2017 Chicago Bears: Week 10 Report Card vs. Green Bay Packers

Just when things looked like they were about to turn around for the Chicago Bears after their bye week, reality slapped them in the face with a disappointing loss to the Green Bay Packers by the score of 23-16. This defeat puts a bigger gap between the Bears (3-6) and the rest of the teams in the NFC North.

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A total of eight penalties (most committed by the offense) was one of the major reasons why Chicago couldn’t take advantage of being a favorite in this game. The defense wasn’t perfect, but did everything that they could to give the team a chance to win late in the fourth quarter. And even a challenge on a potential touchdown backfired in the face of the Bears—which is a microcosm of Chicago’s season.

With the second half of the season starting off on the wrong foot for the Bears, let’s take a look at their grades for Week 10.

Quarterback

Looking at the stats sheet, one would say that rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky had a great game. The first-round draft pick finished the game completing 21 of 35 passes for 297 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions. Trubisky did a good job of spreading the ball around, connecting with seven different receivers. His 46-yard touchdown pass to Josh Bellamy in the fourth quarter cut Green Bay’s lead to three points. The one vice in Trubisky’s game on Sunday was holding the ball too long. The Packers sacked the rookie five times, and most of those times Trubisky should have thrown the ball away. Trubisky also misfired on a pass, overthrowing an open receiver on the Bears’ final drive.

Grade: C

Running Backs

Just like in the first meeting between these two teams in Week 4, running back Jordan Howard was held in check by the Packers’ defense. Howard finished the contest with just 54 rushing yards on 15 carries. Benny Cunningham and rookie Tarik Cohen both combined for one yard on two carries. In addition, Cohen had just one catch for 10 yards, while Cunningham hauled in three receptions for 32 yards. Cunningham’s longest reception of 23 yards was the play that was ruled short of the goal line in the second quarter, which was challenged by head coach John Fox and later called a touchback because he lost control of the ball before the ball hit the pylon.

Grade: D

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

So far, it’s looking like the trade for wide receiver Dontrelle Inman could end up working out for Chicago’s offense. In his Bears debut, Inman led Chicago with six receptions for 88 yards, but did drop a pass on a third down during the Bears’ final drive. Bellamy totaled 57 yards on two catches and scored the team’s only touchdown, while Kendall Wright snagged five balls for 46 yards. Tight ends Daniel Brown and rookie Adam Shaheen did their best to fill the void left by Zach Miller and combined for four catches for 62 yards.

Grade: C

Offensive Line

The absence of Kyle Long from the starting lineup might have played a huge factor in Chicago’s inability to run the ball. And even though Trubisky did hold the ball too long at times, Green Bay’s pass rush still had their way against the offensive front. A number of false start penalties derailed some of the drives, contributing to three-and-outs. There was actually a time when the entire O-line false started.

Grade: D

Defensive Line

It really didn’t matter who was running the ball for the Packers, Chicago’s defensive line couldn’t get a good enough push on the line of scrimmage to stop it. Green Bay had six different players carry the ball throughout the game, and they all combined for 160 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Akiem Hicks led the defensive line with six tackles, while Mitch Unrein and Eddie Goldman had a grand total of three tackles.

Grade: D

Linebackers

Just as it appeared that the offensive line missed Kyle Long, it looked as if Chicago’s corps of linebackers missed the presence of Danny Trevathan. Nick Kwiatkoski did fill in admirably, finishing with a game-high 10 tackles and a sack. Christian Jones chipped in with eight tackles of his own, while Leonard Floyd and Sam Acho shared a sack. Unfortunately, with Trevathan being sidelined, there were some miscommunication with gap assignments. One was apparent in the second quarter during a 37-yard touchdown run by Packers running back Ty Montgomery. Another instance was midway through the fourth quarter when Packers quarterback Brett Hundley scampered for 17 yards for a first down.

Grade: D

Defensive Backs

There was no monster games by any of Green Bay’s receivers, but the Bears’ secondary was unable to take advantage of a quarterback who has struggled since replacing Aaron Rodgers. As well as cornerback Kyle Fuller has played this season, this was easily his worst performance of the year. Fuller was beaten twice by Packers wide receiver Davante Adams for huge plays in the fourth quarter, including a 19-yard touchdown. Adrian Amos was very active with eight tackles, and Cre’Von LeBlanc recorded a sack.

Grade: C-

Special Teams

Kicker Connor Barth connected on all three of his field goal attempts, and an extra point that was pushed back because of a delay-of-game penalty. Cohen averaged 23.0 yards per kickoff return, with a long of 34 yards. In the wet conditions, punter Pat O’Donnell landed one of his five punts inside the 20-yard line, but did have a long of 59 yards. On Barth’s field goal that ended the first half, Bradley Sowell was flagged for unnecessary roughness, pushing the Bears back 15 yards on their kickoff starting the second half. The result was Green Bay getting excellent field position to start the third quarter, and the Packers starting the third quarter with a field goal.

Grade: B-

Coaching

With an extra week to prepare, one would have thought that the Bears would have looked much better against the Packers. But, there was the same result we have seen for the most part of the season—another loss. The number of penalties is just a reflection of the coaching staff. As for the challenged call by John Fox, in hindsight it’s easy to say that he shouldn’t have made the decision to throw the red flag, but regardless of the outcome he shouldn’t have done it. Worst-case scenario, the Bears would have had the ball one inch away from the goal line with four chances to punch it in. If it were late in the fourth quarter where they needed a touchdown to tie or win, then challenging the call would have been more appropriate.

Grade: F