5 big takeaways from Chicago Bears’ 11th straight loss to Green Bay Packers on Sunday

CHICAGO – The Bears thought they were about to avoid history on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field. Instead, they just found another crazy way to lose a game.

Bears kicker Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Karl Brooks as time expired to secure the Green Bay Packers a 20-19 win. The Packers have now won a record 11 straight games against the Bears in the NFL’s oldest rivalry.

Things have gone from bad to worse for Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and his team. The Bears have lost four straight and will play two NFC North games in the next 11 days against the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions.

Here are the five big takeaways from Sunday’s game.

1. A new-look Bears offense?

There weren’t wholesale changes, but the Bears offense sure looked like a more efficient unit during its first game under new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. The Bears found the end zone seconds before halftime on running back Roschon Johnson’s 1-yard touchdown run. It marked the team’s first touchdown since Oct. 27 in Washington.

It wasn’t just the fact that they found the end zone. The Bears did some things differently. Brown schemed up more quick, easy throws for quarterback Caleb Williams. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Williams had his lowest “time to throw” of the season in the first half. He averaged just 1.92 seconds to throw. Additionally, his air yards per throw were just 1.7 yards per attempt. The Bears also used pre-snap motion at a higher rate.

Players after the game said the change in offensive coordinator felt like a turning point during the week. The Bears said the energy, game flow and communication between players and coaches all improved.

“We were out there moving the ball,” DJ Moore said. “Everybody was involved.”

On top of all that, Williams looked dynamic with his legs. He finished the afternoon with a career-high 70 rushing yards. The rookie quarterback wasn’t afraid to take the ball and run with it when nobody was open.

“Lanes opened up,” Williams said. “My only goal is to help this team win. If a lane opens up and to be able to go get a few yards, play efficient ball, keep us in very manageable situations, that’s my job. That’s what happened today.”

2. Williams shows growth

Sunday felt like Williams took a step in the right direction even though he didn’t throw a touchdown for a fourth straight game. Williams looked more comfortable when facing pressure and knew when to take a positive play in front of him.

Williams finished the game with his second-highest pass-completion percentage of his career, 74.2%, and threw for 231 yards, the third-most he has thrown for in a game this season. He averaged 7.5 yards per attempt and was sacked three times.

Part of the improvement was thanks to Brown’s communication. Williams said as soon as a play was done, Brown started calling the next play. That allowed the Bears to get to the line of scrimmage quicker and make the needed adjustments.

“I think all things like that, all little things tend to be large in big moments,” Williams said. “Every moment in a football game is pretty big because that one play, that one drive, you never know how many you’re going to get in a game, especially versus a team like that. Already in the NFL, drives and possessions are very limited. Those small things always tend to be large.”

Williams showed off his improvements late to put the Bears in a position to win the game. After taking back-to-back sacks to set up third-and-19 from the Bears 21-yard line, he completed 16-yard and 21-yard passes to rookie Rome Odunze to pick up a first down. He completed a 12-yard throw to Keenan Allen to put the Bears in field goal range.

“I thought this was the cleanest he’s been in the huddle and with the operation in terms of the offense and got us into good looks here and there,” Bears tight end Cole Kmet said. “There’s things that I’m sure he would tell you that he can clean up, but he just did a good job of operating the offense. And then at the end of the game just being being Caleb Williams, so that was cool to see.”

3. Should the Bears have tried make the kick easier?

The Bears had a chance to make Santos’ kick a little bit shorter.

After Allen picked up the first down, the Packers called their final timeout with 35 seconds left in the game. Johnson rushed for a two-yard gain to bring the ball to the Packers 28. The Bears still had time to run another play and call a timeout before Santos attempted his kick.

Eberflus didn’t think the chance of losing the ball was worth the risk.

“They were loading the box there,” Eberflus said. “You could say you could do that for sure, maybe get a couple more yards, but you’re also going to risk fumbling and different things there. We felt where we were, if we’re at the 36 or 35, you definitely want to do that because you want to get it inside there. I felt very confident where we were at that time with the wind and where we were on the field.”

Bears after the game had different opinions about the call. Kmet agreed that the Bears always want to get a few yards to make a kick easier but agreed that the Packers stacked the box with players.

Moore was open to the thought but supported his Eberflus’ decision.

“Yeah, but, you know, we did what we did,” Moore said. “We’re going to stick with that.”

4. A healthier offensive line

The Bears offense already had a boost before kickoff thanks to the return of starting tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright. Both starting tackles missed last week’s game with knee injuries. They provided the offensive line with a huge boost, especially with guard Teven Jenkins sidelined by an ankle injury.

Behind a healthier offensive line, the Bears had more success in the run game, and they kept Williams relatively clean one week after he was sacked nine times. It also helped the Bears score a field goal on their first drive.

“We struggled starting fast throughout the season,” lineman Matt Pryor said. “To be able to be able to go out there against a real good team and be able to get into a rhythm sooner than later. So there’s a lot of positive momentum for us and we just got to capitalize on that the following week.”

Bears left guard Ryan Bates exited the game early with a concussion. Backup Jake Curhan took over the left guard spot and played well in relief of Bates.

Williams was happy to have both Jones and Wright but was also impressed to see the depth step in once again.

“To be able to have your guy back that’s been, like I said, building confidence in him, trusting him, is great,” Williams said. “I think the other guys have filled in, and I think they’ve done a good job, like Jake (Curhan) today. He did a great job today. I made sure he knows that. I appreciate him, and we’re going to keep going.”

5. Where do the Bears go from here?

The Bears have now lost two games in the final seconds in dramatic fashion. It’s something some players don’t experience during an entire career.

Their four-game losing streak started against the Commanders in Week 8 when they converted on a last-second Hail Mary to win. Now after losing on a blocked field goal in the final seconds, some Bears didn’t know how to process another tough loss.

“It’s been a crazy year,” defensive end Montez Sweat said. “A couple of these things that have been happening this year have never happened to me in my career, and it’s happening multiple times in the year. It’s just kind of crazy.”

Despite the losses, the Bears felt confident that there were positives to take from Sunday’s loss. They’ll need to learn quickly with division matchups against the Vikings and Lions coming up in the next week and a half.

“It’s about learning from our mistakes and continuing to grow and continue to get better, so that way we can get in the win column and feel better coming into this locker room,” Odunze said. “It’s a tough league and sometimes those wins and losses come down to one play. But you know, we need to come at the end of these things on the right side.”