Regular Season Weeks 1-3
In part one, I looked ahead into the future and was able to see how exactly how training camp and the preseason for the Green Bay Packers is going to go down. If you didn’t have the opportunity to read part one, then click here to catch up! This week I look ahead to the first three games of the regular season. This is Nostra-Damon: Peering Into The Packers Future Part Two.
Week 1: Packers at Bears
The leadup to the Packers at Bears game is quite different this time around than it has been in a long time. Aaron Rodgers, who has “owned the Bears” for his entire tenure as the starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, is now gone. With Rodgers being gone, the national media has started to look down upon the Packers. The Bears, according to everyone outside of Green Bay, is the odds-on favorite to win game one.
According to the narrative, the Packers are going to be the bottom of the NFC North. Well, I’m here to tell you if this is what the future holds.
Watch Out For Roschon Johnson
This game was very close in the end. The Bears unleashed a three-headed beast at running back against the Packers in Khalil Herbert, D’Onta Foreman, and rookie running back Roschon Johnson. The Packers run defense was still very much leaky to start the season. It had a tough time with Justin Fields’ running game as well.
However, the Packers were able to shut down the passing game of the Bears offense. Joe Barry seemingly learned a lesson from last year and had Jaire Alexander follow DJ Moore, whom he held in check for the most part. The one time Jaire was not lined up across from Moore, he burned the defense on, of course, a crossing route.
Everyone was very excited to see what Jordan Love was going to do in his first start as the franchise quarterback of the Packers. So, on the first drive of the season, Jordan Love went 0-0 passing. The drive ended in a touchdown but the Packers ran the ball extremely well with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. The one time Love had a pass called, he ended up running for a 20-yard gain.
The Packers ended the game with over 200 rushing yards against the Bears; all the while Jordan Love had 176 passing yard, one touchdown, and an interception. The Packers ended up getting the win:
Packers 24-Bears 20
Week 2: Packers at Falcons
The Packers start the first two games on the road, with the second one being against the up-and-coming Atlanta Falcons. During the off-season, the Atlanta Falcons had made some key moves on both sides of the ball. Last season, they were ranked 27th in defensive yards allowed, which was not good. But with several key additions, they were looking to turn things around.
One of the key additions for the Falcons was former Detroit Lions Corner Jeff Okuda. Okuda lacked the production as a Lion but was hoping to turn things around for the Falcons. In this game Romeo Doubs made sure that was not gonna happen. While Christian Watson was covered by AJ Terrell, Doubs was able to make some key catches against Okuda.
The Atlanta Falcons main focus on offense was to run the ball with rookie star running back Bijan Robinson. Robinson did have some success, but without an effective passing game out of Desmond Ridder, the Falcons offense was way too one-dimensional. The Falcons had a decent record at home last year going 6-3 in Atlanta. On this day, the Packers got the win.
Packers 31-17
Week 3: Saints at Packers
The Saints had an interesting off-season to say the least. Derek Carr is now the new quarterback in town, and in his first two games against the Titans and the Panthers he looked really good. The Saints, through the first three games, have had success through the passing game with their top three wide receivers and their stud pass-catching running back NOT named Alvin Kamara.
With Alvin Kamara not being with the team, rookie running back Kendre Miller took over Kamara’s role with much success. The Saints were back to having a two-headed behemoth of a running attack with Miller being their slasher and pass catching back and former Green Bay Packer Jamaal Williams as their power back.
With this tandem, the Packers got hit hard with the run game. Because the Packers defense struggled with the run, this left them quite vulnerable to the play action in which Michael Thomas and Chris Olave benefited greatly.
The Saints defense were as tough as ever and stymied the Packers offense all game long. The Packers offense wasn’t ever able to get going and seemed to just be too inconsistent all game long. That being said, Jordan Love played his heart out during his first-ever start in Green Bay and made some great plays. It just wasn’t enough. The Packers took their first loss of the season at home.
Packers 21-Saints 31
Summary So Far
The Packers have had an up and down start to the season. They started out 2-0 just to lose the home opener in week 3. The green and gold have proven that they can be successful on the offensive side of the ball. The running game has been great and Jordan Love has showed some promise. The defensive side of the ball has not been the best in the run game due to some absences on that side of the ball. At this point in the season, the Packers are 2-1 – but who really knows what is going to happen?
I do.
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Damon is a diehard, fully-immersed cheesehead who currently lives in southern Missouri. He teaches at a local high school and has a family YouTube channel about all things Packers. You can follow him on twitter at @packersfamily and on YouTube at The Packers Family.
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