Chicago Bears Again Lose to Rodgers, Packers

The mystery of Aaron Rodgers continues to confound the Chicago Bears as they lose to him and the Green Bay Packers 24-14.

The mystery the Chicago Bears have playing great Green Bay Packers quarterbacks continues. First, it was Brett Favre dominating the Bears. Then it was Aaron Rodgers. I should say, is because Rodgers still dominates them. On Sunday, he reminded Chicago with his play and the fans with his mouth.

It wasn’t Rodgers’ best game against the Bears, but he found a way to make the big plays to leave Chicago with a win. He had 195 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown.

The Bears defense pressures Rodgers and sacked him three times but when the chips were down they couldn’t stop him. If he needed to complete a long pass, he did it. If it was a run, he did it. The result was a 24-14 loss. It was Rodgers’ 22nd win against the Bears.

The game started out exciting. After the Packers got into field goal range on their first drive, a Khalil Mack sack pushed them out of range. The Packers had to punt.

The Bears marched 80 yards on eight plays. The drive was aided by a 26-yard pass interference penalty. Quarterback Justin Fields went 3/3 for 46 yards. The Bears had him move around, hit passes to his tight end, and then had Khalil Herbert run it in.

Herbert did a good job of stepping in for Damien Williams (who stepped in for David Montgomery). He had 19 carries for 97 yards and the touchdown. He had another touchdown run erased by a holding penalty.

Missed calls and opportunities cost big time

After their first drive finished in a touchdown, the Chicago Bears were on a roll. The defense forced another punt after Robert Quinn recorded a sack. The sack exchange of Mack and Quinn were in business again.

However, the offense wasn’t able to cash in the opportunity to take a big lead. The Bears had the ball in Packers’ territory but a confusing play stopped them.

It appeared as if the Packers went offsides on third down. Fields saw it as a free play so he took a chance deep. However, the officials never threw a flag. The Packers intercepted the pass and it stood.

That changed the tone of the game. The Packers went on to score 17 unanswered points.

The Packers went 80 yards, part of it aided by a dumb Mario Edwards unsportsmanlike penalty. It was the second week in a row in which he committed a dumb personal foul. He made some good plays this season but his dumb fouls have cost the Bears. Someone needs to talk to him or sit him down.

Rodgers also completed a 32-yard pass to his favorite target, Davante Adams. The two would hook up later to kill Chicago’s chances at an upset.

After the Packers scored to tie the game, the Bears had a three-and-out in which they lost three yards. Green Bay ended up with a field goal to make the score 10-7.

The Bears had another chance before the half to score. Again, however, they missed an opportunity. Fields missed a wide-open Allen Robinson up the middle that at worst was a huge gain and at best a touchdown. Fields later said the play didn’t call for him to look that way. A more experienced quarterback would likely see Robinson and hit him. This is something you live with when you have a rookie quarterback.

Then Fields made a throw to the end zone that looked like an interception. The officials called it an incomplete pass. They reviewed the play and upheld the call.

The officials failed to reset the play call, however. After they reviewed the play, the clock was running down. Fields tried to call a timeout but the officials didn’t call it. What they did do was call the Bears for a delay of game, though. That moved the offense back. On the subsequent play, the Packers sacked Fields, putting Chicago out of field goal range. A missed opportunity and the Bears went into halftime down 10-7.

Packers take control in the second half

Despite taking the ball first in the second half, the Chicago Bears offense did nothing. Herbert started the drive off with a 13-yard run but the offense stalled. The Bears punted.

After moving FIelds around on the first two drives, the playcalling once again had Fields drop back and stay in the pocket. It seems that the interception spooked the coaches and they got conservative. That hurt the offense.

The Packers did not play conservatively. When they got the ball again, they took advantage and went 86 yards on 10 plays, using up almost seven minutes. They took a 17-7 lead and the deficit seemed insurmountable.

The Bears didn’t quit, however. After the two teams punted on their drives, the Bears took the ball to start the fourth quarter. They went 80 yards on 10 plays. Fields made some big throws on that drive. He went 5/5 for 64 yards and completed a five-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney. The Bears were back in business, only down 17-14 now.

That Rodgers magic hits again

Rodgers wasn’t finished with his magic just yet. After the Bears cut into the lead and the fans started going crazy, Rodgers calmly led the Packers 75 yards on seven plays. He completed three passes for 62 of those yards. An Aaron Jones 7-yard run put the Packers on the Bears’ six.

Rodgers dropped back for a pass but the Bears had everyone covered. Rodgers then stepped up in the pocket, went to his right, pump-faked, and ran to the pylon for the touchdown. That got him super excited since he started jawing with the fans, telling them “I own you. I still own you!” Of course, he wasn’t wrong.

After having high hopes of a comeback victory, Rodgers and the Packers stabbed the Chicago Bears in the gut and closed out the game. They beat the Bears for the fifth straight time and 14th in their last 16 meetings. Not good when you’re trying to compete for division titles.

Things don’t get easier

Things don’t ease up for the Bears. Next week, they face Tom Brady and the Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Facing Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks in back-to-back weeks certainly isn’t ideal, especially when you lost to the first one.

After that, the Bears face the San Francisco 49ers, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Baltimore Ravens. If Matt Nagy and the rest of the coaches don’t figure out how to best utilize Fields’ skills the Chicago Bears could face a rough patch and find themselves in a very big hole before they reach their bye week. This is what Nagy came to Chicago for and if he cannot figure it out then perhaps he shouldn’t work with the Bears anymore.