Week 1 is thankfully in the rearview mirror for the Chicago Bears and their fans, but the fallout from their disappointing 38-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers continues throughout the week. Analysts and experts continue to pick apart the team’s performance, player effort, and overall execution. Week 2 can’t get here fast enough to give this group a chance at redemption.
As the Bears return to practice to prepare for their trip down to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they’ll do so with these players in the spotlight whose stocks may be rising and falling. Some of them shined in their first action of the season last week, while quite a few fell flat.
Buy Bears TicketsHere is the first iteration of the Chicago Bears Stock Exchange for the regular season.
Stock down: WR Chase Claypool
Normally, we prefer to begin with the positives and highlight players who boosted their stock. But given the loss on Sunday and the poor effort shown by wide receiver Chase Claypool, it felt appropriate to begin with him. Claypool was the talk of training camp early on and looked to be fully integrated into the offense. He was connecting with Justin Fields, finding his spots on the field, and looking like a brand new player. To see him put up a performance like we witnessed on Sunday was shocking and off-putting.
The fourth-year wide receiver didn’t record a stat, unable to corral the two targets thrown his way. But he was also a major liability when it came to blocking. Claypool was a rag doll when screens were thrown his way and showed no effort to take his man down. Targets fluctuate each week, but you can still make a significant impact in the blocking game. Claypool didn’t, and now he’s squarely in the crosshairs, with head coach Matt Eberflus not ruling out a benching.
Stock up: RB Roschon Johnson
Want to see a player who did play with heart on Sunday? That would be rookie running back Roschon Johnson. Though he didn’t see much action until later in the game, Johnson showed what kind of player he can be with tough runs and hard hitting. Johnson absolutely trucked a defender at one point and scored the final Bears touchdown of the game. He had 20 rushing yards on five carries with one touchdown and added six receptions for 27 yards through the air.
Johnson was praised this offseason for being an exceptional worker and leader during his days with the Texas Longhorns. That attitude was evident last week and clearly needed since the other players weren’t stepping up to the challenge.
Stock down: C Lucas Patrick
The offensive line this past week was, well, offensive with how they matched up against the Packers front seven. But out of the five starters, center Lucas Patrick looked to be the weak link. Patrick was playing his first game since Week 7 of the 2022 season and looked as rusty as can be. The veteran lineman struggled to contain the Packers pass rush and often looked overmatched. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Patrick allowed five pressures and had the lowest grade of any of the starting linemen with a 43.
It’s important to note that if the entire unit was healthy, Patrick wouldn’t be on the field. He was relegated to a backup role this offseason and is only seeing snaps due to Teven Jenkins being out. But if anyone thought he was capable of solving the issue at the center position, they were sorely mistaken after that performance.
Stock up: OT Darnell Wright
While we can agree the offensive line didn’t look great as a whole, there are positives to take away from rookie tackle Darnell Wright’s performance. Wright played in his first meaningful NFL game on Sunday and did look like a rookie at times, with misses here and there. But we also saw the strength and athleticism that made him such a commodity in the draft.
Wright graded out as the best Bears offensive lineman on Sunday with a PFF grade of 72. He was agile and looked ready to hit someone on every play. He’s also playing next to a guard who has missed much of training camp and early practices, Nate Davis. The more reps he gets with familiar faces around him, the better he’s going to be. This wasn’t a spectacular game for Wright, but it’s one that shows his promise right out of the gate.
Stock down: DT Justin Jones
If anyone needed to have a strong outing against the Packers, it was defensive tackle Justin Jones. For one, Jones was tasked with disrupting the offensive line and making Jordan Love uncomfortable in the pocket. But he also needed to back up his strong message for Packers fans this offseason after saying their fans don’t know football and then saying the Bears were about to be on the other side of the rivalry.
Jones didn’t back up his trash talk, and the Bears were trounced by Green Bay. The defensive tackle finished the day with zero tackles, hits, or pass breakups. He had one pressure point. Jones was invisible for much of the game despite playing 39 snaps. He talked the talk but fell on his face when he tried to walk the walk. Take everything he says with a grain of salt moving forward until he can show his worth in a game.
Stock down: Luke Getsy and Justin Fields
It feels right to lump Luke Getsy and Justin Fields together after what we saw on Sunday. Contrary to popular belief, both guys had positive moments on Sunday, but of course there were plenty of negatives that led to the loss. The issue is that they each took place at different times, and they lack chemistry together.
Starting with Getsy, his opening script of plays was decent. The Bears relied on the short passing game and began to open things up as the second quarter got going. But then ineffective red zone play calls eliminated any hope of a score, despite decent throws and reads from Fields, and it only got worse. On the flip side, Fields relied too heavily on that short passing game at times, passing up open receivers on good play calls. Fields finished the game 24-of-37 for 216 yards, one touchdown, one pick, and a lost fumble.
Neither guy did themselves any favors on Sunday, and there has to be some concern that Fields and this offensive staff don’t gel together. There’s hope to fix it, but their stock is as low as it’s been in quite some time.
