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The Bears opened their 2023 season against their old nemesis in the Packers and while there are new faces on Green Bay the results remained the same as the Bears drop the season opener 38-20. There wasn’t much of anything to like today about this game and now questions linger after this loss.
It all started on the Bears 1st drive as the offensive line couldn’t provide a push on two straight plays and the Bears turned the ball over on downs at their own 40 yard line. It was pretty much downhill from that point.
Jordan Love, taking over for the future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers played well today as he went 15/27 for 245 yards & 3 TDs. He looked poised in the pocket and much of that was due to his offensive line providing him plenty of protection. It also helped the Packers were 9/16 on 3rd down conversions. The Packers were also aided by their RB Aaron Jones as he amassed 127 all purpose yards & 2 TDs.
The Bears’ offense looked unimaginative and conservative throughout the game. The offensive line was bullied by the Packers DL and Justin Fields was sacked 4 times today and suffered 6 QB hits. For Fields it wasn’t the best of showings as he went 24/37 for 216 yards with 1 TD & 1 INT. Fields was also the Bears’ leading rusher with 9 carries for 59 yards.
On defense, the Bears couldn’t get off the field as they allowed the Packers to seemingly convert every critical 3rd down conversion. Jordan Love was only sacked once and the defense couldn’t apply any pressure.
With the Bears trailing 24-6, the Bears tried mounting a comeback as Fields led a TD drive to cut the deficit to 24-14. The Packers quickly engineered a 61 TD in response and then put the game away with a pick-6 when Fields tried to throw into double coverage to make it 38-14.
The Good, Bad & Ugly
The Good: In my opinion there wasn’t anything good about this game.
The Bad: The Bears clearly lost this game in the trenches today. They were bullied on both sides of the line and football is as simple as this – if you can’t win in the trenches you can’t win football games. The play calling left a lot to be desired on both sides of the ball as well.
The Ugly: Even worse than the lack of push on both sides of the ball was just how undisciplined the Bears were today. The Bears couldn’t stop the run or get off the field when it mattered. Penalties were a problem in the 1st half for the Bears. Missed tackles, breakdowns in coverage and missed offensive assignments spelled doom for the Bears.
What’s Next: Week 2 will see the Bears visit Raymond James Stadium to play the Bucs who upset the Colts today.
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