Which Chicago Bears players laid duds in Week 14 vs Packers?

Chicago Bears Week 14 Dud No. 2: Defense

This game versus the Packers was a reminder that the Bears do not have a top defense in the league. It seems to still be a narrative that this defense is great and keeps the Bears in football games, but this season we have not seen that. There are great players on this defense who deserve credit, but together they are mediocre at best. There are flashes of dominance but when Aaron Rodgers hangs an easy 45 points on you it is hard to say this is a good defense.

The Packers were able to move the ball at will after a couple of halted drives to start the game. There was seemingly someone always open for an easy catch. The Packers were able to set the tone with an efficient running game with the combination of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. The defense just could not do anything to stop this offense, and it resulted in a 15-point loss.

The pass rush looked good at times, but there has been no pressure up the middle all year. No Akiem Hicks is not going to do any favors, but guys like Bilal Nichols and Eddie Goldman have not done enough to clog up the middle of the line. Whether stuffing the run or creating pressure in the middle of the pocket, the defensive tackles have not done enough to help out the edge rushers in creating pressure.

The secondary, besides Jaylon Johnson, is seemingly non-existent. Eddie Jackson is average this year, Tashaun Gipson has been up and down, and the rest of the cornerback group should all be benched. I am actually missing Duke Shelley at this point because the rest of the group is making him look a lot better lately.

The communication between the defense is not good and the Packers were able to take advantage of that. They moved the ball at will and the Bears were powerless to stop them. This group needs to play better even with all of the injuries to the defense.

The Chicago Bears have to look at this game and blame themselves for not keeping the same energy they had in the first half throughout the entire game. They got emotionally down too quickly, and it deterred them from making any dent in the Packers’ lead. Nagy did not make any adjustments to win the game and it showed in the second half on both sides of the ball.