Chicago Bears: What to Watch for in Week 2 vs Green Bay Packers

Kyler Gordon needs to improve

Lost in all the hoopla of the big victory and some of the rookies who performed well was Kyler Gordon’s play.

San Francisco quarterback Trey Lance struggled with the Chicago Bears’ defense. He missed throws to some wide-open receivers. Also, he made some bad decisions, including throwing an interception late in the game that sealed the win.

One area where Lance did well was when he targeted Gordon. He completed five of the seven targets that went Gordon’s way for 70 yards. That is an average of 14 yards per completion. Lance had a passer rating of 103.3 when targeting Gordon.

Gordon has to step it up this week. Lance was making only his third career start. He still has a lot to learn as a quarterback. Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, is a future Hall of Fame quarterback. It is a certainty that he’ll see how Gordon played and he’ll go after Gordon.

If Gordon doesn’t step up it will be a long night for him. It will also mean that Jaylon Johnson, the CB1 who plays on the other side, will be awfully lonely. Quarterbacks around the NFL tried to avoid him last season. The other corners struggled so why would opponents go after Johnson when there are easier targets?

The thought was that with Gordon that would not happen. Gordon’s play would force quarterbacks to target Johnson more. That, in turn, would give him more opportunities to make plays.

Rodgers is a master at finding the weak link in a defense. After last week, he will go after Gordon early. If Gordon can’t step up, Rodgers will just feed whoever is on Gordon. This is Gordon’s opportunity to show he is exactly the guy the Bears expected to see when they drafted him.