Chicago Bears vs Packers: Green Bay's Biggest Winners and Losers from NFL Week 2

Any concerns that the Green Bay Packers had after their Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers dissipated after they dispatched the Chicago Bears 23-10 on Thursday evening.

The Packers improved their record to 1-1 and avoided falling two games back to the Bears in the NFC North standings.

There were plenty of good performances on the defensive side of the football for the Packers this particular evening, including a 3.5-sack performance from Clay Matthews.

Here's a list of the Packers winners and losers from their victory over the Bears:

Winner: Clay Matthews

Clay Matthews delivered on of the Packers' few positive performances in their Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers with 2.5 sacks and followed that up with another outstanding outing against the Bears in Week 2.

Matthews had 3.5 sacks against Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, and barring an unbelievable performance by someone else this weekend, has pretty much wrapped up the NFC Defensive Player of the Week Award.

In total, Matthews has six sacks on the season, which is reminiscent of 2010 when he had the same number through two games. (For what it's worth, the Packers won the Super Bowl that season.)

What Matthews' hot start did in 2010—and what the Packers hope it does now—is focus opponents' attention so much on Matthews that opportunities open up for other players on the Green Bay defense.

It's the same old Matthews fans have become accustomed to seeing: the type of player who gets sacks based upon his hustle.

Matthews helped himself on Thursday by getting multiple first-half sacks, which helped the Packers get off to an early lead and put the Bears in a hole. When the Bears had no choice but to pass to try and catch up, Matthews could pin his ears back late in the game and get to Cutler some more.

Loser: Jermichael Finley

It wasn't as if Finley didn't contribute at all to the Packers as he had four receptions on the evening, but it was his lack of consistency that once again bit him.

Finley's most-crucial mistake was a third-quarter fumble following a catch that was punched out by Bears' cornerback Charles Tillman.

The Packers led 13-3 at the time and were just outside the red zone. At the very least, they should have had a field-goal attempt had Finley held onto the ball.

Finley's fumble pointed to another issue: he wasn't able to get any yards after contact and finished with measly 6.5 yards per reception.

He also had a dropped pass, which only underscored the inconsistency of his evening—a performance that might be more accurately depicted as detrimental to his team.

Winner: Tramon Williams

Coming into the season, there was concern about Tramon Williams after injuring his shoulder—which included nerve damage—last year. He didn't have as good a 2011 campaign as he could have, and his recovery from injury was imperative for improvement in 2012.

After a so-so outing in Week 1 against the 49ers, Williams had about as dominant a performance as a cornerback can have against the Bears.

His two interceptions of Jay Cutler will make the highlight reels as they stopped drives and put the ball back in the hands of the Packers offense. But it was the job Williams did blanketing Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall that might have been just as important.

Marshall didn't have a single targeted pass in the first half and finished the game with only two receptions for a mostly meaningless 24 yards.

For a defense that gave up the most yards in the NFL last season and the most passing yards in league history, Williams' performance helped the team take a big step in the right direction.

Loser: James Jones

James Jones had a big opportunity in front of him on Thursday evening with Greg Jennings inactive because of injury and failed to capitalize.

Jones had clearly climbed ahead of Donald Driver on the team's depth chart and would be playing among the most snaps of all the wide receivers on the team.

On the night, Jones had only two receptions that went for a total of negative-one yard. But his biggest mistake came on a play that cost the Packers a turnover.

Up 23-3 midway through the fourth quarter and looking to run out the clock, Aaron Rodgers threw to Jones down the right sideline and was picked off by Bears' cornerback Tim Jennings.

Rodgers was visibly upset at Jones after the play after the wide receiver failed to work his way back toward the ball on what was expected to be a comeback route. It continues a trend of inconsistent play from Jones that has been happening for years.

Winner: Donald Driver

Donald Driver only had one reception on Thursday, but he made the most of it.

A fourth-quarter, 26-yard touchdown reception from Aaron Rodgers extended the Packers' lead to 23-3 and put the game out of reach for the Bears.

It was the surrounding circumstances that made Driver's touchdown all that much sweeter for the 14-year veteran. In the opening-day game against the 49ers, Driver played only three snaps and wouldn't have even played that much had Greg Jennings not gotten injured late in the game.

Driver was the subject of intense scrutiny in the offseason after taking a pay cut and being kept on the roster at the expense of younger receivers, but Driver's touchdown was a way for him to quiet his critics.

And Driver's dance, reminiscent of his appearance on Dancing with the Stars, was among the most entertaining moments of the night.

Loser: Marshall Newhouse

Marshall Newhouse has been viewed as the weakest link on the Packers' offensive line, the one player with the most question marks.

With a good performance in Week 1, Newhouse eased a lot of concerns by not allowing a single sack despite the Packers losing to the 49ers. But unfortunately, he appeared to regress in Week 2.

Aaron Rodgers was on the run for much of the game with a lot of the pressure coming from the left side of the offensive line, and, to be fair, guard T.J. Lang didn't fare much better.

Rodgers was sacked five times by the Bears, including two by Julius Peppers, who beat Newhouse to register the sacks.

Winner: Special Teams Stars

The highlight of the evening was a gutsy call by the Packers when they decided to go for a fake field-goal attempt on fourth-and-26 in the second quarter and ended up with a touchdown.

Tight end Tom Crabtree lined up as a blocker on the left wing and took a shovel pass from holder Tim Masthay to pay dirt behind the strength of several key blocks.

The touchdown was the first of the game by either team and put the Packers up 10-0 before halftime.

In addition to his touchdown pass, Masthay also had a fine evening punting the football by placing three of five punts inside the 20 and limiting the dangerous Devin Hester to eight yards on only two returns.

Kicker Mason Crosby had terrific evening as well, going a perfect three-for-three on field goals, including a 54-yard conversion.

Loser: Nick Perry

It appeared as if first-round draft choice Nick Perry was demoted in favor of fellow outside linebacker Erik Walden midway through the game.

It wasn't so much anything Perry did on Thursday that was worthy of being benched. Rather, it's been the Perry's consistent inability to make an impact thus far in his career.

Perry started the game, but gave way more and more to Walden as the game progressed. It was Walden's first action of the season as he was suspended in Week 1 by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Perry continued to play in certain defensive packages throughout the course of the game, but for the time being, the Packers do not look as if they're committed to Perry as a three-down player.