The Chicago Bears' 2023 season began in an unimaginable way: an opening-week loss to the Jordan Love-led Green Bay Packers. What's worse, the game wasn't close. The Packers bullied the Bears to a 38-20 final score.
Bears fans must remember not to overreact to one game, especially the first game of the season. Whether it was a great showing or a terrible one like we saw Sunday afternoon, there's a lot of time for Chicago to improve over the next 16 weeks.
Still, it's hard not to feel some chest pains after this loss.
Let's get the toughest pill out of the way: Jordan Love outplayed Justin Fields, and it t wasn't particularly close. Love completed 15-of-27 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns. Was he perfect? No, far from it. In fact, Love gave the Bears' defense plenty of chances to get off the field, but the lack of any pass rush sunk Chicago's chances to rattle the Packers quarterback.
Despite the defensive upgrades GM Ryan Poles made this offseason, Alan Williams' squad looked like a mirror image of the group that finished last in the NFL in sacks in 2022.
Fields, meanwhile, was under constant duress throughout the game. It seemed like he didn't have a clean pocket to throw from on any of his pass attempts (we'll confirm this after rewatching the film). The offensive line failed him today, but he still deserves some blame. His processing was slow, and his passes lacked confidence.
Fields finished Week 1 with 216 passing yards, 59 rushing yards, a passing touchdown, and a downright brutal interception that the Packers returned for a touchdown. It was a terrible pass into tight coverage that Quay Walker returned to the paint.
Sunday's Bears-Packers game was strange. It started with a controversial decision by coach Matt Eberflus to go for it (and fail) on fourth down. Eberflus' mishap gave Love a short field that he converted into a touchdown pass to wide receiver Romeo Doubs.
Chicago settled down and closed the gap to 7-6, but the wheels slowly came off. It was like death by one thousand papercuts, and Packers running back Aaron Jones was the paper.
Jones sliced through the Bears' defense at will, and Love found open receivers from a consistently clean, stress-free passing island.
Jones ended the game with 127 total yards and two scores.
Chicago Bears fans woke up with hope on Sunday. It was an opening weekend that felt like the start of a new era for the franchise, mainly because the Packers don't have Aaron Rodgers under center. But, once again, the Bears proved incapable of playing strong and steady defense against the quarterback donning green and gold.
Now, it's on Justin Fields, Matt Eberflus, and the rest of the leadership inside Halas Hall to get things fixed...quickly.