The Chicago Bears saw two of their future opponents in Thursday night's matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Falcons. Here are some key stats fans should know about both teams.
The Atlanta Falcons' 35-14 win over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football at Lambeau Field previewed two of the opponents the Chicago Bears will play in a few weeks.
Chicago will travel to Green Bay for the team's Week 5 matchup and stay on the road the following week to face the Atlanta Falcons.
The NFL is a week-to-week league, everybody knows that. The Bears went from scoring 59 points against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 to just three points in the loss to the Minnesota Vikings the following week. The Bears are dealing with their own issues at the moment and are currently down to their third-string quarterback in Case Keenum.
After the Falcons embarrassed the Packers in their home opener, Atlanta posses more of a threat to Chicago than Green Bay does at this point of the season.
One of the biggest differences between the Packers and Falcons is each team's running game. According to ESPN Packers reporter Rob Demovsky, the Packers have rushed for a total of 146 yards this season, their fewest rushing yards through the first three games since 1933. Falcons running back Bijan Robinson ran for 194 yards on Thursday night against the Packers.
Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd leads the Packers with 68 rushing yards on 23 carries. Green Bay doesn't have a rushing touchdown on the season.
There are plenty of issues with Green Bay's offense right now, but the main culprit is the offensive line. The unit has been a complete liability through the first three weeks of the 2-26 NFL season. Green Bay's 16% pass block win rate is the lowest by any team through the first three games of a season since PBRW was first tracked in 2017, according to Demovsky.
According to ESPN's Mina Kimes, the Falcons generated 15 quick pressures on Packers quarterback Jordan Love, the second-most in any game this season. The Vikings recorded 17 quick pressures in the Week 1 win over the Packers.
Just to add to the struggles, opposing defenses have pressured Love 40 times -- the most in the NFL and 16 more than the second-place Lions. Love has also been hit 10.3 times per game, first in the league, according to radar360.
Atlanta has allowed 14 total quarterback pressure, placing them 21st in the NFL. Falcons quarterbacks this season have been hit 4.0 times per game, tied for 29th in the league.
Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's unit is tied in the top five for quarterback pressures generated (25), an encouraging sign for Chicago's defense. If the Packers continue their struggles protecting Love and the Bears build off their early success pressure quarterbacks, could be an ideal situation for Allen's defense.
Through the first two weeks, the Bears have given up 724 total yards -- ninth-most in the NFL. So the team has areas where it can it make improvements, which can be said about every team at this point.
A lot can happen from now unit the Bears face the Packers and Falcons. We'll have to see how each team handles the next few weeks. The Bears' main priority right now are the Eagles and trying to find a way to leave the primetime matchup with a win to improve to 2-1 on the season.
