Halas Hall was not a fun place to be for the Chicago Bears heading into today’s game with the Green Bay Packers. Head Coach Matt Eberflus was under tremendous pressure as was OC Shane Waldron. In the tradition of trying to save face and his job, Matt Eberflus fired Shane Waldron this past Tuesday and installed Thomas Brown as the new offensive coordinator. Several players made statements to the press about the team not practicing well and not really being held accountable by the coaching staff. All of this nonsense came as the offense had little time to prepare for the divisional foe whom they’ve lost 10 straight games to.
New OC Thomas Brown had the Bears offense much better than the previous weeks but that didn’t stop the bleeding as the Bears’ last second FG attempt to beat Green Bay was blocked. The Bears suffered a heartbreaking 20-19 loss that extends their losing streak to 4 games and also marked their 11th straight loss to the Packers.
The Packers opened the game with a dominant 70 yard TD drive to take the team. The Bears responded with a FG drive of their own and then turned a late Jordan Love redzone INT into a TD with a 13 play, 76 yard drive. The Bears had a chance to extend the lead to open the 2nd half but had to settle for 3 as they couldn’t convert in the redzone. The game would morph into a back and forth with both teams trading the lead. The Bears had one last chance to win down 1 but the drive got off to an ugly start as Caleb Williams was sacked on back to back plays. Caleb recovered with some impressive throws to get the team to the Packers’ 28 yard line and in position to win the game. Matt Eberflus chose to let the clock run down and kick on 2nd down even though the team had one more timeout left and an opportunity to get closer. The offensive line was not able to block up front and the kick was blocked. Game over.
Caleb Williams looked better this week as he finished 23 for 31 for 231 yards while adding 9 rushes for 70 yards. OC Thomas Brown also committed to the run game and it showed – the Bears gained 179 yards on the ground. D’Andre Swift had a 39 yard TD run to give the Bears a 19-14 lead in the 3rd quarter. Roschon Johnson also had a TD run late in the 2nd quarter to give the Bears their 1st touchdown since Week 8 vs. the Commanders.
Defensively the Bears struggled against the run in the 1st quarter but was able to grind the Packers’ run game nearly to a halt the rest of the way. Where they struggled was getting pressure on Jordan Love. Love finished 13 for 17 for 260 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. The star of the game was Christian Watson who finished with 4 catches for 150 yards. He had a 60-yd reception that led to the go ahead & ultimately the game winning TD for the Packers.
Stars of the Game
- Caleb Williams, Bears: 23 of 31, 231 yards; 9 rushes, 70 yards
- Christian Watson, Packers: 4 catches, 150 yards
- Josh Jacobs, Packers: 18 rushes, 76 yards, 1 TD; 4 catches, 58 yards
- D’Andre Swift, Bears: 14 carries, 71 yards, 1 TD; 2 catches, 13 yards
- Rome Odunze, Bears: 6 catches, 65 yards
- Rashan Gary, Packers: 6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 2 QB hits
Grading The Bears
Offense: The Bears gained 391 on a 5.8 yards per play average while converting 9 of their 16 third down plays. They also converted all three of their 4th down conversions. Compared to their previous 3 games, the offense looked like a functioning offense. The offensive line had problems protecting Caleb Williams on the last drive that made the final drive more difficult than it had to be. Even outside of the 39 yard TD run by Swift, the Bears still averaged 4.2 yards per rush. Opportunities were missed to finish drives with TDs though. Grade: C+
Defense: The defense had some blown coverages on some big pass plays – none bigger than the 60 yard pass from Love to Watson that led to the Packers’ game winning TD. They also had problems stopping the run in the 1st quarter. Their inability to get pressure on Jordan Love left him with plenty of time to extend plays and make some big throws. Their goal line stance when the Packers had a chance to regain the lead in the 2nd half was big. Grade: C
Special Teams: The team had one job on the last play of the game – push the line up front to give Cairo Santos a chance to make a FG. They didn’t and Santos’ 46 yard FG attempt was blocked. The LG, C & RG all allowed the middle of the line to be penetrated which led to the block. Grade: D+
Coaching: Kudos to OC Thomas Brown for coming up with a gameplan that allowed Caleb Williams to look and feel comfortable. I believe the bigger questions will be for the defense for not being able to scheme pressure plays on Jordan Love. Matt Eberflus will also have to answer for letting the clock run down instead of running a play or two to get Cairo Santos closer for a FG attempt. Grade: C-
What’s Next
The Bears will have to lick their wounds quickly but it will be easier said than done following today’s heartbreaking loss to the Packers. People will be interested in hearing more from new OC Thomas Brown as well as Caleb Williams to see what was different with the offense compared to the previous 3 weeks. People will still have questions about Eberflus’ decision on the last play of the game. The line not being able to hold on the FG attempt will be talked about as well.
With this loss the Bears fall to 4-6 and whatever playoff hopes they had evaporated. Bears will have to get this one out of their head and focus on the 8-2 Minnesota Vikings.
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