It was right there for the taking.
The Chicago Bears had their hated rival Green Bay Packers dead to rights. All they needed was for Cairo Santos to connect on a 46-yard field goal. It would have snapped their losing streak in the NFL’s oldest rivalry at 10 games. Instead, Santos delivered a line-drive kick.
A kick that second-year Packers defensive lineman Karl Brooks got enough of to snap the Bears back to reality and hand them their fourth straight loss.
Bears-Packers Takeaways: Caleb Williams’ Progress Matters
Caleb Williams’ Progress a Silver Lining for Bears
Bears rookie and No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams delivered. Williams completed 74.2% of his passes on the day, the second-highest mark of his young career.
His highest mark came against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that ranked 27th in scoring and 32nd in yards allowed entering Week 11. This effort came against a Packers defense that ranked 11th and 12th, respectively, in those categories coming into the contest.
Williams threw for 231 yards with 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and 3 sacks taken.
The sack number is misleading, however, as Williams was taken down on back-to-back plays to open the Bears’ final drive.
That he overcame that and put the team in a position to potentially win the game speaks volumes and should encourage any dejected fans. Williams completed each of his last five passes on third downs for 52 yards spanning from the end of the third quarter into the fourth.
He was 3-for-5 for 31 yards passing on third down before that.
Williams also scrambled three times for 36 yards on third down. That underscores how dialed in the rookie was despite the game’s outcome.
Working backward, the Bears have lost their last four games versus the Packers by 1 point (on Sunday), 8 points, 18 points, 9 points, and 17 points under Eberflus. That is progress toward making a once proud rivalry so again. But the Bears have to improve in many areas still and prove what they did versus the Packers was no fluke.
Thomas Brown’s Playcalling Debut Was a Success
Williams’ play was one of many products of the Bears’ switch at offensive coordinator going from Shane Waldron to Thomas Brown. Brown’s playcalling snapped the Bears’ first-quarter scoring drought.
After the game Williams cited Brown getting the play calls in immediately after the previous one concluded and repeating it to make sure it was in.
It seems too simple to be effective but the proof was in the pudding.
Now, Brown and the Bears must prove it was not – to borrow a political term – a dead-cat bounce after all of the goings on around Halas Hall this past week. They face a daunting task in the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings are the NFL’s most blitz-happy defense. But it’s all or nothing for Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, so timing up the passing game will be key.
The Vikings entered Week 11 ranked 26th against the pass.
Williams had completed 53.5% of his passes for 588 yards with 4 TDs and 1 pick against the blitz entering the game. But his completion percentage was understandably and significantly lower (40.5%, 374 yds, 4 TDs, 3 INTs) when he is under pressure, per Pro Football Focus.
Defensive Letdowns Becoming Too Prevalent
In Week 8 – coming out of the bye and riding a three-game winning streak – the Bears have now suffered four straight losses with varying degrees of defensive letdowns underscoring the day.
First, the Washington Commanders beat them 18-15 on a Hail Mary that saw Tyrique Stevenson out of position and then trying to do too much. But that play was after the Bears conceded 13 yards to set up an easier throw for Commanders QB Jayden Daniels.
In Week 9, the Bears got boat raced by the Arizona Cardinals, losing 29-9.
Week 10 saw the Bears fall short to the New England Patriots 19-3, which seemed to be their nadir against one of the league’s worst teams.
But as many fans have shared, this game stings more in many ways. First, Cairo Santos will get plenty of blame for the trajectory of his kick. He will also receive defense from those asserting Brooks illegally leveraged long snapper Scott Daly.
No one in the Bears’ locker room was pointing fingers at the typically reliable Santos.
It was the defense that allowed the Packers to go 78 yards (!!!) in four plays (again, !!!) to take the lead after the Bears’ offense staked them to a five-point advantage.
For all of the changes at Halas Hall, the Bears are now 2-4 on the season in one-score games and 5-17 in such games under head coach Matt Eberflus. When the Bears’ defensive issues show up as they did on Sunday, it is clear that the Bears still have a lot of work to do.
Bears Need to Beef Up Trenches
It matters that the Bears are without Andrew Billings and Jaquan Brisker. They were getting gashed in the run game with Billings healthy and saw similar issues on Sunday. The Packers also beat the Bears deep on a play to Brisker’s usual deep right side.
Elijah Hicks got turned around and ended up injured on a big play to Christian Watson. Watson made a spectacular catch between Hicks and Kyler Gordon for 48 yards.
The Bears also lost Ryan Bates to a concussion during the game.
Bates was starting at left guard for the injured Teven Jenkins. They also cut Week 1 starter Nate Davis, leaving them woefully thin in front of Williams. They did get offensive tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright back, which made a noticeable difference.
But they have to sure up the interior of the pocket for Williams. He is not the tallest quarterback and has dealt with pressure in his face most of the season.
Conversely, the Bears need to give Montez Sweat more help to put pressure on opposing QBs.
It is far too easy for a team to game plan around Sweat. There is no true threat opposite him to draw the offense’s attention. Sweat posted a career-high 12.5 sacks in 2023, recording 6.5 with the Commanders before the trade at the deadline. He is on pace for 6 sacks in 2024.
The Bears could not get to Packers QB Jordan Love enough to make a difference. His lone error was an interception that he sailed into Terell Smith’s awaiting arms.
Their lone sack on Love came when DeMarcus Walker pushed him out of bounds on a run.
Pressure bursts pipes. As it stands, the Bears are allowing too much of it to get to their rookie quarterback. They are also failing to consistently affect the opposition. For a defense that is banged up on the back end, that is backbreaking in critical moments.
