The NFL kicked off the 2023 season in style with the league's oldest rivalry, the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, but it was the newest starting quarterback in this storied matchup, Jordan Love -- who sat for three seasons behind four-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl champion Aaron Rodgers -- earned a familiar result, a victory, with the help of a familiar face, Packers Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones. Love's 245 passing yards and three passing touchdowns on 15 of 27 passing were critical in the Green and Gold securing a 38-20 road victory over the Bears. Eighty-six of Love's 245 yards through the air, 35%, came with Jones on the receiving end with a 51-yard catch-and-run on a screen pass as well as a 35-yard catch-and-run touchdown on a second-half fourth down.
The Pro Bowl running back and the Packers' sole Aaron remaining in Green Bay, Jones totaled 127 yards from scrimmage on 11 touches -- 41 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown plus 86 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown on two catches. That duo along with second-year receiver Romeo Doubs, who caught eight-yard and four-yard touchdowns from Love, helped provide the Chicago crowd at Soldier Field with a familiar feeling of disappointment following another defeat. This result occurred even though Rodgers, their longtime bogeyman, was halfway across the country in New Jersey, readying for his New York Jets debut against the Buffalo Bills on "Monday Night Football."
Love's afternoon began in Bears territory after the Packers stuffed Chicago on third and fourth down with a yard to gain at their own 40. Chicago attempted a direct snap to tight end Cole Kmet. Green Bay stifled that plunge, and then the Bears tried it again with quarterback Justin Fields under center. Both times, no dice with only a yard to gain. Love's first throw of his debut as the Packers starting quarterback hit second-year wideout Romeo Doubs for a 13-yard gain and a first down on 3rd-and-13, a sign of things to come.
He capped his first drive as the Packers full-time starting quarterback with an 8-yard touchdown toss to Doubs on third-and-goal. Doubs hit the Bears secondary with a double move before running an in-breaking route to get open in the middle of the end zone for the score. Love rifled the football right into Doubs' chest for the first touchdown of the contest.
The Bears' next two drives both concluded with made field goals from kicker Cairo Santos (47 and 29 yards) after third-down incompletions by Fields short-circuited Chicago possessions. The 29-yard kick near the goal line came after the Packers' 13th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, defensive end Lukas Van Ness, introduced himself to Fields. On second and goal from the four, Van Ness flushed Fields out toward the right sideline after play-action fake out of the shotgun and then hurled the Bears dual-threat quarterback out of bounds for a 7-yard loss.
Confusing clock management on Green Bay's final drive of the half forced the Green and Gold to settle for a 52-yard field goal. Following a second-and-10 sack by new Bears defensive end Yannick Ngakoue at the Chicago 26, Green Bay was pushed back to the 34. LaFleur curiously opted to let the clock run down to four seconds before burning the Packers' final timeout.
Packers rookie sixth-round pick kicker Anders Carlson blasted a 52-yard field goal, his first regular-season field goal attempt right up the middle of the uprights to give Green Bay an extra three points as time expired in the first half. Green Bay took a 10-6 lead into the locker room at Solider Field, and they began the second half with the football.
After only five carries for 24 rushing yards in the first half, LaFleur featured Jones to open the second half. His 51-yard catch-and-run off a screen pass from Love drove the Packers down to the Bears seven, putting them near the goal line. His final play of the drive, a one-yard scamper into the end zone, concluded the possession with a touchdown. That gave the Packers a 17-6 advantage over the Bears early in the third quarter.
The Packers starting running back totaled 17 rushing yards and a touchdown on four carries as well as the one catch for 51 yards for a grand total of 68 yards of scrimmage and a touchdown on five touches during the eight-play scoring march.
Later on, facing a fourth-and-three from the Bears 35, LaFleur went for a potential kill shot and a three-possession lead midway though the third quarter. Love and Jones provided that punch after the quarterback hit his running back over the middle on an option route, and Jones did the rest, sprinting away for a 35-yard catch-and-run touchdown. The Packers led the Bears 24-6 with 6:26 left in the third quarter after that massive fourth-down conversion.
However, Jones suffered a potential scare at the tail end of his second touchdown of the day. He visibly grabbed his hamstring/quad area as he galloped into the end zone. Per Fox Sports' Erin Andrews on the television broadcast, Jones told his teammates on the sidelines that he was fine. He did not return to the game after the injury, likely because the game was out of reach.
Fields and the Bears eventually clapped back with a touchdown following a 20-yard touchdown toss from the quarterback to fourth-year receiver Darnell Mooney. Chicago converted the ensuing two-point conversion on a shotgun handoff to running back Khalil Herbert to trim the Green Bay lead down to 10, 24-14 , entering the fourth quarter.
A wild sequence of events then resulted in a familiar outcome: another Love touchdown pass to Doubs. On third down and three from the Bears' 41, Love fumbled the snap, but he scooped it up and hurled it deep down the left sideline to rookie tight end Luke Musgrave who broke wide open after all the chaos.
That play set up the Packers with a first-and-goal four yards away from the end zone. Love found Doubs in the back left corner via a goal line fade route for the duo's second scoring strike of the afternoon on the very next play, pushing the Green Bay lead up back up to 17 points, 31-14, with 13:34 left in the game.
The wheels completely came off the Bears' wagon three plays later after Packers inside linebacker Quay Walker stepped in front of a Fields' throw intended for Mooney, and he spun away from potential tacklers to return the takeaway 37 yards for a pick-six touchdown, running up the score to 38-14 Packers with 12:36 left in the game. Fields finished the afternoon with 216 passing yards, one passing touchdown and an interception that was returned for a touchdown on 24-of-37 passing. His 59 rushing yards on nine carries led all players in the game Sunday, but he did not find the end zone on the ground. Bears rookie fifth-round running back Roschon Johnson added a garbage time, two-yard rushing touchdown for Chicago's final points.
Here's an in-depth look at why Green Bay ran away from Chicago with some key takeaways.
Why the Packers won
Love out-played Fields and made big throw after big throw on third down, fourth down and in the red zone. He completed seven of his nine third-down throws for 106 passing yards and the eight-yard touchdown to Doubs on their opening drive. Love's only fourth-down throw ended up as a dart into Jones' chest, which allowed his running back to make the catch in stride and break away for a 35-yard touchdown. Two of his four red zone passes were completed, both touchdown to Doubs. Love wasn't just checking the ball down, he hit on deep and intermediate throws all over the field for the entirety of Sunday afternoon.
Green Bay concluded all of their red zone trips with touchdowns -- two Love touchdown tosses to Doubs and Jones' one-yard touchdown run. Jones provided critical production to break the game open in the second half, and that was about it. As the Packers' lead grew, the Green Bay defense's defensive line continued to get more and more pressure on Fields, which allowed them to force two turnovers.
They were able to coerce a forced fumble and a pick-six of Fields, two plays that closed the door on the host Bears. Walker's 37-yard interception return ran the score up to 38-14 early in the fourth quarter, sealing the deal for the Green and Gold.
Why the Bears lost
Fields couldn't keep pace with Love. He appeared to be the full-time starter for the first time instead of Love, and Love appeared to be the quarterback entering his third year as a starter, not Fields. The Chicago quarterback was unable to connect with Moore, his new WR1, only targeting him twice, which resulted in 25 yards on two catches.
Until Fields can get in a rhythm throwing the football to Moore and others, the Bears offense will continue to be one-dimensional, thus making them any easy team to prepare to play against.
Turning point
Aaron Jones' 35-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the third quarter with the Packers facing a fourth-down and three. Green Bay already led 17-6 after Jones' one-yard touchdown run on the previous drive, but this play broke Chicago's will. Any idea that they could rattle Love on the road in his first start as the Packers full-time starter completely dissipated after he hit Jones in stride for a score that put Green Bay up 18, 24-6.
Play of the game
Packers inside linebacker Quay Walker's 37-yard pick-six of Justin Fields that gave Green Bay a 38-14 lead, a 24-point margin, with just under 13 minutes left in the game. He followed Fields' eyes and easily stepped in front of his throw to corral the football. Then, he hit Bears would-be tacklers with some sweet moves. First, there was a broken tackle by putting his shoulder into running back Roschon Johnson's chest, and then Walker hit tight end Cole Kmet with a spin move to reverse field and finish the return in the end zone. Incredible agility and vision as a ball-carrier for someone who doesn't usually have the football in his hands.
What's next
The 1-0 Packers hit the road in Week 2 and head down south to face the 1-0 Atlanta Falcons. The Dirty Birds won their season opener 24-10 at home against the NFC South rival Carolina Panthers. The 0-1 Bears will also be on the move in Week 2 to face an NFC South opponent, the 1-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw two touchdowns in his Buccaneers debut as Tampa Bay topped the reigning NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings 20-17 on the road.