GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Handing out grades following the
Green Bay Packers' 27-20 home loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 9:
Passing Offense: D
Curious to see how the Packers' passing game would look
without Aaron Rodgers? Well, this was it, and it was ugly. Rodgers threw two
passes on Green Bay's opening drive before he was sacked, injuring his left
shoulder and leaving the game.
Enter Seneca Wallace, who proved just how vitally important
Rodgers is to making the Packers go. Wallace completed 11-of-19 passes for 114
yards with no touchdowns and one interception for a passer rating of 53.4 The
last time that Rodgers had a passer rating that low in a game in which he
played nearly the entire four quarters was … never. With the exception of
Rodgers' concussion-shortened Week 14 performance during the 2010 season, he
has never had a passer rating as low as what Wallace's was Monday night.
As might be expected, everything in the passing game was
just off with Rodgers sidelined. When Wallace wasn't handing it off, Green Bay
wasn't moving the ball downfield. The Packers' longest passing play came on
Rodgers' only completion. Yes, one completion from Rodgers nearly accounted for
20 percent of Green Bay's passing yards.
Jordy Nelson led the team with targets (9) and yards (67),
while tight end Andrew Quarless had the most catches (5). James Jones returned
to game action after recovering from a knee injury, but he had just one
reception for 17 yards.
The Packers' offensive line also struggled to protect the
quarterbacks, giving up four sacks. The first Bears sack resulted in Rodgers'
injury and the final two sacks happened on the final two plays of the game when
Green Bay was trying to tie it up in the final minute with a touchdown.
Rushing Offense: A+
One positive that the Packers can take away from this game
is that no Rodgers didn't mean no running game. Eddie Lacy and James Starks
absolutely dominated Chicago's defense. Lacy had a career-high 150 rushing
yards on 22 carries with one touchdown, while Starks' six rushing attempts
produced 40 yards and a touchdown. On Starks' touchdown, the running lane that
was there could have fit an entire offensive line standing shoulder-to-shoulder
between it.
The Bears' run defense has been bad this season, but for
Green Bay to have that type of success when there wasn't the threat of Rodgers
throwing passes shows how astronomically far the Packers have come in the
running game from last season (and from the two seasons before that, too).
Rushing Defense: C-
What happened to that stout Green Bay run defense? The one
that was on pace for the franchise-best record in stopping the run? Well, it
was nowhere to be found against Chicago.
Matt Forte did what Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, Reggie Bush
and Frank Gore couldn't by running all over the Packers. Forte is an
accomplished rusher and entered the game ranked in the top 5 in the NFL in most
categories, showing why he's having the best season of his six-year career.
Forte rushed for 125 yards on 24 carries (5.2) average with
one touchdown. Most troubling for Green Bay is that when the defense really
needed to stop the run late in the fourth quarter, Forte picked up three first
downs and kept the clock winding closer to its expiration.
Michael Bush added 25 yards on seven carries and quarterback
Josh McCown scrambled once for 20 yards. In all, the Packers gave up 171
rushing yards and lost some of the momentum that they had built up in this area
through the first seven games.
Passing Defense: D
McCown is a solid backup quarterback who had two weeks to
prepare for Green Bay. But McCown is still a guy who was coaching high school
football a couple years ago and was getting offers to be an NFL assistant coach
because most teams thought his playing career was over. Yet, he threw for 272
yards against the Packers while completing 22-of-41 passes with two touchdowns
and no interceptions.
The list of problems that Green Bay had in trying to stop
Chicago's passing game is lengthy. Packers cornerbacks knew they would have a
size disadvantage, but Bears receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery
often made it look like an insurmountable difference. Marshall had seven catches
for 107 yards and a spectacular touchdown grab. Jeffery had five receptions for
60 yards and a touchdown catch that rivaled Marshall's. Add in Forte's five
catches for 54 yards out of the backfield and tight end Martellus Bennett's
four receptions for 36 yards and it's a one-sided affair for Chicago's wideouts
over Green Bay's secondary.
The Packers missed a lot of tackles, which certainly didn't
help. It also didn't help that Green Bay didn't get much pass rush, sacking
McCown just once.
Special Teams: A
This was a memorable game for the Packers' special teams.
Jamari Lattimore blocked a punt in the first quarter which gave Green Bay great
field position and led to Starks' touchdown on the very next play. Early in the
third quarter, coach Mike McCarthy called for a surprise onside kick that was
recovered by -- guess who? -- Lattimore. Those are two game-changing plays that
both led to points for the Packers on the ensuing drives.
Mason Crosby added to his strong season by connecting on both
of his field-goal attempts, though neither was long distance (23 yards and 30
yards).
Overall: C
Winning without Rodgers is difficult. But considering how
well prepared Green Bay has been at nearly every other position once injuries
hit, the team wasn't prepared at backup quarterback and it showed.
Rodgers' absence, however, doesn't excuse how poorly the
Packers' defense played. They didn't force any turnovers, they missed tackles
and they let a backup quarterback look like a starting-caliber quarterback.
