(670 The Score) Hope can be a cruel thing. The Bears’ vibes were almost immaculate heading into Green Bay on Sunday night, and for a brief moment we all almost forgot that Green Bay is where immaculate vibes go to die. Aaron Rodgers wasted no time reminding everyone of all the various football-related reasons to despise him, and the Bears, as it turns out, aren't a very good football team. Their franchise quarterback a combined 15 completions through two games. Let’s get into the grades and then go to bed after the Bears fell to 1-1 with a 27-10 loss to the Packers.
Offense: D
Remember that first Bears drive? Back when colors were brighter and food tasted better? After Justin Fields’ touchdown run put Chicago up in the first quarter, three of the Bears’ next 12 meaningful plays were punts. That’s not including their final drive of the first half – a one-play, three-yard cameo. And you of course already know this, but the Bears' first drive of the second half was also three plays. So many drives, so few plays. The Bears went almost 90 minutes of real time without a first down -- 90 minutes! You could have driven from Soldier Field to Milwaukee and not missed a single positive offensive play. The good news is that David Montgomery continues to be That Dude. He rushed 15 times for 122 yards, but it was his second-half performance that really impressed. At one point, Luke Getsy was definitely just calling heat check runs – the Bears' opening drive of the fourth quarter went 89 yards without a single completed pass. We won’t talk about how it ended. Overall, the Bears' passing game didn’t look much better than it did during a historically huge rain storm, which is maybe a bit of a concern? Fields had another tough game – finishing a whole football game with seven completions and 70 passing yards in the year 2022 looks like a typo. Fields has 15 completions all year. And hey, here’s a fun question: Would you rather have Darnell Mooney’s night (one catch for minus-4 yards) or Cole Kmet’s (zero catches for zero yards)? It’s not that any of this was unexpected, per se, it just always stings a little more in Green Bay.
Defense: D
On one hand, I imagine that tackling professional football players really hurts – so, personally, I get the hesitation. On the other, it is, unfortunately, their job. The young, scrappy Matt Eberflus defense looked way younger than it did scrappy Sunday. Giving up 20 yards on a second-and-28 screen pass sorta summed up the entire evening. Kyler Gordon may get the Brenden Clinton treatment this week. Gordon hasn't exactly looked the part so far this season, and yes I can hear you screaming at me that it’s only been two games. Roquan Smith also had another game with a bunch of solo tackles, none of which felt particularly important. Getting pushed 10 yards back on an Aaron Jones’ touchdown may have taken the Most Unflattering Twitter Tape award away from Eddie Jackson. The Bears' edge rushers looked good at least – Trevis Gipson’s two sacks were encouraging and Robert Quinn got back to doing Robert Quinn things. The Bears' defense won’t face the same type of rage-induced scrutiny from fans that the offense will this week, but it probably took a step back too.
Special team: B, C or D (your choice)
Four points from Cairo Santos, baby. A 57-yard punt from Trenton Gill! Pat O’Donnell averaged more than than 60 yards per punt for the Packers on Sunday, which isn't really an important or even useful stat to know but is nonetheless hilarious. He showed them!
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.
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