The Chicago Bears played a truly awful game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. It was easily the worst performance of the Ben Johnson era, and that includes his decision making as a head coach.
The whole team was served a healthy helping of humble pie in this loss. They deserve it. It’s a good wake up call for them, because nobody is without flaw in the NFL, and sometimes the Bears act like they are much better than they’ve proven.
Would this game have gone differently for the Bears had Caleb Williams been healthy? Of course! The drop off between starters and backups in this league is huge, and they can’t expect to go undefeated without him (which they had until this loss), but that doesn’t excuse them from being blown out by their arch
nemesis.
Every unit of the football team is graded below, and they accurately describe the debacle that took place on every side of the ball:
Offense: F
This was the worst offensive performances the Bears have had during the Ben Johnson era. They do have the excuse of not having thier star quarterback, but it was perfectly fine weather unlike thier game against the Minnesota Vikings. Outside of D'Andre Swift scoring one fourth-and-goal touchdown, none of their weapons made a big play and both quarterbacks (Tyson Bagent, Case Keenum) were terrible. This is as bad as it gets in the NFL.
Defense: F
The Bears defense had no answer for the Packers offense. They scored 31 points, and it would have been more if Green Bay didn't miss field goals and extra point attempts. The Packers found a weakness in the Bears' secondary and they exposed it all afternoon with six explosive players of 30-plus yards. Even when it didn't work, they never hesitated to go back to it. It's something now that the Bears must figure out before the Atlanta Falcons pick up on it.
Special Teams: D
Zavion Thomas saves this special teams unit from getting an F, and the Bears from getting F's across the board. His fourth-quarter kick return showed some life in the Bears, despite it being a complete blowout. It was nice to see someone give their full effort on a meaningless play, simply for pride. That sort of commitment can carry over into future games. Cairo Santos missed his one field goal attempt, and that was the turning point of the game. Once that ball didn't go through the upright, the Bears lost their spark that made you believe a comeback was possible. Special teams mostly just has to do their job and not cause you to lose to get a good grade, but that deflating moment did the Bears no favors when it comes to the outcome.
Coaching: F
Ben Johnson and his entire coaching staff have done wonderful things for the Bears since they have arrived. It is already looking like one of the best hires in the history of the franchise. However, that was a totally pathetic showing by the coaching staff in Green Bay. They were outdueled by the Packers' coaching staff from the moment the ball was kicked off, and it was personal. The fact that nobody could find a way to stop them from completing deep ball passes time and time again was embarassing.
Also, seven points? From the play-caller that predicted the greatest offense of all time? That's embarassing, even without their starting quarterback. It's even more embarrassing knowing they put up just three against the Vikings in Week 2. The saving grace is that anything can happen in an intense rivalry game like this one. It can all be scrapped, and the Bears could get back to their positive ways next week against the Atlanta Falcons. It is on Ben Johnson and his staff to throw that tape out the window, and have a great week of practice preparing for an angry Falcons team that lost an overtime heartbreaker on Sunday night.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears report card: How we graded Chicago in Week 5 loss to Packers
