The Chicago Bears (3-10) suffered a 28-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers (5-8), where the Bears lost their sixth straight and maintained the No. 2 overall pick.
Chicago led for most of the game, but another fourth quarter collapse doomed them. The Bears were outscored 18-0 in the fourth quarter, which included another failed comeback attempt by the offense.
But it’s hard to be too upset when Justin Fields continues to make history with his impressive performances. Fields had another long touchdown run but also had his best passing game of the season. While the Bears lost their eighth straight to the Packers, there’s no denying the future is bright.
There was plenty to break down following Chicago’s loss against Green Bay. Our Bears Wire staff is sharing their thoughts following the Week 13 game.
The Bears’ Week 13 loss vs. Packers
Alyssa Barbieri
I went into this game expecting (and being at peace with) the Bears losing to the Packers. After all, this is a bad Chicago team that’s been ravaged by injuries and an injured Justin Fields was making his return to the lineup, and I thought they’d be conservative with him. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was frustrated that the Bears blew a fourth-quarter lead to lose their eighth straight to the Packers.
But it’s hard to feel down for too long when you remember that Justin Fields is your quarterback. I don’t know what I was expecting from Fields in this game (I was just praying he got out of it alive), but this was a great opportunity for the Bears to open up the passing game. People forget that Fields was an elite passer at Ohio State, but he reminded everyone that he’s not a one-trick pony with his best passing game of the season. Oh, and he had another sensational rushing performance, including a 56-yard touchdown.
Outside of Fields, there were some other standout performances. Let’s start with this young secondary, that stepped up in a huge way with three starters (Eddie Jackson, Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon) sidelined. DeAndre Houston-Carson, Jaylon Jones and Josh Blackwell held their own against Aaron Rodgers for three quarters, and it was impressive. Then there’s Chicago’s offensive line, which held up well in pass protection. Fields wasn’t sacked once, which allowed me to breathe. Jack Sanborn had another solid outing, and it’s hard not to envision the undrafted rookie carving out a starting role for himself in 2023 and beyond. Also, I want to see more of N’Keal Harry (please and thank you).
While the Bears have now gone four straight years without a win over the Packers, it’s hard not to be optimistic about Chicago’s bright future with Fields at the helm. As a Michigan fan who’s experienced a shift in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, I really feel like this Bears-Packers rivalry is about to change in Chicago’s favor. The Packers barely beat a bad (and injury-depleted) Bears team, which speaks volumes. Not to mention, the Bears are one step closer to that No. 2 overall pick and Fields is on his rookie deal for another three years. The arrow is pointing up (even if there aren’t any wins left on Chicago’s schedule).
Brendan Sugrue
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas? I would say it’s looking like Groundhog Day. Once again, the Bears jump out to a sizable lead, then the offense turtles, the defense can’t hold up, and the Bears miss out on a final potential game-winning drive. How many times will we see this story this season?
We know the Bears aren’t a good football team but the players, for the most part, executed their jobs well. On offense, Justin Fields instantly provided the spark that was missing last week against the Jets. The offensive line held up well, allowing zero sacks for the first time in over two years. Defensively, the rag tag group of defensive backs exceeded expectations with so many players out due to injury and the Packers weren’t moving the ball particularly well for most of the day. But conversative play calling and untimely miscues sunk the game late once again.
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has done a phenomenal job with Fields this season. The young quarterback has taken major strides and though he had two interceptions, he played very well in this game. The problem with Getsy is his situational playcalling. He’s shown to be a conservative play caller, relying on the Bears’ rushing attack to get the job done more often than not. When Fields has a big pass play, Getsy goes immediately to the run. Sometimes it works but as the game wore on, the Packers stifled that area of the Bears offense. He should have relied on Fields more, particularly late in the game when he opted to run the ball on third and five before attempting a field goal that was blocked.
I’m not panicking when it comes to those decisions. We preached patience when it came to Fields’ development and it’s only right to do the same with Getsy. He’s still a first-year offensive coordinator after all. There’s going to be growing pains with coaches as well. We’re all human.
But when it comes down to it, this loss to the Packers still hurts even if it means the potential for a high draft pick. We’re only guaranteed 17 Bears games a season and I’d prefer to win them all no matter what. I’ll worry about the draft in the spring.
Ryan Fedrau
Eight straight losses to the Packers is something I didn’t see coming after the Bears turned what we all had to of thought was the corner in 2018, winning the NFC North in Week 15 against Green Bay, and holding a 12-4 record. Since Week 15 of the 2018 season, Chicago is 27-37.
The good news is the Bears are trending towards a high draft pick. They can either trade that for more draft capital to a quarterback-hungry team, or they can use it to select a player they have conviction on. For a 3-10 football team, things are looking up. The Bears are now officially out of the playoffs, but you have to look at the bigger picture. They’re going to have a lot of money to spend next year, Justin Fields has improved, and if Ryan Poles can hit a home run in next year’s draft to go along with a good free agency, there’s no excuse why we won’t see multiple NFC North Division wins coming our way.
