Three A’s But Two D’s From Beatdown of Bears

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The grades are in for the Green Bay Packers after they played their best game of the season in a 31-7 victory over the Chicago Bears.

Yes, they played against two backup quarterbacks and a backup running back, and they were at home. Those are some pretty decided advantages.

A big day from Jordan Love and his top two receivers combined with some suffocating pass defense led to a rout at Lambeau Field that had to feel extra sweet for an organization that had been on the bad side of the rivalry for the first time in more than 30 years.

The grades, as you might imagine, reflect the dominance that took place at Lambeau Field.

Pass Offense

Christian Watson said earlier in the week there were holes in the defense that Green Bay’s offense could exploit. Matthew Golden chuckled while referencing that quote after the game .

As it turns out, Watson was right. Jordan Love sliced and diced against a hapless Chicago secondary that, save for a brief sabbatical in the second quarter, did not have any answers from Love’s aerial assault on their defense.

Love threw for 367 yards, including two long touchdown passes to Watson. His reworked offensive line kept him clean for most of the game, as Love was only sacked twice, both of which came on the same possession at the end of the first half.

Apart from that, it was Love throwing bombs all over the field to Watson, Golden and Tucker Kraft, who combined for 330 yards. Watson and Golden became the first Packers tandem to top 120 yards in a game in a decade.

“It’s flow state – feels like you’re flowing out there – just play after play we’re making those. It felt good to be able to do that at home,” Love said.

Love joined former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as the only players with five completions of 30 or more air yards in a single game since ESPN began tracking that stat in 2006.

“That’s just one of them feelings,” Watson said after the game. “That was a great display we had out there today. Big time game from the whole team. Honestly, I was excited for each and every person who was out there making plays. That was a big-time win.”

Kraft had his best game of the season with five catches for 64 yards, including a 46-yard completion in the third quarter that helped set up a field goal from Trey Smack.

Grade: A.

Rush Offense

If you only watch the highlight tape, you’d think the Packers were able to move the ball on the ground for most of the game. MarShawn Lloyd found the end zone twice, including an angry run when he ran over Chicago cornerback Jaylon Johnson en route to the end zone to give the Packers a 14-0 lead.

Lloyd’s second touchdown was the nail in the coffin that gave the Packers a 31-7 lead. Kaleb Johnson, who was kept on the bench until late in the game, popped an explosive run of 23 yards.

Despite the big plays, there was not much room for Green Bay’s putrid ground game, which remains anemic at this point in the season. Pierre Strong had five carries for 7 yards. Lloyd had 31 yards on 10 carries. Overall, the Packers ran for 70 yards with a 2.7-yard average.

They desperately need one of their running backs to find a way to give them some punch in the run game. Maybe Lloyd can use his touchdown runs as a potential springboard next week against a Dallas defense that is one of the worst in the league.

Grade: D.

Pass Defense

The Year 2024 returned and Xavier McKinney is back in the saddle. On a day when the Packers should have had some opportunities to make some plays on the ball facing mistake-prone backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, McKinney obliged.

His two interceptions helped him surpass his total from last season, as he now has three this season. He was not alone. Ty’Ron Hopper picked off Case Keenum at the goal line. Evan Williams and Dani Dennis-Sutton recovered fumbles.

As noted by Packers.com’s Wes Hodkiewicz, the Packers have equaled their interception total of seven in 2025 in just five games.

“I feel good,” McKinney said. “I try to stack the weeks, stack the days. Even when the result is not what I want it to be every time, but still keeping my same process. So, my main focus is just making sure that I’m the best version of me every day and guys around me get the best version of me every day, regardless of what the result may be. But as long as I keep my process the same, I know the results will come.” 

The tests are going to get stiffer in the coming weeks. Dak Prescott is one of the league’s best and he’s coming to town next week. He’ll be followed by Detroit’s Jared Goff, Carolina’s rising Bryce Young and New England’s Drake Maye. There are a bunch of elite receivers on the agenda, too.

On this Sunday, however, the Packers were dominant. Bagent and Keenum were erratic. They combined for just more than 200 passing yards. Combine that with four sacks and three picks? It’s almost a perfect day against subpar quarterback play.

Grade: A.

Rush Defense

The biggest storyline of the game was how the Packers were going to stop the Chicago ground game that entered play this week as the best rushing attack in the NFL.

Some of the punch of Chicago’s run game was removed when Kyle Monangai was ruled out with a toe injury on Friday. D’Andre Swift, who topped 1,000 yards last year, was still active, but the dropoff from him to Roschon Johnson was significant.

With the Packers taking an early 14-0 lead, however, Chicago’s run game was held in check. Swift had just nine carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. The rest of Chicago’s run game was kept under wraps, with Tyson Bagent being the Bears’ second-leading rusher with 17 yards on three carries. Six horizontal runs to receivers gained 11 yards.

The assignment will be more difficult on Christmas when the Packers will likely face Monangai and Caleb Williams.

Sunday, however, the goal was to make Bagent beat them. The Packers were successful.

Chicago had 81 rushing yards on 24 carries, a 3.4-yard average. The Packers would take that every day and twice on Sundays.

Grade: A.

Special Teams

Matthew Golden looked explosive on a 17-yard punt return that helped set up the Packers’ offense for the second of two failed two-minute drills at the end of the first half. Outside of that, it was a pretty rough day at the office for Cam Achord’s group.

The kickoff-coverage team had some nice moments, with Kamal Hadden running through Chicago’s returners, but it also allowed an explosive return immediately after taking a 31-7 lead. That ultimately did not end up mattering because Chicago’s offense was as bad as it was, but that will matter next week against Cowboys returner Kavontae Turpin and prolific quarterback Dak Prescott.

Trey Smack had his first rookie moments as a kicker. He missed an extra-point attempt early, and followed it up with two missed field goals in the fourth quarter. Again, it didn’t matter because the Packers led by 24 points, but it will matter when they start facing real quarterbacks next week.

Smack has been good for most of the year, so next week against Dallas will be a chance for him to bounce back. Sunday? It was one of the few black eyes on an otherwise spectacular day for the home team.

Daniel Whelan outdid himself with a 75-yard punt that was ruled a touchback. Hadden was in on three tackles.

Grade: D-Minus.

Coaching

The first half likely embodies what the 2026 Packers are, but also what Matt LaFleur is at this point as a head coach.

There are flashes of brilliance. LaFleur was able to scheme up 14 quick points on offense to start the game. Everything he called worked.

Then the second quarter hit, and nothing worked. The Packers’ final three possessions of the half lasted nine plays and resulted in zero points.

Furthermore, LaFleur kept two timeouts in his pocket after a first-down sack and fumble was recovered by Jordan Love with the Packers threatening to get into field-goal range. As a result, the Packers were penalized for an illegal substitution. Love was sacked on the next play, and a drive that should have ended in at least a field-goal attempt ended with the Packers getting booed off the field while having a lead.

When the second half began, LaFleur schemed Christian Watson open for a chunk play on the first play from scrimmage. That helped lead to a spectacular touchdown by Watson to finish off the drive.

The second half was a beatdown from there. Jonathan Gannon’s defense forced five turnovers and seven punts. LaFleur continued to keep his foot on the gas even with a lead.

The only real complaint comes on special teams, which gave up a 60-yard return and missed three kicks.

Otherwise, the Packers looked like the better team on Sunday, independent of the quarterback situation.

Grade: B-Plus. 

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