The Chicago Bears have plenty to be encouraged about, and their goals are attainable if they could just get out of their own way. Their offensive bugaboos – penalties and lulls, particularly early – showed up against the Green Bay Packers in Week 14.
The Bears have been able to overcome it against some, oftentimes, lesser opponents.
That was not the case against the Packers, whom the Bears will face again in two weeks on the lakefront.
Bears Get Honest After Season-Long Trend Shows Up in Loss to Packers
Caleb Williams Owns Final Play in Bears Loss
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams did not make excuses during his postgame media availability, saying that he and the offense must get out to quicker starts.
The Bears ranked eighth in scoring offense on the season before Sunday. They also entered Week 14 ranked fifth in first-quarter points per game, per Team Rankings.com. However, they are 12th in the same metric over the past three weeks, and 10th on the road.
On Sunday, the Bears did not score their first touchdown until the third quarter.
Williams finished the game with 198 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception on 54.3% completion. He entered the week with the lowest completion percentage in the league. And while his passing yards per quarter have remained fairly consistent, his accuracy has not.
Williams also shouldered responsibility for the INT, a game-ending pass to Cole Kmet on fourth down that Packers corner Keisean Nixon recovered in time to make a play on.
If the Bears want to get where they are trying to go, they need Williams’ accuracy to improve.
Bears RBs Keep Up Strong Play
Their ground game found a groove, with D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combining for 120 yards on 27 carries, or 4.4 yards per attempt, sporing a 19-90-0 line after the break.
That is a notable clip against a top-10 run defense, even one that was short-handed up front as the Packers were. Still, the Bears were stymied for much of the first half as their passing attack failed to get going.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson tipped his cap to the Packers for making more plays.
Johnson also commended his group for overcoming their 14-3 halftime deficit, and he did well to keep the game plan balanced throughout the night.
However, there were calls from Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen that they likely want back. This game was reminiscent of their Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, in that if the Bears could have gotten anything going (this time early), it would have made a difference.
Bears Missed Significant Opportunity
The Bears must go back to the drawing board, with the Cleveland Browns in Chicago for Week 15, and then the rematch with Green Bay in Week 16.
After hosting the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17, the Bears host the Detroit Lions in Week 18.
None of those games is necessarily “easy,” including the Browns, who feature NFL sack leader Myles Garrett. But the Bears suffered a 31-point loss to the Lions in Week 2, and that matchup could determine both teams’ playoff fates.
The Bears had an opportunity to do themselves a significant favor for the stretch, but could not buck their recent trend on offense, dropping from No. 1 to No. 7 in the NFC.