After a few weeks of encouraging signs, the Bears finished with a depressing loss in Green Bay.
Outgained 432-192, the Bears were constantly on the verge of taking control of the game, so let’s watch the film and decide where it all went wrong.
On this day, scheme and blocking were clearly bigger problems than QB Justin Fields. With the offensive line, the conundrum remains the same: Second in the NFL in rushing yards, bottom eight in sacks allowed. How do they even things out?
The first three Bears drives all crossed midfield, resulting in two fields goals and a 7-6 deficit, thanks to the “one disastrous play” syndrome.
On the opening drive, Fields found Equanimeous St. Brown for a first down at the 26. On the next play, LT Braxton Jones was overpowered by rookie Lukas Van Ness, who sacked Fields for a drive-killing loss of 6. RB Khalil Herbert motioned wide on this play, taking the middle linebacker with him. In hindsight, Fields’ best option was to run straight ahead into the vacated space for an impromptu QB draw.
But he didn’t know the pocket would collapse so fast and was looking toward a bracketed D.J. Moore. The best throwing option was a quick out to Cole Kmet, but he and WR Trent Taylor ran the same route too close together, which made the throw more difficult than it should have been.
On the second drive, the Bears moved 31 yards on three plays, then facing second-and-two, Fields was dropped for a loss on what looked like a designed QB sweep. The problem was Taylor was asked to block Packers sack leader Rashan Gary, while starting two or three steps to the outside shoulder. Two other defensive linemen leaked in and Fields had no chance.
On the third drive, Fields hit Moore for a nice gain, giving the Bears a first down at the 17. The next play was a 2-yard loss by Herbert because the Bears chose not to block LB Kingsley Enagbare. On third down, Fields was sacked by Kenny Clark after the middle of the Bears line botched a stunt. Fields had no good throwing options. Moore and Collin Johnson hadn’t turned their heads before the rush got home.
For most of the season, the Bears offensive line was better than it was in Green Bay. But it needs help and there’s no obvious fix. Tackles Jones and Darnell Wright are better at run blocking than pass blocking. LG Teven Jenkins has been the Bears’ best blocker at times, then struggled badly against the Packers.
Center Lucas Patrick missed the game and Nate Davis left in the first half. Excuses? Green Bay’s best offensive lineman, David Bakhtiari missed the whole season.
The Bears start five decent linemen. None are terrible, none are Pro Bowl candidates. Since left tackle is the most important spot, the most obvious fix is to invest in a player who can stand up to the NFL’s best pass rushers. Easier said than done, of course.
The need for depth across the board is obvious, but especially in the offensive line and defensive backfield. The Bears didn’t hold up well without Pro Bowl CB Jaylon Johnson on Sunday, and he’s a free agent.
The Bears were down a starter on the offensive line in Green Bay and didn’t look great when Larry Borom had to fill in for an injured Braxton Jones for six games. Every team loses starters over the course of the season. Championship teams have solid replacements.
An issue for the Bears is their salary structure is out of balance. Using numbers from spotrac.com, they had four players making more than $14 million this season – D.J. Moore, Eddie Jackson, Cody Whitehair and Tremaine Edmunds.
Jackson and Whitehair are two of the weaker links on the roster. Edmunds was decent, but T.J. Edwards, a bargain at $5 million, had the better season. The second-highest paid offensive lineman is Nate Davis, who had a tough year after signing as a free agent from Tennessee.
Montez Sweat’s hefty deal kicks in next season. Fields has another year on a rookie contract. Cole Kmet is already signed to an extension. The Bears have room to maneuver in free-agency, but face some challenges.
There’s a reason the Bears have been swept by Green Bay five years in a row. The Packers have more talent across the board and are better coached.
Once again, the Packers have an impressive group of rookies. Lukas Van Ness and Karl Brooks had sacks on Sunday, TE Tucker Kraft threw some killer blocks, and WR Dontayvion Wicks caught 2 touchdown passes.
The Bears lost a couple rookie-on-rookie battles badly. Wicks beat Terell Smith on a crossing pattern for the first Packers touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson tried chucking Naperville Central grad Jayden Reed and ended up in futile pursuit on a 59-yard gain.
And that was the first play after the Bears kicked a field goal to get within 14-9. This rivalry is a long, long way from evenly-matched.
