Guess who’s back? That’s right. After an extended hiatus to bring life into this world, we’re ready to kick off the third season of Maggie’s Pre-Game Six Pack. Hopefully you remember the drill. Each Friday during the season, I’ll be bringing you six things to keep an eye on going into that week’s Packers game. Now, this can be anything from a key matchup or player to watch, to an impressive stat or even the weather forecast. Let’s kick things off right away with the oldest, best rivalry in sports. It’s time for Packers v.s. Bears. 

1. Love It If He Makes It

There was no other way to start this season’s six pack, right? Jordan Love is going to make some pretty significant history on Sunday when he takes the field in Week 1 for the Green Bay Packers. While technically this game against Chicago is his second career start, he’s set to become only the third quarterback to start a Week 1 matchup for the Packers since 1993, following of course Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay is the only team in the NFL that’s had just two starting quarterbacks for season-openers in a span of 30 years. 

In the opposite huddle, Bears quarterback Justin Fields will be making his 26th start when he leads his team onto the field Sunday. If my scouring of Pro Football Reference is accurate, the Bears have had 13 different quarterbacks play in season-openers since 1993: Jim Harbaugh, Erik Kramer, Shane Matthews, Cade McNown, Jim Miller, Kordell Stewart, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, Jay Cutler, Mike Glennon, Mitchell Trubisky, Andy Dalton, and Justin Fields.

Both franchises hope they’ve found long-term answers at the quarterback position, so Sunday’s game could be the first of many between the two QBs, adding yet another chapter to a historic rivalry. 

2. On the Road Again

Per the Packers dope sheet, Green Bay is the only team in the NFL to start each of the last five seasons with an away game (including 2023). Dating back to Head Coach Matt LaFleur’s first game as a head coach in 2019, the Packers are 2-2 in season openers. 

Green Bay beat the Bears 10-3 at Soldier Field in 2019 and the Vikings 43-34 at U.S. Bank Stadium in 2020 before losing 38-3 to the Saints in 2021 and 23-7 to the Vikings in 2022. You’d have to go all the way back to Green Bay’s explosive second-half comeback against the Bears in 2018 to find a season opener hosted at Lambeau Field.

It’s also worth noting that five of Green Bay’s last six season openers have come against NFC North opponents. And, if cool stats are really your thing, you’ll also enjoy knowing that this is only the second time in the history of the Packers v.s. Bears series that the rivals have started and ended the season facing off. The only other time was in 2006, with the Bears winning the opener (boo) and the Packers winning the season finale. 

3. Moore Weapons for Justin 

The Bears averaged 19.2 points per game in 2022 and didn’t have a single receiver eclipse 500 receiving yards on offense. In fact, the only player to do so was tight end Cole Kmet who led the team with 544 yards and seven touchdowns. Behind Kmet, Darnell Mooney was the frontrunner with 493 yards and two scores in 12 games, with Equanimeous St. Brown third on the roster with 323 receiving yards and one touchdown. 

Enter the 2023 season where the Bears have completely overhauled their receiving core. To start the offseason, the Bears traded away the first pick in this year’s draft to the Carolina Panthers for a ton of picks and wide receiver DJ Moore. On a Panthers team that ended the season 7-10, Moore still put up 888 yards and seven touchdowns playing with three different starting quarterbacks. 

Chicago also acquired Chase Claypool from the Steelers midseason and expect him to rejuvenate his career alongside Moore and Mooney in the Bears’ receiver room. At running back, Khalil Herbert is the new starter with David Montgomery signing with the Lions in free agency. Herbert only had one official start in 2022 but looked impressive as a rotational back, putting up 788 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns. 

4. Home Sweet…Away?

Hey, stat fans! More cool numbers coming your way. Let’s stop talking about the new Bears offense and start talking about owning real estate in Chicago. The Packers are 52-52-2 all-time at Chicago and are currently on an eight-game win streak at Soldier Field. And I know everyone in the comments is going to call me a jinx, but you know what? It’s the dope sheet’s fault, I’m just the messenger. 

That is a really significant number though, since the Packers have a perfectly even record in Chicago going into Sunday’s matchup. Barring a tie (please, no), the scale is going to tip in one direction after the game. 

The amount of history between these two teams really can’t be understated. Not only is this a matchup between the two winningest teams in NFL history (Packers: 790, Bears: 786), but this is the 207th matchup (including postseason) between the division rivals, with Green Bay maintaining a 10-game edge in the win column. 

5. Clean Slate, Clean Pocket? 

A new season means throwing out last year’s numbers and starting with a clean slate. One number Bears fans must be thrilled to see wiped clean is Fields’ sack total. In 2022, Fields tied Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson for most-sacked quarterback, with both taking 55. 

While Fields has a natural ability to extend plays with his legs which ultimately results in holding the ball longer, he ranked dead last in average time to throw last season (3.45 seconds). To give their mobile quarterback the best chance to be successful, the Bears invested pretty significantly in the offensive line this past offseason.

With Teven Jenkins starting the season on injured reserve, the Bears offensive line looks like this: Braxton Jones (LT), Cody Whitehair (LG), Lucas Patrick (C), Nate Davis (RG), and Darnell Wright (RT). The entire right side of the line is redone with Davis signing in free agency from the Titans, and Wright being Chicago’s first round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. 

On the opposite side of the line, this Packers defense has plenty of experience against Fields already. In his four games against the Packers, Fields has thrown three touchdowns, six interceptions, and taken nine sacks. Preston Smith is the leader in the clubhouse with four sacks, followed by Kenny Clark with two and Rashan Gary with one. When it comes to interceptions, Jaire Alexander has two while Darnell Savage, Keisean Nixon, and Rasul Douglas all have one. 

6. All Hands on Deck

As this six pack goes live on Friday, the status of two Packers wide receivers is up in the air for Sunday’s game. Both Christian Watson (691 all-purpose yards, nine touchdowns in 2022) and Romeo Doubs (425 receiving yards, three touchdowns) are questionable for Week 1. Doubs at least returned to practice on Thursday while Watson remained sidelined. If both Doubs and Watson are unable to play, second-year receiver Samori Toure becomes the veteran of the position group with five receptions for 82 yards and one touchdown on his resume. 

It doesn’t get a heck of a lot better glancing at the tight end room where Josiah Deguara is the most experienced player. He has 39 receptions for 371 yards and two touchdowns in his three-year career. 

While the Packers are hoping that second round draft picks wide receiver Jayden Reed and tight end Luke Musgrave can make an immediate impact on offense, this is still their first official NFL game and growing pains are to be expected. 

With that in mind, there are two security blankets in the running back room that should give Love some comfort going into Sunday. Last season, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon tied for second-most touchdowns on the team with seven apiece, behind only Watson’s nine. While all seven of Dillon’s scores came on the ground, Jones had an impressive five receiving touchdowns with only two rushing touchdowns. Jones still did the bulk of his damage on the ground, rushing for 1,121 yards and 5.3 yards per carry, but he did add almost 400 receiving yards to his 2022 totals with an impressive 81.9% catch percentage. 

If both Watson and Doubs aren’t available Sunday, or even if one of them plays, don’t be surprised if we see more 21 personnel with both Jones and Dillon on the field at the same time, as both can offer plenty of support on offense as runners and receivers.