Bears fold after an electric 1st half against the Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Bears played as well as they could possibly play in the first half Sunday night, scoring 27 points and, at one point, taking a double-digit lead on the Green Bay Packers.

They had explosive plays left and right: a 97-yard punt return touchdown from Jakeem Grant, a tight-rope-walking 46-yard touchdown reception from Grant and a 54-yard scoring scamper form receiver Damiere Byrd.

And still, the Packers picked themselves up off the floor and punched back in a 45-30 Packers win at Lambeau Field on Sunday Night Football.

Trailing by six points at halftime, the Packers drove 75 yards on the first possession after halftime and scored on a 3-yard touchdown from running back Aaron Jones. On the next possession, Packers pass rusher Preston Smith beat Bears rookie offensive tackle Teven Jenkins and found his way to quarterback Justin Fields. Smith knocked the ball loose from Fields’ hands, the Packers jumped on the fumble and they scored one play later on a 23-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers to Jones.

The Packers scored 24 consecutive points after halftime and put the game away.

“It can change really quickly,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “I felt like that third quarter when they just got the ball and just started running it and started getting chunks with the run game, then they scored the touchdown. Then we’ve got to bounce back on offense and at least flip the field. And we get it and they go the strip sack.”

Coming into the contest, nobody was expecting the Bears to win this game. They had lost five straight against the Packers (10-3), who are battling for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. But when the Bears (4-9) took an early two possession lead, 10-0, in the first half, this became a winnable game.

As has been the story over the years, the defense buckled as Rodgers made play after play. He finished the night 29-for-37 passing for 341 yards and four touchdowns.

The Bears defense lost two defensive backs to injury during the game. Xavier Crawford left with a concussion and DeAndre Houston-Carson left with an arm injury. The secondary was thin against a quarterback who makes a living by finding mismatches.

The Bears kept cornerback Jaylon Johnson on Packers star receiver Davante Adams for most of the game. One of the few times Johnson switched off Adams, Rodgers connected with Adams for a 38-yard touchdown. Adams scored again later and finished with 10 catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bears defense was outmatched and the offense couldn’t avoid mistakes for long enough.

Bears left tackle Jason Peters injured his ankle early in the game. Jenkins, the rookie tackle who was a second-round draft pick last spring, entered the game at left tackle and took his first snaps on offense this season. It was certainly a mixed debut for Jenkins. The strip sack was a low point, but so were two holding penalties and two false start penalties.

Fields threw two touchdown passes, both relatively short passes that Byrd and Grant took to the house. He also threw one interception, which Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas returned 55 yards for a touchdown.

“We knew coming in after the first half that we were up, but the game wasn’t over, especially with the quarterback that they have over on that side,” Fields said. “It’s just that simple. Of course, we were satisfied with the first half, but we knew in the back of our head that we had to finish.”

The Packers have dominated the Bears during the Nagy era, and over the past three decades. Big picture, a win over the Packers on Sunday would’ve been a fun moment, but probably wouldn’t have turned this season around. Certainly the Bears had their moments Sunday. They were, well, fun for one half of football.

One good half of football isn’t enough to beat the Green Bay Packers.