Will Matt LaFleur’s Packers finally win after a bye week?

Green Bay have lost the game immediately following their bye week in each of the two seasons LaFleur has been at the helm. They have not only lost both games, they have been absolutely walloped each time.

In 2019, the Packers travelled to San Francisco and were thumped 38-7 by the 49ers, then in 2020 they went on the road to Tampa Bay and got whacked 38-10 by the Buccaneers.

The common denominator between those two opponents? Both knocked the Packers out of the playoffs in the NFC Championship game later in the season.

The 2021 Chicago Bears are not nearly of the same quality as those opponents, and if they manage to also put up 38 points on Green Bay this Sunday, it will be time to accept that this is a straight up curse.

Can Green Bay slow down David Montgomery?

When the Packers and Bears faced off at Soldier Field earlier this year, Chicago’s top running back didn’t suit up, and yet, the Bears still enjoyed a solid day on the ground.

Backup tailback Khalil Herbert carried the ball 19 times for 97 yards at a clip of 5.1 yards per carry back in October, and scored a touchdown to boot.

In a stuttering Bears offense, Montgomery is the one reliable, consistent element, and will shoulder much of the responsibility for keeping Aaron Rodgers off the field.

If the Packers can’t limit Montgomery on the ground, they risk ending up in a close game on Sunday night.

Who slots into the slot?

After Randall Cobb suffered what Matt LaFleur described as a “significant” injury prior to the bye week, there is suddenly a job open in the Green Bay receiving corps.

The natural fit to replace Cobb would appear to be Amari Rodgers, who was drafted to be a weapon out of the slot well before number 18 made his return to Titletown.

However, Amari has not hit the ground running during his rookie year, being used sparingly on offense and struggling in his role as a returner.

The rise of Equanimeous St. Brown may earn him more snaps in Cobb’s absence, and EQ clearly has the trust of QB1, who has spoken glowingly about him on multiple occasions.

LaFleur is likely to mix and match where his receivers line up against the Bears, whether it be EQ, Amari, Allen Lazard or even Davante Adams, who can be a nightmare when lining up inside.

Justin Fields

Fields will return to the Chicago lineup this week, a piece of information Bears Head Coach, Matt Nagy, was kind enough to share rather than keeping the Packers guessing until Sunday.

Andy Dalton may be the more experienced quarterback, but he is also the more predictable of the two, and would definitely have been easier to plan for than Fields.

The key for Green Bay’s defense will be forcing Fields to play from the pocket and not letting him create magic with his legs. If they can do that, the rookie will almost certainly throw up a few interceptable passes which could help the Packers pull away.

Green Bay’s cornerback rotation

The big headline out of Green Bay this week was that Jaire Alexander returned to practice, however, he’s not the only Packers cornerback making a comeback.

That’s right, Kevin King will return this week after (another) injury, and soon enough Packers twitter will be inundated with vitriol towards the much-maligned corner.

King has been just fine this year, no better, no worse, but Rasul Douglas has clearly outplayed him.

Despite this, the Packers seem to have been reluctant to start Douglas over King, will that change this weekend?

It’s possible King gets snaps in the slot, but Chandon Sullivan has improved in that role in recent action and has not been such a frequent target of opposing teams’ quarterbacks.

Between Douglas, King, Sullivan and Eric Stokes, Joe Barry and Jerry Gray have some decisions to make as to how they will divide the snaps versus the Bears.