Packers Saved by Special Teams

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Photo by Evan Siegle - packers.com

Christian Watson's diving catch vs. the Bears, Nov. 17, 2024

Christian Watson's diving catch vs. the Bears, Nov. 17, 2024

There is always a danger in facing a team with a new coordinator. Early last week, the Bears moved on from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron after a loss in which the New England Patriots sacked Bears’ quarterback Caleb Williams nine times. Waldron prefers to run an aggressive passing offense featuring deep shots, and the Bears’ offensive line was not up to the task. Even after they suffered several injuries, Waldron refused to adjust, and that refusal cost him his job.

New Bears’ offensive coordinator Thomas Brown got the message loud and clear, and the Bears showed up to Soldier Field with an entirely new scheme built around quick passes and quarterback mobility. The Packers seemed completely unprepared for the adjustment and once Jaire Alexander was forced to leave the game with an injury once again, the Bears picked the Packers apart. Caleb Williams was efficient if unspectacular through the air, completing 23 of 31 passes for 231 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions, but he converted several key long third downs, and his running (70 yards on nine carries) kept the Packer linebackers off balance. In total, the Bears picked on the light Packer defensive front and linebacker Quay Walker, rushing 34 times for 179 yards and two touchdowns, and that strong rushing attack almost won the game. 

Mobile Quarterbacks

Green Bay hasn’t struggled against mobile quarterbacks so far this season, holding Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray, and Anthony Richardson in check, but Caleb Williams took them by surprise, rushing for a season high 70 yards on a season high 9 carries. In their game against the Patriots last week, Williams only rushed twice for 15 yards, and under Waldron, he only averaged five scrambles per game. Green Bay did get to Williams three times, with two of those sacks (Rashan Gary, TJ Slaton) coming on Chicago’s final drive, but this was a massive improvement from the Bears, and a disappointing day for the Packer pass-rushers.

On offense, the Packers continued to struggle against themselves more than their opponents as turnovers, and inefficient red zone play continued to plague the team. Jordan Love was a crisp thirteen of seventeen for 261 yards, two total touchdowns, and one interception, but key drops and mistakes made sustained drives impossible. The interception was, at least, not the result of a poor decision or injury, as Love had Tucker Kraft wide open for a first down, and potentially a touchdown on the play. It was the result of poor execution as Love’s mechanics deserted him, and he threw off his back foot over Kraft, and into the arms of Bears corner Terrell Smith, who made a diving interception. 

Due to a run-heavy attack and extremely slow pacing by both teams, the Packers only managed to run 43 offensive plays the entire game, while the Bears ran 68. Part of the discrepancy was caused by the Packer reliance on big plays to move the ball, and an incredible game from Christian Watson, who caught all four of his targets for 150 yards. The Bears came into the game as one of the best teams against primary receivers due to the elite play of corner Jaylon Johnson, but they are also one of the absolute worst against secondary receivers. Johnson stuck with Romeo Doubs for most of the afternoon, and Love capitalized with Watson on several huge plays, but Watson was never quite able to punch it in himself. The Packers’ continued to struggle in the red zone, as they had the ball inside the Chicago five-yard line three times, and only managed a single touchdown on a one-yard run from Love. 

The Packers did manage to take a one-point lead with three minutes remaining on that run from Love, but on the subsequent Chicago drive, Caleb Williams and rookie receiver Rome Odunze quickly moved the Bears into field goal range, and a twelve-yard pass from Williams to Keenan Allen put the Bears at the Green Bay 30-yard line with 35 seconds remaining, and one timeout. The Bears then made a fatal mistake of getting too conservative. 

The Block

Kicker Cairo Santos has made 94% of his career kicks inside of forty yards, but from 40 to 50 yards, that number plunges to 78%. Despite playing outdoors on the perennially poor Soldier Field grass, the Bears opted to run the clock rather than get any closer, eventually settling for a 45-yard field goal attempt. After the game, Packer special teams coach Rich Bisaccia revealed to reporters that prior to the game, he told his players they would get a block today, and that is exactly what happened as Karl Brooks exploited a weakness inside of the Chicago guard to get a hand on the ball, giving the Packers the win.

After the game, Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus told reporters he would be sending tape of the field goal block to the league, claiming that Brooks illegally hit the long snapper on the play; however upon watching tape of the kick, it’s clear that long snapper Scott Daly stayed in his prone stance for an extended period rather than popping up to block. Long snappers are protected on field goals and may not be contacted while in a defenseless position, however once they have completed the motion of the snap (after about one second) they are required to engage in blocking. 

The Bears were actually called for a penalty on a similar play against Arizona two weeks ago, which granted the Cardinals a new set of downs, allowing them to turn a field goal into a touchdown. I can’t help wondering if the Bears may have instructed Daly to attempt to draw penalties in this manner, and if this observation may have been why Bisaccia was so confident in predicting a block in this game. 

Whether it was a savvy bit of special teams tape study, or simply a great individual effort by Brooks, the Packers are now in a great spot with a 7-3 record, and an oppo