Packers RBs Jones and Dillon should play big roles vs. Bears
Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon are going to have to play key roles all season for this Green Bay Packers offense. I can’t envision a successful Packers offense that doesn’t include these two playing well. But this Sunday, in particular, against the Chicago Bears, both should be relied on heavily.
For one thing, and this will be the case all year, a consistent rushing attack will make things easier on first-time starting quarterback Jordan Love by keeping the offense out of predictable passing situations. By staying ahead of the sticks, it opens up the playbook for Matt LaFleur, allowing the offense to dictate things while setting up play-action–an important element of this offense. A reliable run game also allows the offense to control the time of possession.
In addition to all of that, slowing the run game was also something that this Bears’ defense really struggled with last season. The 4.9 yards per rush that they allowed ranked 27th, and this unit against the run ranked 29th by DVOA. In the offseason, Chicago did sign linebacker TJ Edwards and interior defender Andrew Billings, which should help against the run. But with that said, going from being close to last in run defense to a top-10 unit probably isn’t likely either.
Gene Chamberlain, who covers Chicago for Sports Illustrated’s Bears Digest, labeled the run defense as one of the weaknesses heading into 2023 and had this to say:
““They had plenty of tackles behind the line by Justin Jones as a three technique but also the scheme wasn’t in sync. Too many times opponents found gaps created by too much penetration too soon, by players who weren’t gap-sound or by defenders who just got blown off the ball. The preseason wasn’t too encouraging as the Bills and Titans quickly moved downfield on them using their rushing attacks. The Bills piled up 173 rushing yards.””