If you would have told me the Packers would head into their week 3 matchup with Chicago with both teams tied at 2-0, and the Minnesota would be at home against Detroit tied at 0-2, there is no way I would have believed you.
However, heading into week three, that is the exact scenario in the NFC North.
The Packers faced an overmatched opponent on Sunday afternoon and rebounding from a subpar offensive outing against Philadelphia to defeat the Bills 34-7.
(For the record, I predicted the score to be 34-10)
Even though I didn't get to watch the game (Vikings vs. Dolphins on CBS too), I was able to follow the stats via NFL.com. There were a couple things I was able to gather from the Packers victory.
First off, the Packers aren't playing down to their opponents or shying away from popular preseason predictions of a Super Bowl appearance.
While the Vikings and Cowboys among other teams flounder under their preseason projections, the Packers defeated a tough Philadelphia team in Philadelphia, and were never in danger of losing to the Bills.
What does this mean about the 2010 Packers squad?
They are a confident bunch and believe they can challenge for the NFC Championship. That's half the battle. I'm interested to see how they come out to play in Chicago as Soldier Field has always been a tough place for the Packers and Aaron Rodgers to play.
The Packers went into half leading the Bills by a mere 13-7, but then proceeded to score 21 unanswered points and not allow the Bills to score in the second half.
The rush defense continued to excel. After shutting down LeSean McCoy despite a touchdown in their week 1 matchup (he ran wild over the Lions revamped defense), the Packers continued their exemplary performance by shutting down the three-headed monster of Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson, and explosive rookie C.J. Spiller.
Meanwhile, their pass rush again proved to be effective.
Can we just give the Defensive Player of the Year Award to Clay Matthews?
Matthews posted his second consecutive three sack performance and now leads the league with 6 sacks.
If Matthews were to win the award, he and Woodson would be the first teammates to win the award in back to back years since 2003 and 2004 when the Ravens' Ray Lewis and Ed Reed won the award, respectively.
The Packers pass rush also forced Edwards to make multiple errant throws including two interceptions, one to linebacker Brandon Chillar and one to rookie safety Morgan Burnett.
The Packers defense will get a better test on Monday night against Jay Cutler, who has performed well in the first two weeks in Mike Martz's offense.
However, a win will put the Packers atop the division heading into another divisional matchup against the Lions. You can bet the Packers will be in primetime form on Monday night against the Bears in Chicago.
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