The 4 most disappointing Chicago Bears of Week 1
Albert Einstein once said, "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change." If that is true, then let's just say the Chicago Bears are not the sharpest tool in the shed. For all the talk of this being the year that the team would finally turn a corner and take the first step toward becoming contenders in the NFC North, Sunday's 38-20 whooping at the hands of the Packers was an all-too-familiar reminder that the Bears still have a long way to go.
There are disturbingly few men on the Bears' 53-man roster who can honestly say they played a good game against Green Bay. Roschon Johnson looked like the Bears' best back. Darnell Mooney was the only effective pass-catcher, and it seemed like Darnell Wright held his own. As for the defense, outside of a couple of flash plays from Tyrique Stevenson and Tremaine Edmunds, there wasn't much to write home about.
In the end, the 208th edition of the Bears-Packers rivalry looked very much like the past few decades' worth of matchups. There's plenty of blame to go around, but let's look at the Bears most responsible for a deflating Week 1.
Head coach Matt Eberflus did not have the Chicago Bears ready to play
The head coach of a team is most responsible for his squad's performance on game day. After the Bears fell flat in nearly all facets of the game, it's fair to put the spotlight on Matt Eberflus.
The Bears were sloppy on Sunday, committing seven penalties for 61 yards after being one of the NFL's least-penalized teams last year.
The defense, Eberflus' bread and butter, had no answer for Aaron Jones. The Packers' veteran tailback scored two touchdowns and recorded 127 all-purpose yards on just 11 touches, the most devastating of which was a simple catch and run that saw him burn T.J. Edwards for 51 yards early in the third quarter.
On nearly every dropback, Jordan Love had all day to throw, and he used that time to wait for his ragtag group of receivers to eventually come open.
Bears GM Ryan Poles imported multiple players specifically to fit Eberflus' system this offseason, and while Edwards and Edmunds were the Bears' two leading tacklers, the defense still got strafed time and again throughout the afternoon.
Eberflus was severely outcoached by Matt LaFleur in the second half, as the Packers exited the locker room with a tenuous 10-6 lead but quickly turned that into a dominating 18-point advantage.