The Green Bay Packers dismantled the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Lambeau Field, using Jordan Love's 367 passing yards and five takeaways from the defense to cruise past the rival Bears by a 31-7 final score in the 214th installment of the league's longest running rivalry.
Here's what went right, what went wrong and what it means for the Packers moving forward:
What went right
-- The Packers defense made backup quarterbacks look like backups. Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum combined for 165 net passing yards and three interceptions over 44 dropbacks. The Packers also had four sacks. Jonathan Gannon's group rose to the challenge along the line of scrimmage, kept the Bears run game from controlling the game and then attacked the backup quarterbacks.
-- Jordan Love was
at his very best as a big-play hunter. The Packers offensive line kept him mostly protected, and he responded by slicing and dicing an overmatched Bears secondary. His 25 completions netted 367 yards and featured four completions of at least 40 yards, including touchdown passes of 42 yards and 53 yards to Christian Watson.
-- Winning the turnover battle 5-0 is always a good way to play winning football. Xavier McKinney's first pick helped the Packers race out to a 14-0 lead, and the Packers finished it off with three takeaways in the fourth quarter.
-- Speaking of the fourth quarter, the Packers finally finished against the Bears. In fact, the Packers scored the game's final 17 points in the second half. Start fast and finish.
-- Christian Watson and Matthew Golden continue to look like a truly dynamic duo at receiver, and Tucker Kraft even had an explosive on a 46-yard catch in the second half. If the Packers can keep protecting Jordan Love, and Kraft keeps inching closer to his 2025 self, the Packers will have one of the league's elite WR-TE trios.
-- Jordan Love took two sacks, but he was hit only five times. PFF's early charting had Love under pressure on only eight dropbacks.
-- The Packers committed only four penalties, including one questionable offensive pass interference penalty. Zaire Franklin had a penalty extending a Bears drive, and a procedural penalty late in the first half helped short-circuit a scoring opportunity. But Sunday was a big step forward in the "shoot yourself in the foot" department. The Packers didn't have a turnover and the two drops were mostly inconsequential.
-- Signs of life from Devonte Wyatt, who had two sacks, including a strip sack. Rookies Brandon Cisse and Dani Dennis-Sutton also had sacks. The pass-rush affected Tyson Bagent early and helped slam the door shut late.
What went wrong
-- Rookie kicker Trey Smack cost the Packers seven points. He missed an extra point after the Packers went up 20-7, and then he missed field goals of 43 yards and 47 yards on back-to-back fourth quarter drives.
-- The three-series stretch to end the first half for the Packers offense certainly qualifies as a "lull." The Packers went three-and-out on back-to-back drives sandwiching the Bears' long touchdown drive, and the final possession before the half was a disaster. Jordan Morgan allowed a pair of sacks and the drive was over.
-- The run game is still sputtering, even if MarShawn Lloyd did score the team's first two rushing touchdowns of the season. Lloyd, Kaleb Johnson and Pierre Strong Jr. combined to carry 22 times for only 64 yards, and the Packers finished with only 70 rushing yards total. Of the 70, 23 came via a Johnson run in the fourth quarter with the game in hand.
-- Skyy Moore left with an ankle injury and didn't return, potentially impacting the return game moving forward. The big injury was to Javon Hargrave, who appears to have a season-ending Achilles injury. The Packers can't seem to escape a game without a major injury.
What it means
The Packers got their first division win of the season, pulled even with the Bears at 3-2 and got a small piece of revenge against their biggest rival. Sure, the Bears were without quarterback Caleb Williams, but this dominant win could represent a turning point for the Packers. The offensive line continued to settle, Jordan Love was excellent and the defense played dominant football for most of the 60 minutes. More than anything, Matt LaFleur's team needed a performance like this. It's all been too up and down to start 2026. A season that could have flown off the rails is suddenly slowing down, and the Packers survived the worst of it. There's still plenty of work to do, but this win has to feel good for everyone in the organization.
What's next
The Packers will host the Dallas Cowboys on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 6. The Cowboys will be coming off a stunning home loss to the Buccaneers and will have a rest advantage after playing on Thursday night. Micah Parsons probably won't play against his former team, but the Packers will see Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary. Can the Packers run the win streak to three games? These two teams played to a 40-40 tie in primetime last season.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Breaking down Packers' 31-7 win over Bears: What went right, wrong
