron Rodgers completed eight of nine passes on third down and produced seven total first downs (one run), while Jamaal Williams twice converted short first downs with runs. Of the five misses on third down, three were followed up by conversions on fourth down. The Packers only punted twice. The Bears defense came into the game ranked first in the NFL on third down.
Takeaways turn into points
AP Photo/Matt Ludtke
The Packers had three takeaways resulting in 21 points. Preston Smith returned a fumble for a touchdown, and both of Darnell Savage's interceptions eventually turned into scoring marches by the offense. The Bears had no chance at an upset with a minus-three turnover differential, especially when the Packers scored over half their points off the three takeaways. The Packers may never be a dominant defense in 2020, but getting takeaways and creating more scoring opportunities for the offense is a winning recipe. Mike Pettine's defense has eight takeaways in the last four games.
Preventing the big play
AP Photo/Mike Roemer
Mitchell Trubisky attempted five passes thrown over 20 yards, and all five were either incomplete or intercepted. The Bears quarterback eventually moved the football in garbage time with short to intermediate throws against soft coverage, but the Packers prevented big plays early and made his deep mistakes hurt. Not being able to create explosive plays really hurt Chicago's ability to keep up with the Packers.
Who needs pressure?
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
The Packers put some early pressure on Mitchell Trubisky, but pressuring the Bears quarterback wasn't all that important. He threw 35 passes without facing pressure, per Pro Football Focus, but completed only 54.3 percent of those attempts while averaging 5.1 yards per attempt, throwing two interceptions and producing a 63.6 passer rating. NFL quarterbacks are, in general, usually very productive and efficient from clean pockets. Trubisky was not.
Another YAC attack
AP Photo/Mike Roemer
A simple way to judge the ease of an offense's performance is to look at yards after catch, especially for the Packers offense. This scheme is designed to create easy throws and chances to run after the catch. The Packers got both on Sunday night. Of Aaron Rodgers' 211 passing yards, 113 came after the catch, per Pro Football Focus. Five different players had 10 or more yards after the catch: Davante Adams, Robert Tonyan, Equanimeous St. Brown, Allen Lazard and Marcedes Lewis.
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