Game-Changing Play of the Week: Three-and-Out Boosts Packers Defense After Rocky Start

The beginning of the Packers' contest against the Bears looked a little grim.

The offense didn't immediately wake up and had a disjointed opening drive. It resulted in points, sure, but there were several noticeable miscues. 

More concerning was the defense, which got gashed by the Bears' offense on its opening drive, resulting in the Bears taking a 7-3 lead. 

Panic was high on Twitter, with many fans thinking the team had clearly learned nothing from the week prior. But the Packers got the ball back, responded with a strong touchdown drive, and then came out on defense to set the tone for the rest of the game.

Ultimately, the Packers' second defensive series resulted in a three and out, and suddenly the entire tone of the game changed. The audience was invested, and more importantly, the players were now invested as well.

Preston Smith and Rashan Gary made plays. Rasul Douglas flew into the backfield out of the slot to stop a quick pass for a loss. Suddenly the swagger that the defense had in much of the 2021 season was back after being conspicuously absent in all of week one.

The rest of the day wasn't perfect for the Packers' defense. It was especially abused in the run game. But that defensive series seemed to infuse some life into the team that had been lacking in the nearly five quarters leading up to that point. It was a clear turning point of the football game, and the Packers never looked back, allowing just three more points to the Bears the entire game. 

 

 

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Tim Backes is a lifelong Packer fan and a contributor to CheeseheadTV. Follow him on Twitter @timbackes for his Packer takes, random musings and Untappd beer check-ins.

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Comments (7)

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T7Steve's picture

September 19, 2022 at 02:44 pm

Tim I wonder what their time of possession was after the first drive?

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LeotisHarris's picture

September 19, 2022 at 03:21 pm

Looks like total time of possession was 22:25. The touchdown drive was 3:56 of that total.

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HarryHodag's picture

September 19, 2022 at 02:46 pm

Twitter is about as relevant to meaningful discussion as a bicycle is to a chihuahua.

The crowd late in the game provided the one piece of insight to the Packers-Bears game.

Loudly they chanted, "The Bears Still Suck".

Amen.

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LeotisHarris's picture

September 19, 2022 at 03:31 pm

Good stuff, Harry, but even as a big dog guy I have to admit chihuahuas should never be underestimated.

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Pierre's picture

September 19, 2022 at 08:09 pm

The Packers getting shredded on the run by the Bears, who did not even have a QB passing threat, is real concerning. The other defensive concern is the secondary not playing man to man versus the Vikings. If they play zone again against the Bucs there’s a good chance Brady will exploit them through the air. This DC needs to use his talent a lot more effectively as this defense is a sieve with a competent QB as an opponent.

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pack69go's picture

September 19, 2022 at 08:54 pm

Great win I love to see Jones dominate. I would throw at least 1 but probably 2 or more deep shots to Watson/Doubs every game

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PatrickGB's picture

September 20, 2022 at 11:46 am

I thought that Fields made a touchdown on his goal line run. But even if he had we still would have won. I expect growing pains from the offense and running the ball gives them time to work out the kinks in the passing game.

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