It’s only Week 1? It’s just one game? We’ll see about that.
The Bears have plenty of room to rationalize their 38-20 loss to the Packers and Jordan Love at Soldier Field on Sunday. They had 12 new starters. They played seven rookies. Justin Fields played 20 snaps in the preseason. Seven other starters played none. The offensive line was playing together for the first time in a real game.
But Bears fans who witnessed the demise of Bears teams under Marc Trestman, John Fox and Matt Nagy saw some uncomfortably familiar red flags. Back-to-back failed sneaks on the very first drive of the season, including one with tight end Cole Kmet taking the snap on third down (shouldn’t developing offenses get the football part down first before getting cute?). Allowing a 35-yard touchdown on fourth-and three. An offensive game plan that didn’t appear to trust the offensive line.
Failing on third down when the game was competitive on offense (1-for-10) and defense (9-for-14). Not throwing to DJ Moore until the second quarter. Fields, in a critical year of development, losing a fumble and throwing a pick-6. Left tackle Braxton Jones, the fifth-round find expected to take a big step in Year 2, committing four penalties.
Even the emotional element that is supposed to fuel Matt Eberflus’ teams was a dud. The Bears didn’t look like a H.I.T.S. principle team by the eye test. Coming to Fields’ defense after a clean, legal hit by Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander seems like misplaced aggression.
And big plays that revved up the home crowd — and presumably the defense — didn’t have much staying power. Rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson ignited the crowd early with a big hit on Packer rookie wide receiver Jayden Reed for a two-yard loss to set up a third-and-13. It looked like a tone-setter, but on the next play, Jordan Love hit Romeo Doubs for 13 yards and a first down.
Later in that drive, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds dropped A.J. Dillon for a three-year loss with a big hit on first-and-goal. Two plays later, Love hit Doubs again for an eight-yard touchdown pass.
This wasn’t just a loss. It was a letdown. Last year the Bears were poorly constructed — by design. On Sunday, they looked poorly coached. Yeah, it’s early. But it gets late around here pretty quickly. Matt Eberflus’ job just got a little tougher. He not only has to coach ‘em up. He has to take the heat in a football town that is just about out of patience after years of disappointment.
2. You don’t want to overreact to one game, especially when it’s the first game. But rarely has a bad loss like Sunday’s not been a harbinger of a disappointing season. The last five times the Bears have lost their opener by more than a touchdown, they have finished 6-11 (2021), 3-13 (2016), 6-10 (2015), 7-9 (2007) and 7-9 (2003).
The last time the Bears lost by more than a touchdown and had a winning season was in 2001, when they lost to the Ravens 17-6, then won nine of their next 10 and finished 13-3 to make the playoffs.
But that 2001 loss was a pretty good one — on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens in a game the Bears led in the second half and were within 10-6 with possession with six minutes to go. This wasn’t that.
2b. Only one team in the last 20 seasons has lost at home by 18 or more points in the season opener and made the playoffs — the 2021 Titans, who lost to the Cardinals 38-13 in Week 1, but finished 12-5 to win the AFC South.
3. For What It’s Worth Dept.: Eberflus’ defenses have a history of starting slow and improving throughout the season. His defenses with the Colts allowed 34, 30, 27 and 28 points in openers, with quarterbacks combining for a 136.6 passer rating (15 touchdowns, two interceptions) — Andy Dalton (109.7), Philip Rivers (121.3), Gardner Minshew (142.3) and Russell Wilson (152.3).
Last year the Bears held Trey Lance (50.3 rating) and the 49ers to 10 points in a 19-10 victory. But inclement, near-quagmire conditions, played a key role that defensive performance.
4. As defensive end DeMarcus Walker pointed out, there was a bright side. “We stopped the run,” Walker said. “They rushed for what [92] yards? So we didn’t get the big win, but the small win we take from that and continue working [and] we continue getting better as a team.”
In fact, the Packers rushed for 92 yards on 32 carries (2.9 average) Sunday. Last year, they rushed for 203 yard and 175 yards with 5.4 yards per carry against the Bears.
5. It’s never too early for second-guessing when the Bears lose in a dispiriting fashion as they did against the Packers. Eagles rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter had a sack and six pressures against the Patriots on Sunday — the most pressures by a rookie defensive tackle in any game over the past five seasons, per NFL.com’s Next Gen Stats.
Ryan Poles’ decision to pass on Carter at No. 9 still seems prudent — he drafted starting right tackle Darnell Wright at No. 10 and defensive tackles Gervon Dexter (23 snaps vs. the Packers) and Zacch Pickens (12 snaps). But the difference is clear. Dexter and Pickens are playable projects being retro-fitted into Eberflus’ defense. Carter is plug and play.
Carter still has a long way to go to prove he was worth the risk, but it also could be that Poles underestimated his roster’s ability to nurture a generational talent. The Bears won’t be a young, inexperienced team forever.
6. If all a defense has to do is focus on DJ Moore to take him out of the Bears’ offense, that seems like more of a Luke Getsy problem than a DJ Moore problem.
Moore had just two targets and two receptions for 25 yards against the Packers. That’s the fewest targets he’s had in a full game in 62 games (Week 3 of 2019). It’s the fewest targets in a game his team lost in 74 games as an NFL starter.
Moore’s production was a letdown, especially compared to other savior receivers in their first game with the Bears. Brandon Marshall had 13 targets (9-119, TD) in 2012. Allen Robinson had seven targets (4-61) in 2018. Muhsin Muhammad had 12 targets (6-59) in 2005.
7. The Bears’ offensive line was an even bigger Week 1 disappointment, because that’s supposed to be Ryan Poles’ strength. Regardless of circumstances — center Lucas Patrick and Davis did not play in the preseason — the line’s substandard play was a red flag.
Another one: Braxton Jones, who had four penalties in his first nine games as a rookie, had four penalties against the Packers — two for holding and two false starts. Jones has 11 penalties in his last nine games.
8. Marvin Harrison, Jr. Watch — The 6-4, 205-pound Ohio State junior had seven receptions for 160 yards (22.9 average) and touchdowns of 71 and 39 yards in the Buckeyes’ 35-7 rout of Youngstown State.
9. Ex-Bears Player of the Week — Lions running back David Montgomery had 21 carries for 74 yards and scored on an eight-yard run with 7:06 left in the fourth quarter in a 21-20 upset over the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
10. Bear-ometer: 7-10 — at Buccaneers (W); at Chiefs (L); vs. Broncos (L); at Commanders (L); vs. Vikings (W); vs. Raiders (W); at Chargers (L); at Saints (L); vs. Panthers (W); at Lions (L); at Vikings (L); vs. Lions (W); at Browns (L); vs. Cardinals (W); vs. Falcons (L); at Packers (W).
