The Chicago Bears began their season on a disappointing note this past Sunday at Soldier Field, succumbing to their arch-nemesis, the Green Bay Packers, with a final score of 38-20.
The Bears found themselves trailing 7-6 late in the first half, only to witness the Packers embark on a relentless 17-point scoring spree, establishing a commanding 24-6 lead by the third quarter. Though the Bears managed to narrow the deficit to 24-14 later in the period, Green Bay swiftly put the game to rest by scoring two touchdowns within a mere 56 seconds.
Coach Matt Eberflus expressed the collective disappointment in the locker room, stating, "Everybody in the locker room's disappointed in that outcome. This hurts. This is a division opponent. All the guys in there are sick to their stomachs, all the coaches, everybody, and that's not something that you like. But we also know it's the first game and we've got to get better. We have to improve."
Justin Fields completed 24 of 37 passes for 216 yards, including one touchdown and one interception, earning a passer rating of 78.2. He also showcased his mobility with a game-high 59 rushing yards on nine carries but lost a fumble during a scramble and endured four sacks.
The Bears' offense committed five penalties throughout the game, three of which were false starts, and two were holding infractions. These mistakes hindered their drives and resulted in a meager 23.1 percent success rate on third downs, converting only 3 of 13 attempts.
Eberflus acknowledged the need for improvement in this area, stating, "We put ourselves behind on offense a bunch of times, and I think that's why the third downs were not what they expected to be. We've got to get that cleaned up because that's something you can improve by being disciplined and not having those penalties. Last year we were third in the league in penalties so we can definitely clean that up. That's correctable."
In just his second career start, Packers quarterback Jordan Love displayed his skills by completing 15 of 27 passes for 245 yards, delivering three touchdowns without any turnovers, and securing an impressive passer rating of 123.2.
On the Green Bay side, running back Aaron Jones contributed 41 rushing yards on nine carries and one touchdown while also catching two passes for 86 yards and an additional touchdown before exiting the game due to a hamstring injury. Receiver Romeo Doubs made four catches for 26 yards and scored two touchdowns.
The Bears' game got off to a rocky start as they turned the ball over on downs on the opening possession when Fields was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak at the Chicago 40-yard line.
Seizing the opportunity, the Packers capitalized on the excellent field position, taking a 7-0 lead when Love connected with Doubs on an 8-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal with 6:08 left in the first quarter.
The Bears responded by driving to the Green Bay 31-yard line, but consecutive false start penalties disrupted their progress. Consequently, they settled for Cairo Santos' 47-yard field goal, narrowing the score to 7-3 late in the first quarter.
After their defense forced the Packers into a three-and-out, Santos added another field goal, this time from 29 yards, reducing the deficit to 7-6 with 9:00 remaining in the second quarter. Fields played a pivotal role in sustaining the drive with a remarkable 10-yard scramble on third-and-7. D'Onta Foreman contributed with an 11-yard run, and DJ Moore caught passes for 11 and 14 yards.
Fields remarked on the early rhythm the team had, saying, "We had a rhythm starting off early. But I think the moral of the story is we shot ourselves in the foot so many times: pre-snap penalties, false starts, holdings. We put ourselves in third-and-long. It's hard to convert on that for an NFL offense. I think if we just clean that up and keep getting better, we'll be fine."