USA Today
Aaron Rodgers Still Owns Bears
The Bears saw what might be in the future for their offense with Justin Fields at quarterback.
They just didn't see enough of it in the second and third quarters Sunday, and the Green Bay Packers had Aaron Rodgers once again closing out a victory, denying the Bears a share of the top spot in the NFC North 24-14.
"I think I should have played better," quarterback Justin Fields said. "I didn't play as good as I wanted to. I think the drive before the second quarter ended we should have gotten points there and that's on me.
"I needed to play good for us to win, so again. I've just got to be better."
The Bears drove 80 yards to a Khalil Herbert 1-yard touchdown run on their first possession, with Fields going 3-for-3. Then they hit a wall on offense, fell behind 17-7 and lost for the fifth straight time to the Packers.
When they put on a rally with a fourth-quarter march to Darnell Mooney's 5-yard TD catch, they never got the chance to take a lead or tie because Rodgers answered back with a 6-yard TD scramble on a 75-yard drive to salt away the win.
"That first drive there was a lot of energy to it, and that last drive we really picked it up," tight end Cole Kmet said. "If you want to beat a really good team like Green Bay, you've got to be able to be consistent throughout the whole game."
The Bears did a great deal right, like 97 yards rushing on 19 carries from rookie third-string back Khalil Herbert in his first start, and 16 of 27 for 174 yards from Fields. They even figured out what the tight end is for, as Cole Kmet had four receptions for 49 yards.
The defense sacked Rodgers three times but they gave up 154 yards rushing and it allowed the Packers to mix up the attack and come back from the early deficit.
The Packers had a 1-yard Allen Lazard TD on a shovel pass and a 39-yard Mason Crosby field goal to take a 10-7 lead by halftime, hit the Bears with a third-quarter TD reception by Aaron Jones and put it away on Rodgers 6-yard TD scramble, which ended with him screaming "I own you, I still own you," at Soldier Field fans.
Or at least it was to one fan.
“I looked up in the stands and in the front row, all I saw was a woman giving me the double bird," Rodgers said. "I’m not sure exactly what came out of my mouth then."
What came from Fields' mouth was criticism of his own play and the offense.
"Consistency, that's it," Fields said. "Once you come out and get a stop on defense, score the first drive, and it's 7-0, we've got to keep putting points on especially with a quarterback like Aaron.
"I mean, we've got to just capitalize on every possession we get. We've got to get points any way that we can."
Rodgers finished 17 of 23 for 195 yards and hit a big 41-yard pass to Davante Adams to set up his clinching scramble, but it was the inability of the defense to stop the Packers from running for 153 yards that made the most difference in this one. Jones had 76 yards and A.J. Dillon 59 yards.
"They had some big runs there toward the end," Nagy said. "We talked about it in the huddle down there towards the end of the game. We've got to, at worst case, hold them to a field goal and make it a six-point game. And they ended up getting that touchdown on the scramble touchdown.
"The leaders we have on that defense, they understand where we're at. That defense has been playing really well. That's a good offense that we played. They're well-coached. They've got a great quarterback. And so that's a challenge."
The Bears had more than their share of foul-ups to assist the Packers. An interception Fields through in the first half only because he thought the Packers had jumped offsides was one—the officials threw no flag. Fields took a key sack at the Packers 33 with the Bears in field goal range just before halftime. They also had a critical 5-yard penalty for delay of game and a phantom holding penalty on guard Cody Whitehair to kill a drive.
"Just running the ball, we've got to stay in front of the sticks," Herbert said. "I feel like that's another thing, too, no penalties. So those things and converting on third downs, I feel like those things we've got to fix."
The Bears (3-3) struggled again on third downs, converting 4 of 11. It's been a common them this year whether it was Fields or Andy Dalton at quarterback.
"I feel like we still gave ourselves the opportunity to win the game, and we didn't," wide receiver Darnell Mooney said. "We have to be able to put points on the board. The defense played really well, enough for us to win the game. Offensively, I feel like it definitely was an opportunity."
It was the kind of missed opportunity a more experienced and polished team seizes.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
