Chicago Bears supporters are processing a lopsided defeat after the club fell 31-7 to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
The setback ended a two-game winning streak and left Chicago at 3-2 in the NFC North.
Minnesota sits alone atop the division at 5-0, while Green Bay, Detroit and the Bears all share 3-2 records.
Tyson Bagent started under center with Caleb Williams sidelined by a hamstring injury. Bagent completed 12 of 21 passes for 87 yards and tossed two interceptions before Case Keenum entered.
The offense produced only 246 total yards, including a meager 81 yards on the ground. That rushing total marked a sharp drop from the league-leading average the Bears carried into the contest.
Chicago also committed five turnovers, handing the Packers short fields and easy scoring chances.
Jordan Love finished 25 of 31 for 367 yards and two touchdowns, finding Christian Watson on long scores of 42 and 53 yards. MarShawn Lloyd added a pair of rushing touchdowns as Green Bay moved to 3-2.
Coach Ben Johnson has already demonstrated he can guide the team to victories with reserves, beating the Eagles and Jets earlier without Williams. The ground game that powered those earlier results never materialized on Sunday, leaving the offense predictable.
Chicago Tribune reporter Brad Biggs, speaking on 104.3 The Score, cautioned against reading too much into the result.
“Yeah, I think it’s probably closer to the latter,” Biggs said. “I don’t like to get into expectations in mid-October. We could play that game almost every Sunday. Stuff like this happens every NFL season. It’s how the Bears respond that will be telling. Last year, in Ben Johnson’s first season, I think everyone would agree that they did a pretty good job of that bounce-back, not letting things snowball on them. I mean, my goodness, they’ve got a lot to fix, and the division is wide open. I mean, wide open. The Vikings are 5-0 and certainly wouldn’t wanna take anything away from them. They’ve had some struggles offensively. Still, they’ve found a way to be undefeated. Everyone else is 3-2, and I think you can pick out a significant flaw with each one of those three teams.”
Chicago will not play another division rival until Thanksgiving Day against Detroit. That stretch provides extra practices to correct the problems that surfaced at Lambeau.
Williams is expected back at some point and should supply an added layer once cleared. The Bears have still won three of their last four games overall while short-handed.
They travel next to Atlanta to face the Falcons on Sunday.
A single blowout in early October does not settle the NFC North race.
