The season keeps getting worse for the Chicago Bears as they suffer another humiliating defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Pakcers, with Aaron Rodgers looking perfect as the usually does in this rivalry, leading his team to a 55-14 victory.
There’s no surprise to see the Bears getting crushed. Not by the Packers and not by anyone else. They’ve now lost three consecutive games and five of their last six, falling to 3-6 this season. They’re dead last in the NFC North and have lost by a combined 69 points over the last two weeks, with the bye week in between their visits to New England and Green Bay not softening the blow. It only got worse instead of better.
Aaron Rodgers tends to flourish against the Bears, and this time was no different. He threw six touchdown passes in the first half and by the beginning of the third quarter, the Packers held a 45-0 lead. Rodgers completed 18-of-27 passes in the win for 315 yards, averaging an incredible 11.7 yards per throw. The Packers also ended up running for 132 yards on 32 carries. It was that easy for them getting downfield on almost every opportunity, with the one turnover they had (fumble by Cobb) not really making a difference.
The pass rush from the Bears didn’t make a difference. Rodgers was 8-of-10 with three touchdowns when blitzed by five or more players. The Bears are the worst blitzing team in the NFL, allowing 12 touchdowns against added pressure and have the worse total QBR in that situation, a year after being the best in the league at making quarterbacks under-perform when seeing the blitz coming. Maybe it has something to do with Julius Peppers on the other end.
Peppers finished with a sack and a fumble recovery off of Jay Cutler and was in his former teammates’ face all game long. Cutler was sacked three times and hurried a few more. He threw a couple of interceptions, one of them returned for a touchdown by Casey Hayward for 82 yards. He finished with a touchdown pass late in the game and threw for 272 yards. But as it looks like his offensive line has given up on him, it also feels like Cutler and the Bears have given up on even trying this season.
While the Bears have nothing to play for, the 6-3 Packers are trying to chase down the Lions for the lead in the NFC North. Rodgers was at his best, including two touchdown passes that traveled for more than 30 yards in the air. His connection with Jordy Nelson on the deep throws continues to be immaculate. He connected with Nelson on his six targets to the wide receiver, with Nelson grabbing two for a touchdown and finishing with 152 receiving yards. Randall Cobb, Eddie Lacy, Andrew Quarless and Brandon Bostick caught touchdown passes as well.
Brandon Marshall finished with nice numbers (112 yards, one touchdown) but it means nothing. His quarterback seems to be imploding early on in each game. It’s not just the offensive line that isn’t doing a very good job in protecting him. Cutler seems to be frustrated easily and gives up on trying to fight back at some point, which makes things even worse for his team, having no chance of actually putting up a fight while the ground slips from under their feet.
The Packers have their flaws, but all those go into hiding when the Bears come to town and face them. Aaron Rodgers is usually regarded as the best quarterback in the NFL, regardless of his receiver situation and his offensive line. It makes it so much easier to hide flaws that way. While the season didn’t start out too smooth, it’s hard seeing them not making the playoffs with their quarterback in this form. The Bears on the other hand are in a dangerous downward spiral, not to mention the doubts surfacing about the future with Cutler and Trestman at the helm.