Packers 2017 schedule release: Game-by-game predictions
By Kenn Korb
Week 4: vs. Chicago Bears
I’ll be quick about this one: there’s no reason Green Bay should lose this game.
They have a drastically better team, even if their defense doesn’t improve at all over what we saw from their secondary in 2016. Even during one of their worst stretches last year, when they allowed at least 30 points in five of six contests mainly due to an inability to cover a wet paper bag, they held Chicago to just 10 points.
The secondary, even if they don’t add anyone new or immediately impactful through the draft, should be better. The group was at least manageably bad for many of the games following that stretch (a huge improvement from what they were before), and they almost certainly must have better health this time around.
It is easy to forget that a big factor in the struggles of Quinten Rollins and Damarious Randall was how much injuries affected them. Rollins missed three games in the regular season, two in the playoffs, and saw less than 25 snaps in a couple others. Randall missed six games in the middle of the year and played just 17 snaps in another. In Rollins’ regular season absences, Green Bay went 1-2; in Randall’s (many of which were at the same time as Rollins’), they went 2-4.
There’s no guarantee those two will be better than they were in 2016, but being healthier can change a lot. If it doesn’t, Green Bay should have other guys available to turn to (LaDarius Gunter, Davon House, a new draft pick or two) and keep this from even being much of a contest.
Chicago may have moved on from Jay Cutler, but even a bad secondary should have a good showing against new Chicago QB Mike Glennon.
Packers 31, Bears 17 (3-1)