The Green Bay Packers had the opportunity to see Christian Watson’s explosive play, Rashan Gary’s encouraging performance and Jordan Love’s near-perfect passing under pressure, but persistent red zone issues on offense and coverage issues in the passing game on defense changed Sunday’s matchup with the Chicago Bears in a brawl at Soldier Field.
Ultimately, the Packers needed impressive special teams play to secure the victory.
Here are five stats from Pro Football Focus worth knowing from Sunday:
10.0: Average receiving yards for a route run by Packers receiver Christian Watson. Anything over 2.0 yards per route is elite for the season; Version 10.0 for the game is amazing. Watson only ran for 15 routes, but he caught four passes for 150 yards, including three of at least 25 yards. His 25-yarder scored a touchdown in the third quarter, and his 60-yarder provided the final score behind schedule in the fourth quarter.
5: Rashan Gary’s pressure count, highest by team. He had three TDs, one quarterback hit and one sack – an impressive feat considering how often the Bears threw brisk or compact. Gary added four run stops, another team-high. Problem? As great as Gary was, no one else on the Packers defense had a particularly good day on Sunday.
8v8: Jordan Love puts up numbers under pressure. He has struggled this season, although he has been under pressure, but not on Sunday. He connected on all eight passes for 185 yards, or 23.1 yards per attempt. Don’t be surprised if Love, now with two good legs, is much, much better at handling pressure throughout the season.
8 out of 10: Caleb Williams’ passing numbers when attacked by the Packers. The rookie quarterback completed eight passes for 87 yards and struggled twice under pressure. On the final drive, he spotted a blitz just before the snap, switched defenses and finished off Keenan Allen to put the Bears within field goal range. His blitz grade was an elite 94.5. The Packers pressured Williams in only 11 of their 39 losses.
7: The number of Packers linebackers who were accused of giving up multiple completions. Williams and the Bears attacked everyone. Javon Bullard, Edgerrin Cooper, Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine and Xavier McKinney each had at least three completions in their coverage. Sunday was the Packers’ third-lowest total of the season.
