Packers: Five players to watch vs. Bears in season opener
By Jesse Fry
The wait is over and the 2019 season begins Thursday. Which players will be key factors in the game for the Green Bay Packers?
The NFL will kick off its 100th season on Thursday night with a classic rivalry, the Packers versus the Bears, in primetime. A game that is usually reserved for the defending Super Bowl champions is being replaced with the league’s oldest rivalry to help kick off it’s centennial celebration.
For my money, the NFL couldn’t have picked a better game to start the 2019 season.
Head Coach Matt LaFleur will make his regular season debut as the lead man and play-caller for the Packers. He’ll be facing a top-five defense and playing a quarterback who has not yet taken a meaningful snap in his system.
In addition, Aaron Rodgers will be making his 2019 season debut. Rodgers did not play a single snap this preseason and will now have Khalil Mack breathing down his back the first time he drops back.
A heated rivalry now has some new fire as the Bears are no longer the Packers’ whooping boys as current NFC North champions. For the first time in a long time, the Packers are the team coming into the game with years between playoff appearances and the Bears are the ones with Super Bowl aspirations.
For years, Rodgers has been absolute fire against the Bears. Rodgers owns a 17-5 career record against the Bears with a 103.7 passer rating. To say he has been good would be an understatement. But the Bears now feel they have the pieces in place to end Rodgers’ run of dominance over the team.
If this game is anything like last year’s season opener, it won’t be decided until the final seconds of the contest. Fans should buckle up and get ready for what I hope will be another classic game.
And here are five players that could decide the game.