CHICAGO (AP) — Jordan Love looked like he might be ready to follow in the footsteps of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, throwing for three touchdowns to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 38-20 season-opening victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Aaron Jones ran for a touchdown and caught one, helping the Packers pull away in the second half for their ninth straight win over the Bears. Green Bay was 25-5 against Chicago with Rodgers, counting an NFC championship game win at Soldier Field in the 2010 season, and the Packers were 22-10 in games Favre started.
Love completed 15 of 27 passes for 245 yards and posted a 123.2 rating. It was a promising outing for a quarterback whose only other start was a loss at Kansas City in 2021 when Rodgers was sidelined with COVID-19.
Jones caught two passes for 86 yards, including a 51-yarder off a screen that led to a scoring run for him in the third quarter. He then left the game with what the team called a hamstring injury, with his future status unknown.
Romeo Doubs added two touchdown catches. Quay Walker returned an interception 37 yards for a TD, and the Packers won for the 13th time in 14 games at Soldier Field.
The Bears lost their 11th straight game overall, and their 10th in a row against NFC North opponents.
Green Bay scored touchdowns on their first two drives in the second half to break open a four-point game. Jones set up a TD on the opening drive of the third when he took a screen from Love — throwing off his back foot and across the field — and turned it into a 51-yard gain to the 7. Jones ran it in from the 1.
The Packers’ Jayden Reed returned a punt 35 yards to the Chicago 42, leading to another score. Love hit Jones on a slant for a 35-yard TD, making it 24-6.
The Bears pulled within 10 with about a minute left in the third when Darnell Mooney caught a 20-yard TD pass from Fields. Khahlil Herbert converted the 2-point run.
But the Packers quickly quieted the crowd with a 61-yard touchdown drive. Love found a wide-open Luke Musgrave for a 37-yard pass to the 4 after fumbling the snap and threw TD to Doubs on the next play, making it 31-14 with 13:30 remaining.
Walker then picked off Fields and returned the interception 37 yards for a touchdown to make it a 24-point game.
By Andrew Seligman, Associated Press
