Like so many Chicago Bears coaches earlier than him, Matt Eberflus got here to the customer’s information convention room inside Lambeau Field late Sunday in a dour state.
Eberflus had a lopsided loss to digest and a boatload of regarding points to type by means of.
His younger and hungry group couldn’t survive on intangibles alone in Week 2, struggling to deal with and failing to generate a lot offensive momentum. On a prime-time stage, the Bears had been uncovered by the reigning NFC North kings as flawed, error-prone and clearly overmatched. A 27-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers landed like a cement pillar to the intestine.
“When this happens and you have adversity, it stings,” Eberflus mentioned. “It hurts. And you have to soak that in.”
Like so many Bears quarterbacks earlier than him, Justin Fields fielded questions concerning the deficiencies of the offense he’s tasked with working. With the Bears netting solely 48 passing yards on an ideal fall night in a recreation they trailed by double digits for the ultimate 34 minutes, Fields was requested what’s lacking.
“I’m not sure what’s missing in the passing game,” he mentioned. “I don’t know.”
His aggravation was evident.
So a lot for these goals of a 2-0 begin and an early two-game lead over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Instead, Sunday evening grew to become a actuality test, like so most of the Bears’ journeys to Lambeau have a tendency to supply.
As a rebuilding group with a skinny margin for error, the Bears had far too many missteps — notably late within the first half — to sneak out of Wisconsin with an upset.
The second quarter particularly was an absolute fireworks present for the Packers. Literally. They scored three touchdowns within the quarter, prompting a flurry of pyrotechnics within the September sky.
The Packers outgained the Bears 125-3 in that quarter and held a 9-0 benefit in first downs throughout a 21-0 blitzkrieg from which Fields and Co. by no means recovered.
Running again Aaron Jones scored on the primary play of the quarter, a nifty 15-yard landing run that opened the door for the Packers stampede. Also included within the second-quarter avalanche:
- The Bears went three and-out on their three full possessions, as soon as when Fields was penalized on third down for throwing a go from 2 yards past the road of scrimmage.
- The Bears offense ran nearly as many performs for adverse yardage (4) because it did for constructive yardage (5). Mix in two penalties and the offensive sloppiness was obvious.
- The Packers, in the meantime, crawled out of a second-and-28 state of affairs with out a lot nervousness. Rodgers hit Romeo Doubs for 20 yards on a display go, then transformed on third-and-long with a dart to Randall Cobb. That drive ended two performs later with a landing.
- The remaining Packers landing drive of the primary half was a simple 67-yard journey through which they by no means confronted third down and scored when Rodgers hit Allen Lazard on a 5-yard slant in opposition to rookie Kyler Gordon.
Yikes.
“The rest of the three quarters were decent,” Eberflus mentioned. “But you can’t play like that in the NFL. Every play matters.”
Just like that, the early buzz from the 7-3 lead the Bears took on Fields’ 3-yard first-quarter landing run was a pounding headache.
“That was tough, man,” mentioned defensive finish Trevis Gipson, who had two first-half sacks as one of many Bears’ few vivid spots. “We’re a tough team that works really hard. And we’re built to handle adversity. … We’ve got to get back in the lab and figure out what we could have done better and implement that into our entire practice scheme.”
Much will likely be made from the Bears’ failed fourth-and-goal play from contained in the 1 within the fourth quarter, a Fields run that was — relying on the vantage level — stopped a couple of whiskers in need of the aim line. Eberflus challenged the officers’ ruling, satisfied Fields had damaged the airplane, however was denied.
But greater than any officiating verdict, many Bears followers will likely be spewing invective in Week 3, questioning why, with 9 inches to go for a doable comeback-fueling landing, the Bears referred to as a quarterback run out of the shotgun reasonably than attempting an easier sneak from underneath heart or perhaps a handoff to David Montgomery, who ripped off 122 yards on 15 carries.
Eberflus and his gamers felt strongly the play name was a great one to assault the Packers in that state of affairs.
“I like (that play) and the coaches liked it,” Eberflus mentioned. “We looked at it and we practiced it and we repped it because a lot of times, you outnumber the box. Using your quarterback as a runner, you have an additional blocker, so you like your numbers in the box there. That’s why we called it.”
Added left guard Cody Whitehair: “It’s a great play, especially against this defense, with some down blocks and you’ve got a puller coming around, too, to open up that hole.”
Sure, had that play gone for a landing, the sport might need taken an unpredictable spin down the stretch. But it’s additionally value noting that the Bears misplaced by 17 factors in opposition to a superior opponent and stumbled sufficient in all three phases to deserve their first loss.
The protection allowed 414 complete yards with Jones accounting for 170 of these plus two touchdowns.
“For his size, he runs pretty hard,” Bears linebacker Nick Morrow mentioned. “He’s not 240 (pounds), but he runs behind his pads, he keeps his balance and he’s a good receiver out of the backfield.”
The Bears offense, in the meantime, went 89 minutes of actual time with out choosing up a primary down, shedding management of the sport with 4 consecutive three-and-outs throughout the second and third quarters. And on the collection that ended with Fields stopped close to the aim line, the Bears by some means churned out 103 dashing yards and nonetheless went scoreless.
Mystifying.
Fields’ remaining stat line — 7 of 11 for 70 yards with an interception — additionally will likely be a sizzling matter within the coming days because the Bears’ ineffective passing assault attracts justifiable scrutiny. Asked for a two-game progress report on the passing recreation, Eberflus talked in a circle.
“I’ll go back and look at it,” he mentioned. “We have to look at that with the offensive staff. We threw the ball 11 times. But, again, we ran the ball really well. So we’ll look at it.”
Fields was requested if he would really like a larger alternative to throw because the season strikes ahead.
“Of course,” he mentioned. “I’m a competitor. So, yeah, of course. But my job is to execute the play that’s given to me the best of my ability.”
Together, the Bears quarterback and coach appeared like a upset duo, humbled by their division rivals and left to start an pressing cleanup mission as they left Lambeau Field and headed residence with an agitating loss.
It appeared all so acquainted.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com