GRADING THE BEARS
QUARTERBACK
D Justin Fields (17-for-30, 224 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INT, 70.8 rating) was not particularly sharp after a three-game absence. He threw two TD passes, but the 46-yarder to Jakeem Grant was a handoff and the 54-yarder to Damiere Byrd a short throw. He also threw a pick-6, with Rasul Douglas returning a pick 55 yards for a touchdown.
RUNNING BACKS
C David Montgomery (10 carries, 42 yards) had a 20-yard run to the Packers 10 to set up Cairo Santos’ 23yard field goal that gave the Bears a 3-0 lead, but wasn’t much of a factor after that. He had one catch for two yards. Damien Williams (2-13) had an eight-yard gain for a first down.
RECEIVERS
B+ Grant took a handoff and turned it upfield for a 46-yard touchdown that gave the Bears a 10-0 lead. Byrd turned a short pass into a 54-yard touchdown. Allen Robinson had an eight-yard catch for a first down, but was otherwise no factor. Darnell Mooney had one catch for 19 yards, and also drew a pass interference flag.
OFFENSIVE LINE
C Bears were in a bind early when LT Jason Peters suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter. Rookie Teven Jenkins replaced Peters — his first snaps on offense in the NFL. Jenkins had a false start on his third snap, on a second-and-goal at the 3 and also had a holding penalty that was declined, but otherwise held his own.
DEFENSIVE LINE
D With Akiem Hicks out again, Bilal Nichols stepped up. He shared a sack with Robert Quinn and pressured Rodgers into an incompletion for no gain to force a punt. Eddie Goldman did not make a big impact. Khyiris Tonga suffered a shoulder injury in the second half and did not return.
LINEBACKERS
C Robert Quinn sacked Aaron Rodgers for an 11yard loss, leading to a punt. Quinn also shared a sack with Bilal Nichols. Roquan Smith (nine tackles) had a stuff of AJ Dillon on a first-and-goal at the 2, but aggravated his hamstring injury in the second half and did not return. Trevis Gipson had a sack of Rodgers in the second half.
SECONDARY
DJaylon Johnson had a pair of pass break-ups against Davante Adams and safety Eddie Jackson broke up a pass in the end zone, but Artie Burns was beaten by Allen Lazard for a 32-yard pass on third-and-18. Xavier Crawford was beaten by Lazard for a two-yard TD and by Adams for 38-yard TD.
SPECIAL TEAMS
A- Jakeem Grant’s career night included a 97yard punt return touchdown after he had given the Bears an early boost with a 34-yard punt return. Cairo Santos was 3-for-3 on field goals. Khalil Herbert recovered an onside kick. Kindle Vildor had a tough out-of-bounds penalty on a punt that negated a fumble recovery.
COACHING
C- Matt Nagy had the Bears ready to pull off the upset — with Grant and Byrd playing key roles — but couldn’t sustain the early momentum. Fields’ TD pass to Byrd was a thing of beauty, but too much of a rarity for this offense, which scored 20 points in the first half and three points in the second half. Bears didn’t give up.