It’s a nice break for Bears coach Matt Eberflus that, in only his second season, he is free from the problem that undid so many of his predecessors. With Aaron Rodgers gone, Eberflus gets a fresh start against the Packers.
Perhaps their new quarterback, Jordan Love, is headed for greatness like Rodgers and Brett Favre before him, but for now he’s just trying to prove himself in what will be his second career start. When the Packers come to Soldier Field on Sunday for the season opener, they don’t have a superpower anymore. They’re just another team — not an NFC North juggernaut steamrolling the Bears and the rest of the division.
And Eberflus is feeling pretty good about that.
He caught the tail end of Rodgers as he swept the stripped-down Bears last season, but both rosters have changed to the Bears’ benefit. Rodgers’ exit was cause enough for celebration, and now Eberflus has a roster that’s actually viable.
After an offseason of upgrades nearly across the board, game planning has been much different than it was for the Green Bay games last season. When he went through the one-on-one matchups he said “for sure” he saw significantly more of them pointing to the Bears’ advantage.
“We have acquired a lot of players — some good ones if you look at both sides of the ball,” he said after practice Monday. “We’re excited about those guys being able to go against our rival.”
That’s not nearly flammable enough to qualify as bulletin-board material for the Packers, but it’s obvious Eberflus likes his chances Sunday. Vegas sees at least a little of what he sees, by the way, and the Bears are a one-point favorite. They haven’t been favored against the Packers since the 2019 opener, when the Bears mistakenly thought they were headed to the Super Bowl.
But the last time they saw the Packers, the Bears sent out Justin Fields against Rodgers.
A hobbled Chase Claypool was their top wide receiver that day. Now he’s the second or third option after DJ Moore and possibly Darnell Mooney.
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson was the only starting-caliber player in the secondary, which now could make a case that it’ll be one of the NFL’s best.
The Bears started Nick Morrow, now on the Eagles’ practice squad, and undrafted rookie Jack Sanborn in that game. They’ve been replaced by $91.5 million worth of free-agent help in Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards.
The list goes on. Every aspect of the Bears’ roster, even their still-under-construction defensive line, projects to be better than it was last season. Can the Packers say that?