The more things change, the more they stay the same in the Green Bay Packers' season opener Sunday afternoon in Chicago as they beat the Bears 38-20 in front of a capacity crowd at Soldier Field.
The Packers opened the scoring with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Romeo Doubs only to see the Bears claw back with two drives that ended in Cairo Santos field goals. The half ended with Anders Carlson drilling a field goal as the clock expired to make it 10-6 at the break, setting the stage for a second half that was all Packers.
Aaron Jones scored touchdowns on consecutive drives for the Packers, including one on a 35-yard pass from Love to make 24-6. A touchdown pass from Justin Fields to Darnell Mooney narrowed the lead, only to see the Packers score twice to kick off the fourth quarter and exploit the rout. The second of those scores was especially backbreaking as Quay Walker intercepted a Fields pass and bounced his way through the Bears offense to score on a 37-yard touchdown return. The Bears would score once more with three minutes to play and the game well in hand.
Love threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns in his second start of the season, making up for a rushing attack well contained by the Bears' newly formed front seven.
The Packers will rest up before making the trip to Atlanta next week for a noon kick.
