Chicago Bears

Bears vs. Packers Recap: Three Phase Report Card

The Bears blew a 20 point lead in the loss

The Chicago Bears looked like they were about to cruise to victory against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, but Aaron Rodgers had other ideas as he helped his team back to a 24-23 win at Lambeau Field.

There will be plenty of discussion over the loss in the days to come, but for now, here is our Three Phase Report Card from the loss.

Offense: C

The first two drives of the game, the Bears looked absolutely unstoppable on offense, as Mitchell Trubisky completed his first seven passes and got contributions from all over the field.

Unfortunately for the team, that’s where the good times stopped. The playcalling got downright conservative after Khalil Mack returned an interception for a touchdown, and the Bears’ play suffered as they scored just six points in the second half.

The conservative playcalling was right out of Dowell Loggains’ playbook, with dump-off passes to Dion Sims and straight runs by Jordan Howard taking the place of any aggression that the team showed in the first half.

That simply cannot happen in a game where the Bears are facing a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers, and it put far too much pressure on the team’s defense.

Defense: B

The Bears’ defense was incredible in the first half, pressuring Rodgers constantly and getting big contributions from Mack and Roquan Smith, who got a sack on his very first NFL play.

The second half defense was rough at times, as the pass rush struggled to get home against Rodgers and as the secondary was carved up by the Packers’ receivers. The uptempo style of the offense is something the Bears will need to guard against in the future, but fortunately players like Mack and Smith will get more playing time as the season moves along.

That should help the secondary, and Vic Fangio will need to bank on that as the team moves forward.

Special Teams: B-

The Bears’ return game had a flash with Tarik Cohen, but for the most part, it was another uneventful evening for the group, aside from several penalties.

Cody Parkey was perfect on extra points and field goals, and Pat O’Donnell had a few solid punts as well. If the team can clean up the penalties, they’ll be in a much better spot in that area of the game.

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