The Bears are better than most people think, but they’re not a good team. That said, they are legitimately good on defense, and the Packer offense didn’t embarrass themselves for the first time since Brett Hundley took over. Hundley still needs to improve his decision-making and not lock onto receivers, but he threw the ball well enough, especially down the field to Davante Adams, to give the team a chance. Packer fans can take some hope from this game, but if this team is going to make any real strides going forward, the defense is going to have to hang onto some balls.
Picks to Click
The Packers haven’t had a ton of takeaways this year, partially because interceptions are down league-wide as offenses take better care of the ball, partially because the Packer pass rush occasionally goes completely silent, and as was the case on Sunday, sometimes just because their defenders can’t hang onto the ball.
Blake Martinez will not see an easier interception this season, and while the Packers did shut down the Bears offense, Mitch Trubisky could have, and probably should have, had at least two interceptions.
Fortunately against Chicago it doesn’t really matter as the Bear offense is built around a strong running game led by Jordan Howard, and the Packers limited him to 54 yards on 15 carries, but it will matter quite a bit over the next five games.
Next week the team faces the Ravens, who are in many ways a slightly more professional version of the Bears. They rely on good defense and a solid running game to overcome their incompetent passing attack led by football’s most overpaid player, Joe Flacco. Flacco is one of the five most intercepted quarterbacks this season, averaging a pick on 3.44% of his passes, and Flacco starts a run of Packer opponents with unusually careless quarterbacks. After Baltimore it’s Pittsburgh, where Ben Roethlisberger is getting picked on 3.27% of his passes, putting him just behind Flacco. They follow that up with Tampa Bay backup Ryan Fitzpatrick (3.4% for his career), rookie DeShone Kizer (4.8%), and Cam Newton (3.83). All are among the six most intercepted quarterbacks in football.
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Dom Capers’ defenses struggle when they can’t force turnovers, as they did against Minnesota (1.91% for Case Keenum) and Dallas (1.38% for Dak Prescott), but the upcoming slate should provide a bounty of opportunity, and the defense is the best chance the Packers have to remain competitive. They just need to catch the ball.
Hundley’s Wheels
Brett Hundley has made his best throws outside of the numbers. His touchdown to Davante Adams, along with his late, game-clinching bomb, were both things of beauty, and it’s good to see Mike McCarthy playing more to his strengths, but Hundley also still has plenty of work to do on a few simple things. He wasn’t quite as bad at staring down receivers this week, but he was still late with a few throws including the opening out to Davante Adams.
That throw almost became six points for the Bears, and Hundley is lucky he wasn’t burned on more than one occasion.
Perhaps the most troubling development out of the Bear game was the loss of runners Aaron Jones (3-6 weeks with an MCL sprain), Ty Montgomery (ribs) and Brett Hundley himself. Hundley suffered a hamstring injury early, and it severely limited his mobility, costing the team big plays on at least a few occasions. Hundley ended up throwing this ball away rather than scrambling.
Jamaal Williams ran with power and filled in admirably at running back, but if Hundley is limited by his hamstring, he becomes much easier to defend. I was hoping the Packers would incorporate more option looks into this game, and they did, but they went to Randall Cobb instead of Hundley. If this injury lingers it will serve to close off a sizable chunk of the playbook, and the offense will remain pedestrian. If he heals quickly enough and the coaching staff fully utilizes his arms and legs, this team might not be so bad.
Outfoxed
Brett Hundley did have two inexcusable lapses of judgment. The first came at the end of the first quarter. The Packers were attempting to draw Chicago offsides, knowing the quarter would simply end if no one jumped. The problem was the Hundley didn’t grasp this fact and called a completely unnecessary timeout. Even without the quarter ending, Hundley took the time out with 10 seconds still on the play clock.
Hundley compounded that mistake with an even worse error late in the fourth quarter. With the Packers trying to run out the clock on 3rd and 5, Hundley failed to call for the snap in time despite this play following a Bear timeout. The Packers were then forced to call a timeout when the next play appeared to be in similar trouble. Hundley made up for it with a pretty 42-yard bomb to Davante Adams, but it was still beyond a typical rookie mistake, and his general lack of awareness is something to keep an eye on.
However, we should take a moment to highlight Chicago Bear coach John Fox, who challenged his way out of an almost sure touchdown. Running back Benny Cunningham took a Trubisky dumpoff pass 23 yards to the Packer one-yard line. Fox challenged the play, believing he scored, however replays were clear that Cunningham lost the ball when diving for the goal line, and the fumble out of bounds in the end zone, resulted in a turnover and touchback for the Packers. No matter what is going on with the Packers, the Bears will always find a way to be the Bears.
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