Bears

Bears WR Rome Odunze had a breakout performance and said that he is looking forward to having more opportunities to make an impact.

“It felt great,” Odunze said, via Bears Wire. “I love it. I love to be involved in the passing game. Obviously as a pass catcher those plays are fun. Love to do that as often as I can. But I don’t think it was anything different [than previous games], just more opportunities came my way and I was able to capitalize on those opportunities.”

 Bears HC Ben Johnson said he plans to get the team’s premier pass catchers more involved in the offense.

“I put it on myself as much as anything, just making sure that all these guys are getting the touches that they deserve,” he said, via Bears Wire. “Tried to get it in [Odunze’s] hands a little bit earlier in the game and you can feel him come alive a little bit. But I felt that from Rome. I felt that from Luther, felt that from Colston to a degree as well. [Odunze] knows he’s a big-time playmaker and we’ve just got to make sure we give him opportunities.”

Lions

• Lions WR Jameson Williams won both of his fine appeals for celebrations against the Bills, as he denied his “brief gesture” was offensive and argued “that marijuana is legal in some states if that was the gesture he making.” (Ian Rapoport) 
• NFL appeals officer Derrick Brooks responded, “Although I rescinded this fine, please make every effort to celebrate with your teammates in the best professional manner possible.” (Rapoport)

Packers

One side of the Packers/Bears rivalry has been turning the volume up ostentatiously, way more than usual, given how distraction-phobic most teams and coaches are. In Week 5, Green Bay turned the volume down with an authoritative 31-7 win. It also turned down the heat on HC Matt LaFleur‘s job security, which was ramping up after a disappointing first four games.

“Matt does a great job throughout the course of the week, getting in front of the team, talking to us, just focusing on us,” Packers QB Jordan Love said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “The mindset, we know what it is. It’s a rivalry game. There’s a lot of rah-rah out there. He reiterated—just focus on us. It’s about us, our process, and it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. I think Matt did a great job today. Play-calling, I think we were dialing it up. We were rolling.

“It’s one of those things, as a play-caller, you’ve just got to continue to go week after week and see what we’re doing well, what we’re not doing well, what we need to change. That’s Matt. That’s who he is. He finds ways to adjust to what the offense is capable of and what we’re good at. It’s a process throughout the season, but Matt’s one of the best in the game, so nobody ever loses confidence in him and his abilities.”