There is a lot of excitement surrounding the Bears vs Packers week one matchup. Rightfully so, as both teams made significant roster changes this offseason. Seeing how these roster changes affect each team during the game will be interesting. With that in mind, here are four Bears players to watch in week one against the Packers.
Darnell wright
In Wright’s regular season debut, he will go one-on-one with Rashuan Gary. This will be a tough matchup for Wright, as Gary is a proven force in the NFL. Gary has earned his label as a dangerous pass rusher by gaining 22.5 sacks in his first four seasons. So, with Wright only playing seven snaps in the preseason, he could have a tough time acclimating to NFL game speed. That is not desirable when having to face a force like Gary.
Luckily, Gary will not play 100% of the snaps against Wright, who is coming off an injury. That takes some pressure off of Wright since he will be going up against a backup when Gery is not on the field. Even so, Wright must prove no matter who the rusher is he can protect Fields well. Having a good game against the Packers will help set building blocks for improving through the rest of the season.
Chase Claypool
During training camp press conferences, Claypool made it a point that this season is the biggest of his life. That is a fair assessment, with it being his contract year. Claypool was backing up these words during camp by playing well. However, he was unable to show the improvements he made during camp in the preseason due to an injury. This means Claypool needs to start the season off strong against the Packers.
However, having a good game against the Packers may be difficult since they have good coverage cornerbacks. That means there will be a battle between Claypool and the Packers’ cornerbacks. Resulting in matchups that will be fun to watch throughout the game. If Claypool can beat the Packers cornerbacks off the line of scrimmage, he should have a nice opening game.
Tyrique Stevenson
Rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson will be one of the most interesting players to watch throughout the season on the Bears. Since he can make impactful plays but will also make plenty of mistakes because of his physicality and inexperience. Entering his first NFL start his inexperience may not play a huge factor. That is because the Packers’ wide receiving core is also young. The Packers’ inexperienced receivers might help Stevenson look better because they might stare down where the route is supposed to go. This will make Stevenson’s job easier and he might make more plays on the ball potentially leading to an interception. That type of play would excite fans and energize Soldier Field.
On the other hand, Stevenson’s physicality and inexperience might draw penalties. Penalties that could bail the Packers out of bad situations and keep them in the game. Hopefully, with the inexperienced receivers, Stevenson does not draw many penalties. It will be interesting to see if Stevenson can have a good start to the season.
Yannick Ngakoue
The signing of Ngakoue in the middle of training camp gave the Bears a legitimate pass-rush threat on the defensive line. His pass-rush ability is going to help the Bears get in Jordan Love’s face during this game. While Ngakoue has been a strong pass rusher throughout his career, he has not been a good run-stopper. However, coach Matt Eberflus told reporters after signing Ngakoue that he expects Ngakoue to be a three-down player. That means he would play on run-downs too.
That is an important thing to know when facing the Packers, who plan to run the ball a lot. That means Ngakoue will need to be a run-stopping contributor fast. He can do this by helping set edges. By setting Edges Ngakoues will allow other players to swarm the running back and stuff the run. If Ngakoue starts off the season strong defending the run that will be a good sign.
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