Bears

Bears WR Jahdae Walker recorded a touchdown in Week 1’s win over the Panthers, but made a big impact as a blocker. Walker mentioned that a motto for their offense is, “no block, no rock.” 

“Oh shoot, [Johnson] just says, ‘no block, no rock’ and that just gets us going because we all want the ball,” Walker said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “So that’s pretty much all we be thinking about. It’s just you got to buy into it or you’re going to get left.”

Bears HC Ben Johnson was pleased to see their receivers contribute as blockers in Sunday’s win. 

“We had a lot of our little guys going down and making big plays for us on the running game that ended up being some big runs for us,” Johnson said.

• Bears RB D’Andre Swift‘s three-year, $33.75 million extension includes an $8 million signing bonus and $26 million guaranteed. He’s set to make a guaranteed salary of $9.8 million in 2027, and non-guaranteed salaries of $9.7 million in 2028 and $7.95 million in 2029. He can make up to $2.21 million in per-game roster bonuses, $700,000 in workout bonuses, and is owed a $1 million roster bonus in 2029. (OverTheCap)

Packers

Packers QB Jordan Love sustained 18 hits in Week 1’s loss to the Vikings. Green Bay OC Adam Stenavich said their blocking was below standard and they must improve. 

“Eighteen times, actually,” Stenavich said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “It’s not good enough. It’s not the standard. That’s not what we’re going to be about. We’ve got to be better.”

Love tossed an interception and was sacked four times in the second half of Sunday’s loss. Stenavich said they need to make sure they communicate well in difficult environments. 

“I felt like as far as guys knowing what to do going into a game plan, I felt pretty good with all of that stuff,” Stenavich said. “But again, when you get into those environments, it’s just a good learning tool for everybody of how important it is to just be on top of your communication in those hostile environments. So we’ve just got to learn from it and get better. I said it last week in my press conference that this was going to be probably the toughest environment that we were going to play in, mixed with all the pressures and different communication things we’re going to have to face. … I’m not going to freak out or overreact or anything like that. This is the first game of a 17-game season.”

As for LT Jordan Morgan‘s performance, Stenavich is sure there are plays he’d like back and said they need to make sure they are improving their technique going forward. 

“I think he could be better, and he will be. There were some plays I think he would like to have back, but again, it’s the first game of the year, and we’ve just got to make sure we’re improving with our technique and everything like that,” Stenavich said. 

• Packers HC Matt LaFleur said LG Aaron Banks (knee) returned to practice on Wednesday and they are ramping him up ahead of Week 2: “We’re trying to get him ramped up, ready to go, but that’s a process that will take through the week.” (Ryan Wood)

Vikings

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell told reporters that over his time in Minnesota, he has learned that winning matters more than worrying about the stat sheet or whether people see him as a good coach.

“I don’t think, in some of the adversity (the Vikings have faced in recent years), I’ve coached very well,” O’Connell said, via Alec Lewis of The Athletic. “Trying to maybe worry about the stat sheet (hurt the team). Trying to maybe worry about what it’s going to look like when you pick up the newspaper. Statistically, are people going to think you’re a good coach? It’s about winning. You learn it doesn’t matter what the stat box looks like. It doesn’t matter what the EPA (expected points added) looks like. You need to know those things to know how teams may view what you’re successful at. But none of those things matter. Winning is the only thing that matters.”

• O’Connell said they have not ruled out QB Kyler Murray (concussion) for Week 2, but he will likely need to be medically cleared by Friday to be available, per Kevin Seifert.