The banged up Bears came into Week 13 vs. the Packers looking to snap a 5-game losing streak and for 3 quarters it looked as though the Bears would be successful. Then the 4th quarter happened. The Packers ripped off 18 straight points and stole a win at Soldier Field. Aaron Rodgers improved his record against the Bears to a ridiculous 25-5 including 11-3 in Chicago.
The game started off well as Justin Fields, returning from a shoulder injury that kept him out a week, had another “did you see that” TD run to give the Bears an early 10-0 lead. The lead was extended to 16-3 after a David Montgomery TD run but Cairo Santos missed the extra point. Rodgers was able to get a TD pass to close the gap to 16-10 at the half.
The 2nd half saw the Bears’ offensive woes take hold as drives were stalled on curious play calling. The defense, already missing Eddie Jackson, Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon, began to leak as Rodgers, AJ Dillon and that Packers offense started taking control. A Dillon TD run cut a 19-10 deficit to 19-17. Santos would have his 40-yard FG attempt partially blocked and the Packers responded by taking the lead on a Mason Crosby FG and sealing it with a Christian Watson 46-yard TD run after a Justin Fields INT.
The Good: Until the last two drives of the game QB Justin Fields was poised, confident and electric. Fields finished 20 for 25 for 254 yards while adding 6 carries for 71 yards and a TD on the ground. Fields also had some big throws that set up scoring opportunities. David Montgomery was his usual dependable self with 14 carries for 61 yards & 1 TD. The much maligned Bears secondary played well in the passing game as Aaron Rodgers only passed for 182 yards. Oh… and the Bears offensive line didn’t give up a sack today. Justin Fields didn’t get hurt today. Yay…
The Bad: After a clean 1st half, penalties and miscues began to rear its ugly head as the Bears had 5 penalties for 63 yards. Containment and gap integrity became an issue especially on the Christian Watson TD run. The Bears also turned over 3 times today. Chase Claypool put the ball on the ground in the 1st half after a catch and Fields threw 2 INTs. The 1st INT is really the fault of Equaminous St. Brown for not coming back to the ball and/or blocking the defender from making a play on it. The 2nd INT was on Fields throwing it into a team meeting while trying to potentially tie the game.
The Ugly: Some of the play calling by OC Luke Getsy in the 2nd half really needs to be scrutinized. I felt as though Getsy was taking the ball out of Fields’ hands for more conservative plays. There was nothing about Fields’ game today that suggested you shouldn’t trust this young man with the ball in his hands. The defense didn’t register a sack on Aaron Rodgers. In fact, they didn’t even register a QB hit. The lack of pressure on the opposing QB has been a broken record for this Bears defense this season. Also a broken record – the Bears’ inability to get takeaways. During this 6-game losing streak, the Bears have generated only 2 takeaways.
The Grades:
Offense: Justin Fields looked really good through the air for 3+ quarters. He had a 10.2 yards per pass average. The Bears rushed for 155 yards and 6.2 yards per rush average. The Bears had opportunities to put this game away but couldn’t. Play calling had more than a bit role to play in that. Grade: B-
Defense: The Bears played the bend but don’t break defense role well for 3 quarters but at some point when you don’t get pressure on the QB it’s going to break. The defense suffered in the run game giving up 175 yards on a 5.5 yards per rush average. At the end of the day, the defense gave up 28 points to a team that was barely averaging 20 points per game. Grade: C-
Special Teams: A missed extra point and a FG attempt that was partially blocked meant points were left on the field. That’s crucial for a team that had trouble getting points today. Grade: D+
Coaching: The coaching today was a tale of two halves. The coaching was solid during the 1st half and pretty putrid in the 2nd half. The 2nd half outweighs the 1st as Bears have now dropped 6 straight. At least they were able to keep Fields from getting hurt again. Grade: D+
670 The Score’s Laurence Holmes offered his post-game reaction:
There was a ton of good inside this game, but some bad that needs to be discussed. Here’s my #DaBears initial reaction. https://t.co/8co0re5Ahm
Originally tweeted by Laurence Holmes (@LaurenceWHolmes) on December 4, 2022.
Up Next: The Bears get a bye before welcoming Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown and the NFL-best Philadelphia Eagles to Solider Field on 12/18.
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