Stock up, stock down for Packers following Week 1 win vs. Bears

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 05: Mitchell Trubisky #10 of the Chicago Bears was brought down by Blake Martinez #50 and Adrian Amos #31 of the Green Bay Packers during the first quarter of a game at Soldier Field on September 05, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /

Stock up: Pass rush

What was the Packers’ main focus in the spring? Improve the defense, specifically the pass rush. After spending big money in free agency and then adding another pass rusher in the first round of the draft, this defense needed to show signs of improvement right away. The Packers did that, and then some, on Thursday night.

And the dominant performance started up front.

The Packers had five sacks and 11 quarterback hits against the Bears in Week 1. According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the Packers had a total of 19 pressures on Thursday night compared to a total of nine in both games against Chicago last year. There’s an instant example of how much this pass rush has improved.

But there’s more. On debut, Preston Smith has already matched Nick Perry‘s 2018 sack total of 1.5. Together, Preston and Za’Darius Smith made 2.5 sacks, only one sack short of Clay Matthews‘ total last season.

According to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Rashan Gary only played on six defensive snaps. But he did pressure Mitch Trubisky on one of those snaps along with Preston Smith, and may have even caused Trubisky’s throw to be off target. We can expect to see more from Gary as the season goes on.

And that’s what’s exciting. This defense is still a work in progress, but a dominant performance in Week 1 shows the sky is the limit for this pass rush.

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