Anyone who watched the Chicago Bears play the Green Bay Packers in Week 5 for the first time in two years would have thought that, with the 31-7 score, the Packers still owned the rivalry.
The game offered little for the Bears, as the offense managed only 246 yards and turned the ball over a staggering five times, the most since Ben Johnson took over as head coach. Chicago's defense wasn't much better, allowing four 40+ yard plays for the first time since 2000 and finishing with 428 yards allowed.
Somehow, we are going to find some winners here, but there will be way more losers from one of the most embarrassing losses in the Bears-Packers rivalry. Here are the Bears' winners and losers from the game.
Winners and losers from Bears' embarrassing loss to the Packers
Winner: Austin Booker, DL
Really had to scrape at the bottom of the barrel for a great performance in this game, but Booker deserves his flowers. He had back-to-back sacks to close out the half, finishing the game with five tackles, three tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, and two sacks.
That defense didn't play well, but Booker was very good in this game. He continues to improve each season, and this feels like his breakout year.
Loser: Jaylon Johnson, CB
It's time to accept it, Bears fans: Johnson isn't good, and he won't be the same guy after last year's injury. He finished the game with four tackles and one pass deflection, but that doesn't tell the whole story about how bad he was.
Matthew Golder burned Johnson on one deep pass that was awful coverage, and Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd absolutely steamrolled Johnson on one of his two rushing touchdowns. A perfect represetation of how bad Johnson has been this season.
Winner: Zavion Thomas, WR
Since there weren't many winners in this game and we need more, let's add the rookie receiver for fun. Thomas had a great 61-yard kickoff return after weeks of the Bears being the NFL's worst kickoff-return unit.
He finished with six returns for 192 yards, averaging 32 yards per return. Thomas got plenty of work in this game since, well, the defense allowed so many points.
Loser: Dennis Allen, DC
It's a shame because Allen has had a great year coaching this defense, as they went into the game top 10 in many categories. This game would not have reflected those numbers well.
The secondary allowed over 400 yards and an insane number of explosive plays, which was tough to watch. While the players probably deserve more blame, Allen's unit didn't show up for this game, and not in a good way.
Loser: Tyson Bagent, QB
Maybe Bears fans were wrong to be so excited about the best preseason quarterback in the NFL. Bagent may have the athletic ability that matches what Caleb Williams has, but he is nowhere as good as Williams is.
In three quarters of play, Bagent completed 12 of 21 passes for 87 yards and two interceptions. He was pulled to start the fourth quarter for Case Keenum, but maybe that should have happened sooner in the game, or Keenum should have started last week after he had the hot hand from the Philadelphia Eagles game. Just a thought.
Loser: Ben Johnson, HC
That's a perfect segue into talking about Johnson and his performance. His too-cute play-calling didn't help the team much, and his decision-making at quarterback is increasingly being questioned.
Read more: Caleb Williams can't return any sooner after Tyson Bagent's dud day in Bears loss
When a team gets blown out this badly, it usually falls on the coaches first. Johnson is a great coach, but he did not have his team ready for a game that matters more than any other in the season. It's too bad Bears fans have to wait until Christmas for revenge, but maybe it'll give Johnson time to adjust and learn from it.
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