4 Bears Most to Blame for Disastrous Week 5 Loss to Packers

It appears that the NFL's oldest rivalry is back to 'business as usual', at least for now. The Green Bay Packers utterly humiliated the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on Sunday, taking a 7-0 lead on their opening drive and never looking back. I had asked in my keys to victory whether Tyson Bagent could outduel Jordan Love, and the answer to that is a resounding 'no'. He was awful from start to finish, giving Bears fans flashbacks to some dark years in the late 2010's, when the Bears were stuck in quarterback purgatory.

If there's a silver lining here for Bears fans, it's that Caleb Williams was once again inactive as he continues to recover from his hamstring injury. The outcome, therefore, can be waved away as the result of being forced to rely on a backup quarterback in a raucus road environment. However, this was an important game in terms of playoff seeding, and the loss still counts in the official record book.

The good news is that Caleb Williams may return in Week 6. He was seen taking part in pregame warmups, even going so far as to throw his signature Jumpman pass while he was on the field. But that's for next week. For now, the Bears are still realing from this brutal loss, and it's time to assign some blame, starting with the No. 1 scapegoat.

1. Tyson Bagent

Any chance that the Bears had of flipping Tyson Bagent for a premium pick in a trade evaporated on Sunday. Bagent regressed heavily from his showing a week ago against the New York Jets, and it appeared to be mostly a confidence issue. Two early mistakes, slipping on a scramble and then throwing an ill-advised pick, seemed to haunt him the rest of the way.

There was some hope that Bagent's first half struggles could be corrected after half time, but nothing really changed. After his second interception, this one late in the third quarter, he was benched for Case Keenum. As aforementioned, the Bears are lucky Caleb Williams appears likely to return next week. This team is clearly not a strong contender without him.

2. Xavier Woods

Some may call this one nitpicking, but a busted coverage from Xavier Woods gave up a Packers touchdown on their opening drive, and that seemed to set the tone for the day. It's hard to say for sure what happened here, but Christian Watson basically ran by himself into the endzone, giving quarterback Jordan Love a wide-open target and the Packers an early lead.

Woods has been solid if unspectacular since the Bears signed him in August, but this play was a killer, and it put the Bears behind the 8-ball early. For that reason, I'm including Woods on my list of blame.

3. Ben Johnson

Through 22 regular season games, there's a concerning pattern emerging with Ben Johnson: he seems to overthink divisional games and get away from what works so well against the rest of the league. Last year, he went 2-4 against NFC North opponents, and each of those two wins were nailbiters. So far in 2026, he's 0-2, and in each one he was thoroughly outcoached.

Johnson's early game plan came across as chaotic as opposed to his usual ruthless efficiency. With Kyle Monangai's turf toe injury sidelining him for this game, it was expected that D'Andre Swift would carry the load as the primary back, yet we saw multiple handoffs go to several different players. Even Luther Burden III got three rushing opportunities in the early going while Swift had just nine.

I don't know how Johnson can get better against his division rivals, but it needs to start soon.

4. Cairo Santos

I don't typically include the kicker on these lists, mostly because they're rarely on the field. But when the kicker fails at his only job in a game that had spiraled out of control, it has to be mentioned. Did Santos lose the game for the Bears? No. But his missed 43-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter basically ended any shot for the Bears to build momentum and mount a comeback attempt.

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