Last Sunday night, the Chicago Bears fell to the Green Bay Packers 27-10. Though this score makes the game seem like it was lopsided, it wasn’t as bad as it looks. There were several bright spots and several disappointments in this game for the Bears. Some players glowed under the lights while others went dark and some parts of the game looked much better than others.
Quarters 1, 3, and 4
While the Bears lost by 17, there’s an argument to be made that they outplayed the Packers in 3/4 quarters on Sunday. In these quarters, the Bears outscored the Packers 10-6 (17-6 without the missed touchdown). On the opening drive of the game, the Bears drove right down the field with ease and scored a touchdown, making the Packers’ defense look weak. In the second half, the Bears were playing from behind and made an effort to fight back. If the refs had called Justin Fields’ 4th quarter QB draw a touchdown on the field, then it would’ve stayed a touchdown after review and the Bears would be within 1 possession in the 4th quarter. In the 3 non-last-minute drives the Bears got in the 2nd half, they put together 2 very good-looking drives that nearly ended in 6. And during all this, the defense locked down and held the Packers to only 3 second-half points.
The 2nd Quarter
The 2nd quarter is the point of the game that the Bears lost it. They got outscored 21-0 and the offense and defense were abysmal. After the opening drive, the Bears wouldn’t get a first down for the rest of the half and lost yards on 2 of their final 3 1st half drives. This put Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense at midfield every possession which is a bad formula, especially for a young defense. The Packer’s offense could not be stopped, even when they found themselves in a 2nd and 28. It’s safe to say that without this 2nd quarter collapse, the Bears would’ve had a legitimate shot at winning this game.
David Montgomery and the Offensive Line
Easily the brightest spot for the Bears in this game was how well the run game was working. David Montgomery rushed for 122 yards on 15 carries which is good for a whopping 8.1 yards per carry. Monty’s night was highlighted by a 28-yard run on 2nd and 20 in the 4th quarter. This run fueled a long drive for the Bears in which Monty had 61 of the 89 yards the Bears ran for. The offensive line for the Bears, which received a lot of flack this offseason, is in no short part of this performance from David Montgomery. The line won in the trenches vs a good Packers defensive line which was a major key for the Bears to win going into the game. They rendered all-pro nose tackle, Kenny Clark, virtually useless. Overall, David Montgomery and the whole Bears offensive line deserve all the praise they have received for their performance on Sunday.
Luke Getsy
Who is the one to be blamed for the Bears’ offensive 2nd quarter collapse? The answer is easily their offensive coordinator and play-caller, Luke Getsy. After calling a brilliant first drive with a good mix of run and pass plays and mixing in some creativity with a flea-flicker and some extra movement, Getsy got away from those kinds of plays which caused the offense to stall. With the combination of bad screens, poorly timed runs, and not utilizing your best receiver in Darnell Mooney, the Bears couldn’t move the ball against my high school defense that didn’t even have a football team. On top of this, Getsy failed to get David Montgomery more than 15 carries despite the running back being the Bears’ only consistent form of offense. At the same time, Justin Fields has only thrown the ball 29 times this season and just 11 times on Sunday which is exactly how to not develop a quarterback. Calling better plays could’ve gotten Fields and Montgomery more opportunities to make plays and get reps in. On top of all this, on the 4th and inches in the 4th quarter that could’ve gotten the Bears within a score, Luke Getsy had a Nathaniel Hackett moment and lined Justin Fields up in the shotgun rather than under center. Whether Fields got in or not, this is a terrible play call and if Fields was under center he probably unquestionably scores 8 times out of 10.
Defensive Standouts
The Bears had several defensive players step up on Sunday, headlined by Trevis Gipson. The Bears breakout candidate proved why Bears fans are so high on him by getting to Rodgers early and often, tallying two sacks and creating pressure on several other plays. Robert Quinn also got to Rodgers for a sack and had a couple of run stops that prevented potentially big plays. Finally, Jaylon Johnson continued to prove why he’s an elite corner. After week 2, Johnson has played 61 coverage snaps and hasn’t been targeted a single time. Having a lockdown corner like this that can completely take away a starting receiver is essential to an elite defense and the Bears 3rd year corner has been exemplary at it.
Kyler Gordon
Kyler Gordon is the Bears rookie cornerback out of Washington. Though Gordon’s athleticism is through the roof and will be a productive corner for the Bears one day, he got torched on Sunday. He improved in the 2nd half but Aaron Rodgers spent the entire first half throwing his way and Gordon continued to allow reception. He did have a very nice touchdown saving deflection on the Packers opening drive and wasn’t as big of a target in the 2nd half which is a good sign. Nevertheless, the rookie had a very rough game but Bears fans should look for him to rebound these next couple weeks vs the Texans and Giants.
Was It a Disappointing Game?
As Bears fans, we always look for the Packers game on the schedule looking to finally turn the tide after being little brother for the last 20 years. Every year we get hopeful that this is the year everything changes so yes, it is always disappointing to lose to the Packers. With that being said, the Bears played a lot better than the media and fans thought they would and that’s something to be proud of. The Bears were competitive on Sunday right up until that no call touchdown. We’ll see how this team progresses by the time they see Green Bay again at Soldier Field and maybe that competitiveness will be seen through to the end.
