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Takeaways following the Chicago Bears' 41-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
Three moments that mattered
1. Perhaps a telling moment: Packers running back Jamaal Williams ran for a score to make it 41-10 Packers late in the third quarter. On the replay, NBC color commentator Tony Dungy discussed the apparent lack of tackling effort by the Bears defense. Whether defenders truly weren't interested in making the stop or were prioritizing coaxing a fumble opportunity, it says a lot when a highly regarded Hall of Fame coach makes comments on effort, to a national audience no less.
2. The Bears defense didn't force a Packers punt until their first possession of the third quarter. Aaron Rodgers and company to that point had three offensive touchdowns and one defensive score from a Mitch Trubisky fumble. How's that for dominance?
3. With 6:33 left in the third quarter, Rodgers found former McHenry East High School standout Robert Tonyan Jr. with a 39-yard score to build their lead to 34-10. The drive prior for the Bears, Trubisky threw into triple coverage for an interception, his second of the game.
Three things that worked
More David Montgomery: The score didn't allow the Bears to rely on their rushing attack, but Montgomery made the most of his opportunities, including ripping off a season-high 57-yard run in the first half. Montgomery finished with 103 yards rushing.
OL Shuffle: The offensive line had another jumbled combination and while it wasn't perfect, Trubisky more often than not had decent time to go through his progressions. Of the three sacks Trubisky had, one was squarely on him running out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage.
A-Rob: It's to be expected, being one of the few solid playmakers the Bears have, but Allen Robinson continues to produce at top-tier levels no matter who is at quarterback. Robinson finished with eight catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns.
Three things that didn't
Welcome Back, Mitch: The re-insertion of Trubisky as the starting quarterback did not bring quite the results the Bears were hoping for, but it's certainly not fair to pin all of the offensive woes on him. Expectations for him and this offense are at basement level, anyway. Trubisky had two passes in the first half that could've been touchdowns if not for drops, but he also had head-scratching interceptions forced into coverage. It was more of the same: some positives but the negatives won out after his three-touchdown, two-interception and 242-yard performance.
Running Wild: Akiem Hicks is arguably the Bears' most important piece on defense and that's no slight to Khalil Mack. Especially in regards to the run game, the Packers made sure to take advantage of Hicks' absence early and often. The Packers had 82 rushing yards at the half and finished with 182 combined.
Robert Quinn, Anyone? Hicks, again, is the centerpiece and the Bears defense doesn't look as sharp when he's not in. By halftime, the Packers had 18 first downs, were 5-of-6 on third down and scored 27 points. Quinn was signed to be a long-term centerpiece opposite of Mack and his production this season hasn't matched understandably high expectations. The Bears need more than four total tackles. Rodgers was not sacked all night.
What’s next?
The Bears get their second matchup against the Detroit Lions, who they prevailed over to open the season. It will also be the first game following the dismissal of head coach Matt Patricia.