The Bears Still (Only Kinda) Suck

The NFL’s oldest rivalry might still have some teeth left, after all.

On an afternoon when the Green Bay Packers jumped out front, took a couple of double-digit leads, and got another sterling performance from Jordan Love, it took a fourth-down red-zone interception to finally turn back these young, hungry Bear cubs.

Don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for Round 2 in 12 days. In the meantime, the Pack will enjoy the fruits of their four-game winning streak, which includes a three-game sweep within the division, a perch atop the NFC North, and a 96% chance to reach the playoffs, with a shot at the top seed still within their grasp.

It was an ominous start, watching Love derail a promising opening drive with a head-scratching pick that set the Chicago Bears up at the Pack’s 36. Uh oh. This is what the Bears do -- they take the ball away at an astonishing level -- and Love has been terrific at protecting the ball. Fortunately, his defense had his back, forcing a three-and-out. No harm, no foul.

The offense wasted no time getting Jayden Reed involved in his first game back since Week 2, getting him a few touches right away, and he reminded us of the juice he can bring to the unit both as a receiver and a ball carrier.

This was the first time the Packers had their top five WRs all active all season, though Matthew Golden and Dontayvion Wicks were clearly on pitch counts as they continue to deal with injuries. They only got 11 snaps between them. That’s why we were all surprised to see Bo Melton breaking open at the goal line and hauling in the 45-yard moon ball from Love near the end of the half that pushed the lead to 14-3.

Once again, though, it was Christian Watson taking a star turn, catching all four passes thrown his way, two for scores, punctuated by the 41-yard catch and run on a slant, where Love beat the blitz and delivered a laser to push the lead back to 10 in the third quarter.

You always hear from Love detractors that he’s great when playing from a clean pocket, but put some stress on him and he’ll make mistakes. Through 14 weeks, he’s the NFL’s highest-graded QB vs. the blitz. The numbers on Sunday: nine for 12, 171 yards, three TDs, and a perfect passer rating of 156.3. Go ahead and blitz Love at your own risk.

The offensive play I’ll remember most was the third-and-two play, with the game tied at 21 and the Packers trying to answer Chicago’s latest touchdown and slow their momentum. It looked like the Bears were going to stop Josh Jacobs behind the line of scrimmage, but he busted through three would-be tacklers and rumbled for 21 yards. When he scored shortly thereafter on a play Love changed at the line to a run, the Pack had a 28-21 lead and just needed to stop Caleb Williams one more time.

To the kid’s credit, he almost did it. After a hellish first half (six of 14, 32 yards), Williams heated up, mainly thanks to his legs. His ability to escape the pocket and keep plays alive is his strongest attribute right now, and it had a withering effect on the Pack’s pass rushers, who were clearly gassed as the second half rolled on.

Williams has a long way to go as a pocket passer. His head coach clearly understands he’s a work in progress. He used play action on over 60% of his drop-backs. That’s the most against a Packer team since PFF started charting it in ’06, and the most by any QB in the NFL this season.

After holding the Bears to just 71 yards in the first half (the least ever for a Ben Johnson-coached offense), the Packers defense found themselves on the field for over 20 minutes in the second half, most of that chasing Williams. The run defense started to get a little leaky, but the longest run they allowed all day went for nine yards, and they only accumulated half the yards they churned on the ground a week ago in Philadelphia. Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden did a solid job filling Devonte Wyatt’s massive shoes.

As for that final drive, it was interesting to note that Rashan Gary was not on the field for the last handful of plays, with the Packers turning to Kingsley Enagbare, who had registered a big sack at the end of the half to preserve the team’s 11-point lead. He delivered what may have been a game-saving stop in the game’s penultimate play, when he stonewalled RB Kyle Monangai in the backfield on third-and-one, setting up the play of the game.

Keisean Nixon had had an up-and-down afternoon, picking up a pair of penalties that singlehandedly put the Bears in scoring position, the second coming after getting into it with rookie Luther Burden. The Packers benched him for a couple of plays to cool down, and then he proceeded to save the game with the interception in the end zone. Williams threw a little short and a little late. He reacted on the fly when he noticed Cole Kmet was uncovered and got off his man to get in position to make the play that ended the game.

That earned Nixon a game ball, along with Watson, who, 11 months ago, on that field against that opponent, saw his season end with a torn ACL. His return has jump-started the offense, which is averaging 27 points per game during this winning streak that has the Packers and their fans daring to dream.

The Packers busted Chicago’s five-game winning streak and now will get the chance to snap the Denver Broncos' 10-game streak on Sunday, before the return engagement in Chicago. That one will be under the lights on another likely frigid December night in the Midwest. It will be the Packers and Bears meeting with everything on the line.

Just the way Curly and George drew it up a century ago.