Green Bay Packers: 3 Big takeaways from win in Week 1 vs Bears

Packers Defense: First Half, Bad; Second Half, Good

The whole game was really a tale of two halves. The Chicago Bears dominated the first half while the Green Bay Packers took the second, and most important, half.

It was very ugly in the first half though. The brand new Mike Pettine defense allowed the Bears offense drive down the field on their first drive with ease. For all Packers fans, what we saw was similar to what Dom Capers would have done. There was little to no effort and energy. Everyone looked slow and sluggish, almost as if they didn’t want to be out there.

If not for Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers would not have won last night. However, the defense came up huge in the second half. They got the stops they needed when it mattered the most.

James Jones is right. Rodgers ultimately won it, but the defense set the offense up very well tonight. Reggie Gilbert may have had the play of the night on defense. It wasn’t for his excellent pass rush, though, it was for his coverage on Bears running back Tarik Cohen late in the fourth quarter.

Cohen killed the Packers defense throughout the game, but when it mattered the most, Gilbert got the job done. That stopped the Bears drive in its tracks and forced them to take just a six-point lead. That was enough for Rodgers to drive the Packers down the field one last time, for the win.