3 and Out: Bears solid start evaporates in loss to Packers

After a startling first half, the Chicago Bears crashed down to Earth in the second half with a 45-30 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. Here’s what you need to know:

Three moments that mattered

1. Leaving Lambeau with an L: The Bears will always have that first half, right? It’s clear these two franchises are gulfs apart from one another. Talent, coaching and overall execution all favor the Packers right now and that’s just another notch against Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace’s Bears when facing the NFL’s elite teams.

2. Back to reality: The Packers, down six at the half, marched down the field for a 3-yard Aaron Jones touchdown to re-take the lead. Justin Fields then coughed up his second turnover on a fumble, and Aaron Rodgers immediately found Jones again for a 23-yard touchdown to take the 35-27 advantage with 8:24 in the third quarter. As solid a first half as the Bears had, it didn’t take long for the Packers to find their rhythm and regain control.

3. Who are these Bears? None of us on staff picked the Bears to win the game. Hardly anybody would’ve predicted they’d match their season-high in point total by halftime in Lambeau. The offense, which struggled for explosive plays all year, had 247 total yards at the break. Regardless of the season trajectory, previous losses, etc., it was a highly impressive – very unexpected – half of football from Nagy’s Bears.

Three things that worked

1. Under pressure: After Rodgers left Soldier Field the first time without being sacked, Robert Quinn – a clear Comeback Player of the Year candidate – remedied that quickly on the Packers’ first series. Quinn left Sunday night with two sacks and is close to tying Richard Dent’s franchise record 17 1/2 from 1985.

2. Grant gets loose: The clear home run potential speed-wise for Jakeem Grant finally broke through in the first half. First, on his 46-yard touchdown catch from Fields to give the Bears an initial 10-point lead. But, his 97-yard punt return for a score is the longest punt return by a Bears player dating back to 1960, per Bears PR. It was also the league’s first punt return for a touchdown this season. Considering he was traded for from Miami midseason and took Tarik Cohen’s role in special teams and offense, the return has certainly at least broken even for the Bears.

3. Borom: While it was a bit of a rough debut for left tackle Teven Jenkins with his four penalty night after Jason Peters’ injury, Larry Borom, the Bears’ fifth round selection, has passed the eye test for the last number of weeks. Sunday night was no exception. It’s not often offensive lineman get noticed – it’s usually for the negative plays – but we’re pleased with Borom’s season to date.

Three things that didn’t

1. To punt or not to punt: After the Bears went 3-and-out to open the fourth quarter, an apparent muffed punt for a touchdown for the Bears was nullified after a Kindle Vildor penalty. Nagy was down 11 and facing a 4th-and-1 at his own-36. While we understand he might’ve wanted to not give Rodgers a short field if it failed, we’d argue the better decision was to try and keep Rodgers off the field longer. It ultimately led to an 8:38, 71-yard scoring drive to give them a 45-27 fourth quarter lead.

2. Big step back: In three third quarter offensive possessions, the Bears didn’t pick up one first down. Those possessions ended on a fumble and two punts for two net yards while the Packers scored 17 unanswered points. It snowballed into the fourth quarter from there.

3. Turnovers: There’s context to consider: Fields having two rookie tackles, the Packers’ pass-rush is above average, etc., but due to two Fields mistakes – his first half pick-six and fumble in the third quarter – it led to 14 points in response for the Packers. The Bears’ margin for error to win is highly small to begin with. It gets even smaller when Rodgers is opposite of them.

What’s next?

The Bears face the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football on Dec. 20. Kickoff is at 7:15 p.m.