2020 Week 12: Chicago Bears 25, Green Bay Packers 41

Apparently legal if you play for the Packers.

Player Grades

The grading scale goes from -3 to +3 for each play. Screens are graded as runs. Penalties are counted in whatever phase they were committed. Pre- and post-snap penalties are in the “Misc.” column. “Short” throws are 10 yards or less, “Medium” is 10-20, “Deep” is over 20. Everything else (scrambles, throwaways, reads, etc.) is under “Miscellaneous.” Parentheses in a column denote grades/snaps from the opposite side of the ball and are not included in grades/snaps from the player’s usual side. Snap counts are from Pro Football Reference. Box score and other relevant info can be found at that link as well.

Note: No snap counts this week because I didn’t grade the 4th quarter for obvious reasons.

Okay, let’s get this out of the way – that was a hideously officiated game. In addition to the appalling miss at the top of the blog, Nichols actually got called for roughing for bumping into Rodgers, giving the Packers a free 15 yards, there was the usual plethora of missed or just outright ignored holding calls against Khalil Mack, including 2 on the first drive, one of which saw Mack put in a hammerlock by the Packers’ right tackle on the touchdown pass to Adams. If that flag is thrown like it should’ve been, it’s 3rd and 20, and, assuming the Bears hold Green Bay to 3 there, the start of that game looks a whole lot different. Later on, OPI could’ve been called on Tonyan on a rub route on another TD drive. All that said, we can’t excuse the Bears’ poor play.

What happened to the defense?

Chuck Pagano refused to get out of man even though Aaron Rodgers was fully aware that there was an endless buffet of yards available to him by attacking the middle of the field. As great as Skrine was in run support, he was equally awful in coverage. He never had a shot against Adams. Neither did Trevathan when Green Bay was able to get that matchup. Kirk Cousins figured this exploit out, I don’t know how Pagano didn’t anticipate Rodgers doing likewise and have adjustments ready for when he inevitably did so.

As far as the run defense goes, chalk that up to a combination of missing Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman, a good Packers O-line playing a great game, and the Bears’ linebackers playing a bad one. The perfect storm of suck, if you will. To be honest, I didn’t know what to make of Roquan. I didn’t think he was good, but I didn’t think it was entirely his fault, as he got hung out to try by the D-line quite a bit. If you thought he was better than I graded him, I can understand why. Likewise if you thought he was worse.

Do we have to talk about the offense?

Yeah, but I’ll keep it brief. The quarterback stinks. I don’t care that he’s faster than Foles, he has no idea what he’s doing back there. He did seem more poised than he did in his starts earlier in the season, but to call that faint praise is putting it lightly. Both picks were inexcusable. Nagy said he wasn’t upset about the first one because they were planning to take a shot. Nagy has to say that, though, because he’s stuck with this guy and can’t afford to torpedo his confidence. I do not work for the team, so I can call those picks for what they were: completely inexcusable garbage. The first one was a heave into double coverage that still wouldn’t have been open if Darnell Savage didn’t rotate over to make the play. The second one was a heave into triple coverage where Trubisky didn’t see Allen Robinson open for a first down. I have no idea why Robinson would want to get out of here.

What does this mean going forward?

The Bears might be able to afford one more loss. They’ve got the Lions, Jags, Texans, Vikings, and Packers to go. The Lions just fired their coach, the Jags are a tire fire, and the Texans are now, too, after Will Fuller and Bradley Roby got suspended for banned substances. The two other division games will be tougher.

Monsters

Jaylon Johnson had a nice hit on Lazard. David Montgomery broke a big run.

Chipmunks

Most of the team

Four Stars of the Game

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Twitter: @KSchroeder_312