Matt LaFleur was hired as the Packers head coach on the back of his work as an offensive assistant, but his record isn’t 1-0 because of the work done by his offense on Thursday night.
The Packers defense held the Bears to 254 yards while sacking Mitchell Trubisky five times and intercepting him once in a 10-3 win at Soldier Field.
The interception was made by safety Adrian Amos while Preston Smith had 1.5 sacks and Za’Darius Smith added another sack. All of those players were signed by General Manager Brian Gutekunst this offseason and LaFleur noted that activity while thanking the defense for bailing out an offense that was quiet outside of an impressive first half touchdown drive.
“That defense was smothering,” LaFleur said, via Michael Silver of NFL Media. “It’s been awhile since a [Packers] defense came in saved the day. I’m so glad and thankful that Gutey invested in those guys. It was a great night for him, and for [defensive coordinator] Mike Pettine and our defensive staff . . . and our players, of course.”
The Packers now head to Green Bay for three straight games and will host five of the next six contests. They’ll hope the offense makes strides, but will do so with confidence that the defense can hold its own while that unit finds its footing.