Bear Digest

Bears-Packers III Saturday night immediately on players' minds after loss

The Bears' inability to close out again on both sides of the ball left them facing Green Bay in a short work week, but after this game they want to get back on the field as fast as possible.
Gene Chamberlain|
Kevin Byard makes a key interception in the closing minutes but the Bears' offense couldn't deliver the points needed.
Kevin Byard makes a key interception in the closing minutes but the Bears' offense couldn't deliver the points needed. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

None of the Bears wanted to say confidence is waning a bit after a loss that turned out to be meaningless.

It's hard to see how it wouldn't be when they lost their last two games in tight fashion after relying so much on comebacks this season, and now they're facing the Packers at 7 p.m. Saturday night again following the 19-16 loss to Detroit.

Considering how they've wilted at games' ends the last two weeks, getting back on the field as fast as they can against a team they did beat at the end can't hurt, and the Saturday game definitely does this for them.

Safety Kevin Byard immediately did a fast-forward to the upcoming game, and for good reason. Who wants to dwell upon giving up 331 yards passing to Jared Goff and the game-winning drive when they appeared to have the chance for a win?

Goff hit them with 334 in the first game, so it would appear not much has changed for a defense that is almost completely past its injury issues.  Certainly, they have to be happy the Lions weren’t as successful against other defenses as they were against the Bears’ defense or the division title would still be in Detroit.

Anyone worried about the Bears facing the Packers at this point should simply be worried about the Bears facing anyone with the way their pass coverage looks. Slot cornerback Kyler Gordon might be coming back, though. That's the same Gordon who missed almost the entire season with groin injuries, like Jaylon Johnson. And Johnson's coverage hasn't been at his normal level since returning.

"It's going to be a competitive game," Byard said. "Two teams that know each other very well. Obviously, two really good play callers that are going to be in the game with Ben (Johnson) and Matt LaFleur.

"It's going to be a tough game but like I said, we're going to have to play better football than we did the past two weeks if we're going to win the game, bottom line.  The defense has to be better, everything just has to be better on our part, not just the defense but the entire team for us to win the game."

At least the Bears' late failure showed they play complementary football on both sides of the ball,

"We're still a confident team," Byard said. "We still feel like we're a real good team at the end of the day. It's not the end of the world. Obviously we've still got a playoff game.

"But at the end of the day and we know that we have to be better than these past couple of weeks because we haven't played well on defense. So obviously we've got GB at home, a team we know very well. But we've just got to play better and we've got to really be real and critical of ourselves in this film and make a decision. Every single day we've got to put all our chips on the table because at this point its win or go home. There's no more guaranteed games after this."

At least Byard did his part to pull this out after a miserable start. His interception of a pass deflected by Jaquan Brisker stopped Detroit's march in the red zone in a tie game. It was his career-high seventh interception.

"Obviously was hoping that was going to be the one, that the offense was going to drive down and score," Byard said. "But yeah, just made a play on the ball."

And when the offense couldn't move the ball, they were hoping it would be the defense stepping up to have their backs again. They didn't, though, allowing a six-play 39-yard drive for the Lions win.

Johnson saw his team pull out the win on a Saturday night three weeks  ago but they split two with the Packers.

“Good opponent. I think we're fairly evenly matched," Johnson said. "Got a lot of respect for how well they're coached. I have a lot of respect for the talent level that they have in that building. I would expect it to be another exciting game.”

Picking up the pieces won't be easy, but they have to do it.

"Everyone is disappointed," Johnson said. "I appreciate, like I said, their effort.

"Some teams, they rest their starters. We don't. We play football. We felt like it was really important that we were playing our best ball here today, and we didn't get that job done. We're quickly turning that page, and now we've got a home game coming on up, and there's a way to win this game, this next game, and that's what we're going to be solely focused on.”

Was that a thinly veiled criticism of the Packers? After all, LaFleur did rest his starters  to be ready for the playoffs.

It really sounds like Bears-Packers Week No. 3 has already begun.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.