Chicago Bears continue to be dominated by Packers, lose sixth straight

The Chicago Bears drop another heartbreaking game to the Green Bay Packers 29-19. It was their sixth overall loss and their eighth against the Packers.

The Chicago Bears suffer another frustrating loss, both season-wise and against the Green Bay Packers, 28-19. It was their sixth straight loss overall and their eighth straight loss to Green Bay.

In a season filled with frustrations, this one added to it. The Bears came out firing, taking a 10-0 lead quickly. They also had a 16-3 lead in the second quarter.

Then Aaron Rodgers started to make plays. The Bears have had problems getting to the quarterback. They came into the game ranking last in sacks and quarterback hits. They couldn’t afford to do that with Rodgers or he would torch the defense.

That is exactly what happened. The Bears’ front was unable to record a sack in the game and Rodgers had all day to throw. The only time he got hit was when he ran the ball for six yards. Technically, he also got hit on an incomplete pass, but a defensive holding penalty wiped out that hit.

It wasn’t Rodgers’ best game. He was 18/31 for 182 yards and a touchdown. He missed a lot of easy throws. However, when he needed to make the big play he did, especially in the fourth quarter. Rodgers led the Packers to a 25-3 run after the Bears took their 16-point lead.

Quarterback Justin Fields once again waved his magic wand. He rushed for 71 yards. He once again displayed his running ability, avoiding would-be tacklers on his way to a 55-yard touchdown scamper. The Packers thought they had him dead to rights a couple of times but Fields got away and then turned on the afterburners.

This time, Fields showed his throwing ability as well. He went 20/25 (80 percent completion percentage) for 254 yards. However, two of his missed passes went into the hands of Packers defenders.

After the Packers took a 20-19 lead in the fourth quarter, Fields led the Bears downfield. After they got into Green Bay territory, Fields dropped back and attempted a pass to Equanimeous St. Brown.

To that point, St. Brown had a pretty good game. He had 3 catches for 85 yards. However, St. Brown positioned himself badly and that allowed the defender, Jaire Alexander, to move in and grab the interception.

Rodgers then quickly marched his offense downfield to score a touchdown. That gave them a seven-point lead. Green Bay went for two to basically put the game out of reach.

Fields got the offense moving down the field, but to do so, he had to take risks deep. That resulted in another interception that ended whatever little hope the Bears had.

The Bears’ secondary did a very good job in limiting Rodgers’ success. The unit came into the game very thin. Cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Kindle Vildor, along with safeties Jaquan Brisker and Eddie Jackson were out with injuries. That left the Bears with players with limited snaps or rookies.

While the replacement players did a good job, the lack of pressure on Rodgers took a toll. He did miss some easy throws but as the game progressed he started to connect.

The offense had another big game in terms of yardage. They had missed opportunities to get into the end zone, however. In addition, kicker Cairo Santos had a bad game. He missed another point-after attempt. That miss was his fourth missed extra-point attempt. Additionally, his 84.6 percent success rate is the worst in his career. Santos also missed a field goal.

Those points missed changed the complexion of the game. Instead of kicking the field goal to take the lead, the Packers would have to go for it on fourth down and try to get a touchdown. They likely would have made it but perhaps the defense could come through and stop them.

Even if the Packers made it, Fields would have to just get within field goal range for the win.

With the loss, the Chicago Bears remain with the second-worst record in the NFL. Having the second pick in the 2023 NFL Draft would really assist in the rebuild.

In the meantime, we have to go through another four frustrating weeks. The Bears have a bye week now so they’ll get some much-needed rest and could make some adjustments. Let’s see what happens in the next month before they go into one of the biggest offseason in franchise history.