If anyone out there says they saw Sunday's result coming, I'll happily call them a liar. Before this game began, I was a nervous wreck. Pacing back and forth, wetting my dry mouth with a couple of pours of whiskey.
I didn't think the Packers had a shot in this one. My pre-game prediction was 28-24 Bears, mostly stemming from a supposed dominance of Chicago on the ground.
I've never been so happy to be wrong.
Victory over the Bears puts the Packers back in comfortable territory
By the time all four quarters had passed, Green Bay had blown out the Bears in incredible, dominant fashion. It's hard to put into words how important this win felt, but for a team and fanbase that had been struggling for optimism over the past 10 months, it really does feel like a turning point.
The defense put together a standout performance on Sunday, but it was the offense that gets my game ball for Week 5.
Flash back to the immediate aftermath of the Falcons game. If you'll recall, the sky was in the process of falling. At 1-2, the Packers had no path forward to offensive viability, no run game, a franchise QB who looked afraid to play football, and a head coach whose seat was on fire.
While the offensive line has quietly improved itself to a viable NFL unit, the rushing game remains solidly within the range of "uncomfortable." Even in a blowout performance, the team managed only 2.7 yards per carry. Green Bay got no relief, and there's none in sight.
And yet, I suddenly have a new, overwhelming sense of optimism for the Packers offense. The reason for it? He's 6-foot-4, with a rocket arm and a silly body: Jordan Alexander Love.
The Packers have found their winning formula with Jordan Love
Over the last two weeks, the Packers have won two games. In those two games, they have taken drastically different approaches to the passing game. Per SumerSports, Love's average time to throw against Tampa Bay was a season-low 2.24 seconds, with an average depth of target of only 7.17 yards, both below the NFL average.
But against Chicago, those numbers rose to an average of 2.79 seconds to throw and an average depth of 8.30 yards, this time above the NFL average.
Let's be clear: the Chicago game's numbers aren't possible if there isn't some level of trust in the offensive line.
Perhaps they earned that trust during the Buccaneers game, where they didn't allow a single sack. But Green Bay made a decision to build a gameplan based around longer, developing pass concepts against the team with the better pass rush (Tampa's 30 percent pressure rate compared to Chicago's 39 percent).
That's a calculated risk, but still a risk.
So, for Jordan Love to have the kind of game he put out there today is a signal that this is what the gameplan should look like going forward.
Love was clearly uncomfortable using a dink-and-dunk approach in Tampa last week, but when allowed to unleash his deep-throw ability, he can deliver this kind of performance: 367 yards, two touchdowns, and a 137.5 passer rating.
According to ESPN Insights, he had five completions with over 30 air yards in this game, only the second time that's been done since 2006. And to top it all off, the most passing yards by a Packers QB against the Bears at home in franchise history.
Not every game will look like this one. I'm not a total homer. But put these two wins back-to-back, and there's a clear winner for which approach the Packers should lean into moving forward. And with Kevin Zeitler taking the reins at right guard soon, the offensive line still has room to improve for the rest of the season.
There's very little tilted in Green Bay's favor right now, but they have Jordan Love.
When he puts out performances like these, you've got to believe that the way out is through his arm. With the Packers sitting at 3-2, they are squarely back in the wild-card and division title race.
There's plenty of nervous pacing still to be done this season, but as long as we've got Love chucking bombs to Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, the Packers are putting themselves in the best possible position.
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