Bear Digest

Top Chicago Bears problems heading into trip to Super Bowl site

The Bears are going to the site of the Super Bowl this week and coming out of their critical win over Green Bay there are problems to confront.
Gene Chamberlain|
DJ Moore is surrounded by 49ers after making a catch in last season's Bears blowout loss at San Francisco.
DJ Moore is surrounded by 49ers after making a catch in last season's Bears blowout loss at San Francisco. | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Although totally exciting and the key to opening their door to the playoffs in Week 16, the Bears' victory over Green Bay could not be classified as perfect.

The problems from a 22-16 overtime win against the Packers can become an issue when the Bears go hunting for the top seed in the NFC, and ultimately in the postseason.

Most urgently, they can even affect the Bears when they travel to the site of this year's Super Bowl, Santa Clara, Ca., to face the 49ers Sunday night.

Here are the biggest problems arising from the win over Green Bay.

1. C.J. Gardner-Johnson

Their slot cornerback got burned in the game with Green Bay for its only touchdown on a 33-yard pass by Malik Willis to Romeo Doubs. The points made the Bears' deficit seem too large to overcome at the time, but more importantly as Gardner-Johnson was a step or two behind he seemed to take a mis-step and injured his knee.

Gardner-Johnson did return after the injury but couldn't stay on the field and shortly thereafter Nick McCloud came on to finish at slot cornerback. They did line up Tyrique Stevenson in the box several times, almost in a position as an extra linebacker, and they even wound up with Jaylon Johnson on a slot receiver at one point.

For the most part, this would be Nick McCloud's duty in San Francisco if Gardner-Johnson is out.

Starting slot Kyler Gordon can't return until after the regular season ends, and there's not certainty on this happening after he suffered and aggravated a groin injury.

2. Penalties

To hear Packers fans, the Bears targeted Jordan Love and knocked him out of the game with dirty hits.

Here's news for the Packers and their fans: It's nothing personal. The Bears came into the game with the most roughing the quarterback penalties in the NFL. They're naturally sloppy. They're also not very effective at getting sacks, Montez Sweat being the exception with 9 1/2 now.

They're coming fullsteam at the QB and getting there late.

They now have nine roughing-the-passer penalties this season, the most in the league according to NFLpenalties.com.

The penalty on Jaquan Brisker for hitting Malik Willis as he slid was probably the worst of them but it wasn't roughing the passer. He was flagged for unnecessary roughness and had plenty of time to choose to keep from going in and delivering a hit.

Austin Booker's sack caused the concussion to Green Bay's Jordan Love. His was more a case of recklessly coming in with a helmet in the wrong place and also Love moving into the hit more than avoiding it.

Booker actually had two roughing-the-passer penalties in the game,  his first two this season. 

The Bears' other unnecessary roughness penalty call went against D'Marco  Jackson on a special teams play.

They also had another false start, this one on Darnell Wright. He leads  them in penalties of all types with 12.

"What I wasn't happy with here today were the number of penalties that we had," Johnson said. "We had a couple of those 15-yard variety that I thought we could have done a better job just making sure we didn't commit those and that would have helped us a long way."

Johnson admitted they're lacking in poise during big situations like they had against Green Bay mainly due to their inexperience.

"It's a little bit foreign territory for a number of them," Johnson said. "We talk about keeping our poise and what it takes to win these games and I think we're going to continue to get better and learn how to handle them."

3. Drop

Olamide Zaccheaus dropped another pass. This one could have been huge because it came in the final five minutes after the Packers went up 16-6 and with the Bears trying to mount a drive to get back within one score.

Zaccheaus had three drops against the Giants. They had other receivers drop passes in that game, but Zaccheaus' stood out in Saturday's game.

To his credit, Caleb Williams didn't give up on Zaccheaus and threw it to him again later on an incompletion. He doesn't have much choice when receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III are out injured.

They can't afford dropped passes when they're so short- handed.

4. Run defense

They stiffened near the goal line and deserve credit for this, but leaked massively and it was only partially due to Willis' ability to motor for yardage.

The Bears play so much man-to-man coverage now, they're susceptible to scrambling QBs but stopping the run is something they should do. And with Tremaine Edmunds back Saturday from a four-week groin injury, they should have been better than this against the 14th-ranked running attack that was playing with Josh Jacobs somewhat hobbled by a knee injury.

After the game, Packers coach Matt LaFleur said he didn't know if Jacobs failed to finish due to injury. Right, the coach doesn't know if his top ball carrier is hurt. Either way, he was hurting and the Bears still couldn't stop Green Bay from rolling for 192 yards on the ground to control time of possession.

5. Silliness

The failed fourth-and-1 trick play on a snap over the head of wildcat runner Kyle Monangai didn't exactly earn Johnson praise for a creative way to gain a first down near the goal line. He explained the play call.

"We got our short yardage plays during the week and that was one that we felt strongly about, obviously, and probably last thing in my mind was that the ball was going to go over the head,” Johnson said.

It still doesn't explain why putting a running back in to take a snap  deep in the backfield when they needed a yard was the best play call after their line was obliterating Green Bay's defense on regular running plays throughout the drive. 

A more serious play call would have been better there, but even then the type of trickery used is the problem. Why take it out of Caleb Williams' hands there on the snap? It seemed too much like when Johnson dialed up the ill-fated Jameson Williams pass in Detroit during last year's playoffs.

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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.