Chicago Bears devastating loss to Packers conjures bad memories

The Chicago Bears loss to Green Bay in primetime is another painful memory.

Six years ago on a cold night in Green Bay, the Chicago Bears were embarrassed and endured one of the worst losses in franchise history. Coming off a bye week after giving up 51 points to the eventual champion Patriots, Chicago traveled to face their divisional rivals.

Unfortunately, the Bears were better off not getting off the plane as they were trounced 42-0 in the first half before ultimately leaving the game with a 55-14 loss. Back to back losses that foreshadowed the end of the Marc Trestman era but not the end of disappointment.

Once again on Sunday Night Football, Chicago self-destructed and the defense crumbled in a 41-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers that dropped them to 5-6 on the season while enduring their fifth consecutive defeat after starting 5-1. That year in 2014, the Bears finished 5-11 and, if the losing continues this season, that record is not out of reach of being replicated.

Don’t be fooled by what took place in the fourth quarter with a number of late points. The game was far from competitive. What head coach Matt Nagy does in response to this loss.  remains to be seen. But it is likely he will suffer the most from this experience given that the head coach bears a brunt of the blame.

In his defense, he arrived in Chicago with good intentions and was thrust into a situation where the organization completely whiffed on the quarterback position and continued their old tradition of relying heavily on “Bears football”. A tradition that has yet to evolve.

However, Nagy has not been able to fix the offense and the defense has not been the same since Vic Fangio. On Sunday, it looked as if Mel Tucker had returned to coach instead of Chuck Pagano. Bears fans know all too well about that experience, which has them still reminiscing on why they fired Lovie Smith after a 10-6 season.

Another loss proves the Bears need to tear it down and rebuild.

The Bears must rebuild and absolutely must clean house. And the first to should not be the general manager or the head coach. If they must go at all, they should not go before team president Ted Phillips, whose stewardship over the Bears had been embarrassing.

Furthermore, it is time to find a new quarterback. Mitchell Trubisky is not the answer at the quarterback position and neither is Nick Foles. Additionally, the offensive line must be fixed. They had a few moments on Sunday Night, but largely throughout the season, they have not blocked effectively and as a result, it has put enormous pressure on the defense, who is not getting younger.

As for the defense itself, they need younger talent. Players such as Khalil Mack and Eddie Jackson are among the best at their position and they deserve better. But how much blame can you really place on the defense when their stamina is affected significantly due to the ineptitude of the offense?

The supposed rivalry against the Packers should not be even considered a rivalry. Outside of a miracle game in 2018 where the Bears sent Green Bay home to win the division and a surprising win on Brett Favre Night, the Bears have largely been ineffective on both sides of the ball, which has contributed to continuous losing.

The Bears record against Green Bay combined over the last three decades, including the playoffs, is 19-42. Add Sunday’s loss and it becomes 43. The rivalry record over its entirety has the Packers leading 100-95-6, including in 2017 when Green Bay took their first series lead since 1932.

In other words, it has been colder and gloomier in the windy city. Packers fans have even take shots at Chicago staples such as deep dish pizza. If things don’t change in the Windy City, the snow won’t be the only thing piling high on the ground.