Khalil Mack just missed a chance to swipe at Aaron Rodgers in the pocket, but a moment later, Leonard Floyd jumped in to finish the job. As Rodgers lay on his back reeling from the sack, Mack came over and sinisterly smacked the ball out of his hand.
It was a ferocious start by the Bears’ defense, but it takes near perfection to survive against Rodgers. They couldn’t keep it up, and he washed out their early progress with a quick, machinelike drive to take a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter.
The Bears flattened him for three straight three-and-outs to open the game, much to the delight of new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, and the Packers ended the first quarter with minus-12 total yards. It was the first time they were below zero through three possessions with Rodgers at quarterback.
Roquan Smith shut down the first two plays, a run by Aaron Jones and a Rodgers pass to Jones, for no gain. Then Roy Robertson-Harris ripped through for a 10-yard sack.
While the Bears’ defense dominated the first quarter, their offense managed a meager 3-0 lead. That never feels safe against Rodgers.
On his fourth try, starting 17 seconds into the second quarter, he unleashed a nightmare that seemed awfully familiar to the Bears. He opened with a haymaker by hitting Marquez Valdes-Scantling, beating Prince Amukamara for 47 yards down the middle of the field.
Rodgers completed passes on the next three plays, the final one being an 8-yarder through traffic to tight end Jimmy Graham with safety Deon Bush on his back. The Bears had 12 men on the field for that one and still couldn’t stop it.
That drive, 74 yards in a staggering 95 seconds, was the only significant lapse by the defense through three quarters. It was the only time Green Bay got into the red zone.
Aside from that possession, Rodgers was 12 of 22 for 73 yards going into the fourth quarter.
The Bears sacked him five times on the Packers’ first nine possessions. Floyd had two, and they got one from Robertson-Harris, Akiem Hicks and Aaron Lynch as well. Four of those were drive-enders on third downs, and Green Bay went 0 for 7 on third downs in the first half.
It was a landmark night for Robertson-Harris, who also had another tackle for loss. He could be one of the Bears’ breakout stars this season in his third year after making the team as an undrafted rookie out of UTEP. He had three sacks last season while playing just 33.6 percent of the defensive snaps.
Robertson-Harris nearly sacked Rodgers again with 7:42 left in the second quarter, but he slipped away and flipped a 5-yard pass to Jamaal Williams.
The Bears didn’t pull down any picks off Rodgers in the first three quarters, but all-pro cornerback Kyle Fuller broke up two passes and Amukamara and Buster Skrine had one apiece.
Fuller and linebacker Danny Trevathan also led the team with five tackles through three quarters. Smith had four.
The Packers had a miserable time trying to run on the Bears early in the game as well. They had 7 yards on six attempts in the first half, with the bulk of those coming on a 5-yard gain by Williams.
The Bears gave up 41 points over their two games with the Packers last season, a series split. Rodgers scorched them for a 130.7 passer rating in a comeback win in the opener, but managed just 68.9 in the Bears’ late-season win at Soldier Field.
