When things fall apart:Bears suffer worse loss of the year to Packers
The Chicago Bears were probably better off not even showing up at Lambeau Field in Week 11. The Bears loss 37-3 to the Green Bay Packers; by far their worse loss of the season. But despite the embarrassment, Chicago still finds themselves in a three-way tie for first place in the NFC North with the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings, with all three teams owning a 5-5 record.
The return of Kyle Orton to the starting lineup didn’t light a spark to the offense. Orton only completed 50 percent of his passes (13-26) for a modest 133 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. The fourth-year pro from Purdue eventually was replaced by Rex Grossman when the game got out of hand. Rookie Matt Forte continued to be the Bears’ silver lining on offense. Though the second-round draft pick couldn’t take advantage of the 28 th ranked Green Bay run defense, Forte did manage to amass 104 total yards from scrimmage (64 yards rushing and 40 yards receiving). The former Tulane star also led the team with six receptions. In addition, Greg Olson had four receptions for a team-high 45 yards. The rest of the receiving corps was virtually non-existent.
One would have thought that Chicago’s defense would have at least dominated the running game, but once again the defensive unit proved everyone one wrong. Chicago’s usually stout run defense allowed the Packers’ Ryan Grant to steamroll over them for 145 of Green Bay’s 200 yards on the ground. As for the pass defense, no improvement has been shown from the past month. As they were the previous four games, the Bears’ pass rush was highly ineffective, and the porous secondary allowed Aaron Rodgers to pass for 227 yards and two touchdowns. The lone bright spot for the Bears was in the first half when Brian Urlacher snatched his first interception of the year. But all in all, this defense has to address their issues A.S.A.P. if they ever want to be considered as “Monsters of the Midway.”
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With only six games remaining in the season, the Chicago Bears have to find a way to separate themselves from the Packers and Vikings in the division in order to clinch a guaranteed playoff spot. The Bears will have a chance to do so when they meet the Vikings and Packers in Weeks 13 and 16 respectively. But first things first; Chicago will have to travel to St. Louis to face the 2-8 Rams. This should be an easy victory for the Bears, but then again…
By Clyde A. Speller
ProFootball-fans.com Chicago Bears Correspondent