Packers Week in Review: 31-7 Revenge Over the Bears, and a Defense Bleeding Starters

The Wild Card rematch had a lot riding on it emotionally, and Green Bay answered it emphatically. The cost, as seems to be the pattern this year, came in the injury report. Sunday night brings the Cowboys to Lambeau, so let’s get through it.

31-7: Sweet Revenge

Nine months after blowing a 21-3 lead in the Wild Card round, the Packers took the Bears apart at Lambeau Field.

It was closer than it ended up, at first — Green Bay led just 14-7 at halftime. Then the second half got away from Chicago. Christian Watson caught a 53-yard touchdown in the third quarter, MarShawn Lloyd scored two rushing touchdowns on the day, and the defense took over.

Jordan Love was close to perfect: 25-of-31 for 367 yards, two touchdowns, no turnovers, a 137.5 passer rating. Matthew Golden had another strong game. The Packers outgained Chicago 426 yards to 240.

The defense forced five takeaways — Green Bay’s most in a single game since 2016. Safety Xavier McKinney and linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper both came up with interceptions, Hopper’s in the end zone.

The win moves Green Bay to 3-2, over .500 for the first time this season. They still trail an unbeaten Minnesota team (5-0) in the division.

The Cost: Javon Hargrave

Late in the fourth quarter, with the game long decided, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave went down without contact and was carted off.

LaFleur’s postgame read was blunt: “It doesn’t look good. Early indications look like Achilles.”

Testing on Monday reportedly confirmed it — ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported a torn Achilles that ends his season, and Ian Rapoport reported the Packers believe it’s a rupture. We haven’t seen the formal injured reserve move yet, but it’s expected this week, possibly as the corresponding move to activate receiver Savion Williams.

Hargrave was one of the offseason’s headline additions, reunited with Jonathan Gannon. Karl Brooks, Anthony Campbell, Jonathan Ford, Chris McClellan and Devonte Wyatt will have to absorb his snaps. Skyy Moore (ankle) and Benjamin St-Juste (hamstring) also left the game; no update on either as of this writing.

Something We Missed Last Week: Edgerrin Cooper

Hargrave is the second defender in a row lost to an Achilles tear — and this one should have been in our last post.

Edgerrin Cooper went down in the third quarter of the Tampa Bay game on Oct. 4 with a non-contact injury to his left leg and was carted off. Tests confirmed a torn Achilles, and LaFleur said he expects Cooper to miss the rest of the season. He’d come into the game with 21 tackles, a team-best six tackles for loss, and two sacks through three games — he was playing at a very high level.

We covered that Tampa game and never mentioned it. That’s on us.

Put together, the season-ending list now includes Jayden Reed, Zach Bako-Bewele, Edgerrin Cooper and Javon Hargrave, with Micah Parsons and Josh Jacobs unavailable on top of it. This team has played five games and is already thin.

Trey Smack Finally Missed

After a 9-for-9 preseason, the rookie had a rough Sunday: he missed two field goals and an extra point, wide on kicks from 43 and 47 yards. He’s 7-of-10 on field goals this season, and one of the misses was a block.

LaFleur’s explanation was the wind — “I think he was trying to overcompensate for the wind” — and he said it doesn’t change his view: “It doesn’t shake my confidence in him.” He pointed to Smack’s near-60-yard makes.

The misses didn’t matter to the result. But 70 percent is low for a modern NFL kicker, and the questions are fair. It’s one to watch.

Parsons Still on the Sideline

The Packers don’t plan to open Micah Parsons’ 21-day practice window this week, and he’s not expected to play Sunday against his former team. LaFleur confirmed he’ll miss the game.

Reporting on the timeline is mixed. Last week Tom Pelissero said his first game action might not come until November; Schefter now says the team expects him back at some point this month, with the timing uncertain. There have been no reported setbacks. We’d treat anything with a date attached as a guess.

Next Up: Cowboys, Sunday Night

Sunday, Oct. 18 — 7:20 p.m. CT / 9:20 p.m. Brasília time, vs. the Dallas Cowboys, on NBC (Sunday Night Football).

Dallas is the team that traded Parsons to Green Bay — and Kenny Clark, who came the other way in that deal, is now a Cowboy. So it’s a revenge game in both directions, and the guy everyone circled back in August won’t be on the field for either side of it.

Green Bay is 3-2 and coming off its best performance of the year. Primetime, at Lambeau, with a full building. Stay healthy.

Go Pack Go. 💛💚

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