During his pump-up speech following Week 4’s 23-12 victory over the New York Jets, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson alluded to the fact that it was on to Green Bay Packers week without actually saying it. Anyone can pretend like it’s just another game, or even another divisional game, but it’s not.
Bears-Packers is the best rivalry in the National Football League. It’s also the oldest football rivalry, and one of the oldest in all of sports. Nobody, even the ultra-serious and focused Ben Johnson, takes it lightly.
Early in the week’s prep for the big game, Johnson announced Tyson Bagent as the starting quarterback. Caleb Williams suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 and hasn’t played since. In the two weeks that followed, both Case Keenum
and Bagent led the team to victories.
Bagent was handed the keys in Week 5, as well, which makes sense, considering he was QB2 out of camp. As well as they’ve both played, Bagent earned the trust of Ben Johnson and the coaching staff.
On Friday, two days before kickoff, the world learned about the passing of Bears legend Mike Ditka. Of course, “Da Coach” became a legendary figure within the organization by revolutionizing the tight end position, as well as leading the 1985 Bears to a 15-1 record and the franchise’s only Super Bowl title. Today, it is still seen as one of the three greatest football teams ever assembled.
Nobody embraced the Bears-Packers rivalry quite like Mike Ditka. He loved winning, but he loved winning against them even more. No matter what, beating the Packers was at the top of his priority list. He did not leave anyone wondering what his feelings for them were.
Legendary Bears running back Walter Payton also passed away during Packers week, with the teams playing at Lambeau just the same. Chicago won that game on a blocked field goal. In the game following Ditka’s passing, they were trying to do the same.
The game did not get off to the start that they were looking for. Green Bay, thanks to a handful of clutch defensive plays turning the ball over on offense, took a quick 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. From there, the Bears started to look better. They finally had a drive, led by Tyson Bagent and D’Andre Swift, that led them to the end zone for points. Their 14-7 deficit went into halftime.
Once the second half began, it felt like the Bears might come out with the momentum. However, Jordan Love and the Packers drove all the way down the field and scored.
This score to put the Packers up 21-7 revealed a flaw that they began to expose. Love continued to make deep passes that led to big gains, including the big touchdown reception. Even when those big plays went wrong, they kept going back to it, proving that they knew something they could expose.
From that point on, the Packers started to take over. Whether it was a missed field goal by Cairo Santos, an interception for Tyson Bagent, or another handful of deep completions for Jordan Love and Green Bay’s offense, the Bears had no answer.
In the fourth quarter, Tyson Bagent was benched in favor of Case Keenum. He drove them down the field, but then threw an interception right in front of the end zone. That, in that moment, ended the game for all intents and purposes.
The final score of 31-7 is a bad look for the Bears, but it doesn’t even accurately describe the best down that they took from their arch-nemesis. There is a lot of work to do if they are going to be ready for their next matchup at Soldier Field.
This game that was supposed to be a great tribute to Coach Ditka turned out to be a major wake-up call. Whether it was the offense turning the ball over five times, allowing six explosive plays of 30+ yards and 31 points on defense, or a bad kicking game, it was an overall disaster that took place at Lambeau Field.
Caleb Williams’ return is a possibility for next week’s match against the Atlanta Falcons. Obviously, their chance to win improves with his return, but an important week of practice lies ahead.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Instant analysis from Bears' blowout loss to the Packers in Week 5
