Bears
Chicago Bears Week 12 Takeaways: Primetime Pain
The Bears got embarrassed on national television after having 13 days to prepare for their biggest rival.
The Chicago Bears just took another beating at the hands of Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers — a tradition like any other. Chicago’s slide into obscurity and the abyss continued on Sunday Night Football. The once 5-1 team has now lost five in a row and finds themselves as the ninth seed in the NFC with a record of 5-6.
At this point, the Bears are close to being a team drafting in the top ten in 2021 than they are to making the playoffs. The 41-25 loss on Sunday night was yet another national embarrassment, bringing them one step closer to organizational change.
Everything about the game was pitiful. One would be hard-pressed to find much in terms of positives to take away from the Week 12 matchup.
Coaching
Matt Nagy’s time as Bears head coach may be running out and his performance in front of Virginia McCaskey against their rivals might have expedited that. He and his coaching staff completely dropped the ball on this one. They had 13 days to prepare for this game and the team came out flat and unprepared. This is Nagy’s third year coaching the team and he continues to fail when coming off the bye week. He is now 0-3 in games following the bye.
Matt Nagy, Bill Lazor, Chuck Pagano, and Chris Tabor all got out-coached by their respective counterparts. They had an extra week to prepare for the Packers and this embarrassment is the best they could muster. Unbelievable.
Offense
It’s the same old story week in and week out. The offense is still broken and there is no fix in sight to salvage the 2020 season. The Bears turned back to Mitch Trubisky after pushing him aside in what seems to be a last-ditch effort. Nevertheless, that attempt fell flat on its face. Sure, the stats look somewhat decent, but most of those numbers are fluff. The Bears posted some garbage-time scores that contributed to the stat-padding. Outside of one drive at the end of the first half, there wasn’t much else to be proud of from this performance.
Trubisky finished the contest 26-46 for 242 yards, 3 TDs, and 2 INTs. His two interceptions were forced deep balls into double and triple coverage, respectively. What the quarterback was seeing was beyond anyone. It’s nice to see Trubisky make quick, confident decisions and push the ball downfield, but he chose wrong on those two drive-killing picks. Not to mention the drops in the end zone by Allen Robinson and Cole Kmet.
In contrast, the running game was not much better. David Montgomery broke a 57-yard run up the gut on his first carry of the game. From that point on, he logged ten rushes for 46 yards.
Bears fans, it’s best not to expect much from the offense anymore. They’re not capable of the level of play and execution required in the modern-day NFL.
Defense
As if 2020 couldn’t get any worse for the Chicago Bears, their only saving grace finally broke. The defense got the doors blown off of them. Green Bay’s first three possessions were long, methodical drives that picked apart Chicago’s defense.
- First drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, Touchdown (7:38)
- Second Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, Touchdown (5:19)
- Third Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, Touchdown (7:50)
The defense had absolutely no answer for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense. Green Bay frequently utilized motion and boot-action that completely fooled the Bears’ linebackers and defensive backs.
And then there’s the ultra-soft tackling by the Bears. Green Bay broke several tackles and gained chunks of extra yards that should have been prevented.
Going into halftime, Green Bay sported a 27-10 lead. However, the second half would better but not much better. The Bears defense allowed two scoring drives in the third quarter:
- 4 plays, 53 yards, Touchdown (2:15)
- 9 plays, 66 yards, Touchdown (4:57)
Just like that, the Bears trailed 41-10 heading into the final frame and that was all she wrote. It came all too easy for the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night. They pounded the Bears into submission.
On this night, there was no defending the Bears defense. They got humiliated in what was by far the worst performance they’ve had since the Marc Trestman era.
Danny Trevathan/Buster Skrine
Bears fans have seen enough. Both Trevathan and Skrine got picked on and harassed by Davante Adams all night long to the point where you almost felt bad for them. Hopefully neither of these two are members of the team in 2021.
Khalil Mack
Where are you? Mack is the highest-paid player on the team and he’s nowhere to be found.
Akiem Hicks
This guy is the MVP of the defense. Hands down. Hicks’ absence left a huge hole on the defensive line. They’re already without Eddie Goldman (opt-out) and Roy Robertson-Harris (injured reserve).
Third Quarter Drought
It continues.
Silver Lining
The “tank” is still on. With last night’s loss, the Bears improved their draft position.
The Chicago Bears are slowly but surely returning to “dumpster fire” territory. The blame starts at the top with the McCaskeys and Ted Phillips followed by Ryan Pace all the way down to Matt Nagy, the coaches, and players. If ownership decides to make swift changes this offseason, then fans of the team should hope it starts with President and CEO Ted Phillips.
The further the Bears fall from their 5-1 start, the closer they get to a top-ten draft pick and a regime change.
Overall
What’s there to say? The Bears got their asses kicked. The offense was mediocre. The defense was hot garbage and everything in between was just downright brutal.
It’s evident that watching this team has become extremely painful. It is mentally and emotionally exhausting watching them week in and week out. The Bears used to be fun to watch not too long ago. Now, the organization is between a rock and hard place. How did we get here so fast?
If any Bears fans have the stomach to watch the highlights and relive the game, be my guest:
What’s On Tap Next?
The Chicago Bears get a visit from the Detroit Lions on Sunday, December 6th at 12 PM CT. The game will be televised on FOX. The Bears will look to end their five-game losing streak. The Lions, who recently fired their head coach and general manager, will look to rebound from their own shellacking on Thanksgiving. It will be interesting to see if Detroit will get De’Andre Swift, Kenny Golladay, and their other playmakers back for this contest.
Be sure to tune in to the Bears On Tap podcast for postgame reactions, updates and analysis throughout the week, and discussions on a variety of other Bears-related topics.
