Offense
- The Packers did the smart thing and stacked the line of scrimmage as everyone has before them. The Bears tried to loosen up the Packers by passing a bit more on first and second downs, something new for them, rather than just running into the teeth of the defense every time. They had limited success but I think this is what they have to eventually do if they want to be consistently successful.
- One thing became evident early. Either offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains or, more likely, Mitch Trubisky likes passing over the middle. That might be just where Trubisky is seeing the receivers the best. I think the Packers figured that out and concentrated on taking it away as the game progressed.
- Adam Shaheen came alive and had some nice catches.
- Trubisky is still struggling with his accuracy. Easy passes are being overthrown. This has been far and away the most disappointing part of his game.
- Nice to see the screen play make a successful appearance for the Bears in the second quarter on a long run by Benny Cunningham. They need to do more of that. Of course, some success in other areas of the passing game would help with that.
- Dontrelle Inman brought a little life today. He’s not a great receiver but he’s as good as anyone the Bears have.
Defense
- The Packers didn’t do anything special here. It was mostly dink and dunk down the field all day. The Bears were just a step slow all over the field.
- There were a lot of missed tackles out there today in a sloppy game.
- I think the Packers went at Kyle Fuller so often because he takes so many chances recently. He goes for the big play but its risky. If he misses there is often an awful lot of green behind him.
- The Packers went with a hard count on 4th and 1 from their own 29 at the end of the first quarter and no one in the stadium, fell for it. Hundley wasted a time out on the play to prevent delay of game. That was a poor decision.
- The Bears had a lot of success blitzing Hundley, particularly where he was responsible for recognizing it himself and adjusting. It’s quite evident that although its hs third year in the NFL, he’s basically a rookie. He made some poor decisions.
Miscellaneous
- Thom Brennaman and Chris Spielman were your announcers and man, Spielman did not impress me. He added very little to the broadcast and sometimes seemed to reverse his opinions mid-explanation. Brennaman is usually solid but there were situations where he seemed a bit lost as well. Not a great day for the announcers, either.
- Both teams had a lot of success kicking field goals on a rainy day. Of course, Mason Crosby missed a big one on a bad snap/hold at the end of the 4th quarter.
- Cody Whitehair had a holding penalty on the Bears first set of downs. There were two false starts in a row on the second set of downs. The Bears had four penalties before Green Bay had their first one. The Bears took an offside at the end of the first half that moved them back a crucial 5 yards as they tried to play for a field goal.It was typical of the day. Time after time the Bears shot themselves in the foot with penalties all day in a sloppy effort. It didn’t help that the game was poorly officiated.
- Tarik Cohen showed some shaky hands early juggling the first pass to him and flat out dropped a perfect ball on the second. Josh Bellamy had a bad drop near the end of the third quarter. Inman dropped a huge ball on the last drive of the game. These blown opportunities can’t continue.
- It’s a shame that Cunningham’s nice run on the screen play near the end of the first half was called a touchback upon review due to one of the worst rules the NFL has.
- This was a miserable game for most of the afternoon. Neither team really played well and the Bears in particular were flat and sloppy coming off of the break. Too many penalties and they lost the turnover battle, albeit on a crummy NFL rule.With Brett Hundley at quarterback, the Bears blew an opportunity here. They were just a step slow all day and they aren’t good enough to beat anyone unless they’re on top of their game.