NFL Week 1 Game Recap: Green Bay Packers 38, Chicago Bears 20

The Green Bay Packers dominated the Chicago Bears in the trenches on both sides of the ball, a recurrent theme of the last decade. 

Both young quarterbacks made plays and missed opportunities, but Green Bay had Chicago fans booing early in the second half in what was a complete blowout.

Offensive spotlight: Packers running back Aaron Jones was untouchable through the air and on the ground before leaving early with a hamstring injury. Jones took nine carries for 41 yards and a touchdown and tacked on two receptions for 86 yards and another score. The receiving touchdown came on a fourth-and-3 where Jones left Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards in his wake right off the line. 

Justin Fields finished 24-of-37 for 216 yards, with one touchdown and one ugly interception. He added nine rushes for 59 yards, almost all on scrambles. Fields evaded pressure all day long and made several defenders whiff on would-be sacks, making something out of nothing throughout the afternoon. 

Defensive spotlight: Packers 2022 first-round pick linebacker Quay Walker looked like a natural ball carrier as he broke a few tackles on a pick-six to pretty much ice this football game. Unfortunately, Walker left the game with a potential concussion suffered on a hit from Bears rookie tackle Darnell Wright right at the pylon. 

Chicago Bears free-agent acquisition Yannick Ngakoue showed exactly why he was able to secure a one-year, $10.5 million deal in August, as he produced a sack and two tackles for loss in the first half. His name wasn’t called much after that, as Green Bay dominated both lines of scrimmage for most of the game. 

Rookie spotlight: Green Bay Packers rookie wide receiver Jayden Reed caught two passes for 48 yards, and rookie tight end Luke Musgrave caught three passes for 50 yards, both showing serious speed in space. Reed also had a 35-yard punt return that gave Green Bay a short field for an eventual touchdown drive.

Bears rookie running back Roschon Johnson ran hard in the second half and also hauled in a few receptions, finishing with five carries for 20 yards and a touchdown to go along with five receptions for 30 yards. Johnson bowled over several defenders, and while he largely played in garbage time, he looks too good to keep off the field in first halves for much longer.

Box Score

Passing

Rushing

Receiving