The Bears entered the season finale with the chance to knock their bitter rival out of the playoffs and end the season on a high note. What happened instead was a deflating, uninspired 17-9 loss to the Packers in Lambeau Field to end their season at 7-10.
The Bears’ game plan against the Packers looked eerily similar to the plan they had for the season opener and it showed. The offense again looked conservative and limited while the defense was gashed through the ground and sliced through the air. The play calling on both sides left much to be desired. What also happened was sloppy tackling, poor play in the trenches and getting punched in the mouth repeatedly.
Justin Fields possibly played his last game as a Chicago Bear and it was a rough go for him. Fields finished just 11 for 16 for 148 yards while also getting 8 rushes for 27 yards. The run game which was supposed to be the Bears’ strength all year was shut down as the team only gained 75 yards for 3.0 yards per carry average. Fields was beat up as well as he was sacked 5 times. The offensive line had trouble with line protection for most of the game. OC Luke Getsy had some real head scratchers for calls. This one was probably my favorite WTF call:
On defense the scoreboard read that the Bears gave up only 17 points but dig a little deeper and you’ll see the defense also had a rough day. The defense surrendered 432 yards of offense for a 7.2 yards per play average. They also allowed the Packers to convert on 7 of their 10 3rd down attempts. QB Jordan Love looked masterful as he carved the Bears up for 316 yards & 2 TDs on 27 of 32 passes. RB Aaron Jones added 22 carries for 111 yards and repeatedly found huge holes to run through. They only got 1 sack as the Packers OL did a great job of leaving a clean pocket for Love. The soft, Cover-2 scheme had no answers for the Packers offensive scheme.
Grading The Bears:
Offense: Only 192 yards of offense certainly won’t get it done and neither will converting on only 3 of 11 3rd down attempts. Lack of protection on the OL and the conservative play calling meant the Packers didn’t have to do all that much to keep the Bears in check. Only 16 pass plays? In today’s NFL? Yeah, that’s no bueno. Grade: D
Defense: Yes the defense only gave up 17 points but when you can’t get off the field and you revert back to the bad tackling & lack of gap protection you deserve to lose. It looked like only Tyrique Stevenson(7 tackles, 1 PD, 1 FF) got the memo about playing with purpose. Grade: D-
Special Teams: Cairo Santos WAS the offense today. 3 for 3 on FGs including a 50 yard FG. No major mistakes by the special teams today. Grade: B
Coaching: With nothing to lose and the chance to knock out your rival, the coaching staff had one of its worst games since starting 0-4. And while there were plenty of moments when the players didn’t play with purpose it also was apparent the coaches weren’t coaching with purpose either. Grade: D-
What’s Next For The Bears
Plenty of questions now face Bears president Kevin Warren and GM Ryan Poles as the offseason officially begins. The Bears will have the #1 overall pick as well as the #10 overall pick in this year’s draft and they’ll have a little over $62 million in cap space.
The first thing Kevin Warren needs to decide is if GM Ryan Poles is the guy to continue building this team. If so, the next question is whether or not to bring back this coaching staff.
On the ESPN 1000 Pregame Show Poles offered his thoughts on head coach Matt Eberflus:
“You can go back to the original press conference [in January 2023] and things I was looking for,” Poles said pregame on ESPN 1000. “One was leadership and mental toughness and the steady hand to really captain the ship when the seas are rough. And they got rough at certain times — certainly last year, early this year, there was some sudden change.
Bears GM Ryan Poles on the ESPN 1000 Pregame Show
“He was steady at the wheel. He fought to get back above water and get things the way they were. His ability to adapt and adjust, really take input from the players, to get this thing on the right path was incredible. I think a lot of people would have been in really bad shape and crumbled to the pressure. He got better with the pressure, and so did our football team.”
This full throated praise of Eberflus would seem to suggest the coaching staff could be coming back for 2024. If the Bears are going to retain the coaching staff then you would assume that everyone’s coming back, right?
I don’t think QB Justin Fields is coming back. I believe he has played his last game as a Chicago Bear. I believe this organization has failed him with what’s been put around him for the past 3 years and they have failed him by not having competent coaching to get the most out of his talents. I believe Justin will be labeled as the fall guy for this season’s shortcomings. I believe Ryan Poles was never a full supporter of Justin Fields as the franchise QB. I also believe this coaching staff is not competent enough to develop a young QB. Sure, they can keep the #1 draft pick and draft a QB but would you trust this coaching staff to develop him? I don’t.
It will be a very interesting and monumental offseason for the Bears. The decisions made will alter this franchise for the next decade.
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