Chicago Bears get conservative, blow first half lead

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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In a game in which the Chicago Bears led for almost all of it, they left the door open just wide enough for the Green Bay Packers to sneak through

Everything was going the Chicago Bears way in the first half. Khalil Mack was on fire, the offense was moving at will and went into the half with a 17-0 lead. They took their first drive right down the field and were up 20-0 early into the third quarter.

Then, the offense shut off. Yes, Aaron Rodgers was incredible in his ability to lead a resilient Green Bay Packer group past the Chicago Bears. However, the Bears got conservative.

The biggest issue was that they were not being conservative in the running game, but yet the passing game. Jordan Howard averaged over five yards per carry, but saw 15 hand offs in the game.

Instead, the team relied on short passes and dump offs to their running backs. This lead to Mitchell Trubisky having a high completion rate, a low yards per attempt rate and four sacks. Trubisky completed 23 passes, but amassed just 171 yards. Jordan Howard had five receptions at five yards per reception.

The ground attack was better, but the check downs were the calls. This was enough to keep the door open for Aaron Rodgers. Three second half scoring drives including 17 points in the fourth quarter will be the highlight.

Next. Week One Inactives. dark

The defense will get a lot of the blame for this. However, the offense shut down. They failed to put the stake in Rodgers and the Packers, and Rodgers showed why he is a vampire. While a strong debut in moments for Matt Nagy, this will be a learning moment.