The Chicago Bears came into Green Bay riding a three-game winning streak with the belief they could win out to give themselves a prime opportunity to make the postseason. Both came to an abrupt end on Sunday when the Packers took down the Bears 21-13, effectively eliminating them from playoff contention.
The Packers jumped out to an early lead when quarterback Aaron Rodgers found Davante Adams for a 29-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Green Bay boasted a 7-3 lead at halftime and the game felt eerily similar to the first matchup that kicked off the 2019 NFL season.
The Packers, however, scored touchdowns on consecutive possessions to go up 21-3. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears battled back with 10 unanswered points to make it a one-score game, but ran out of time as the final play in regulation turned into a lateral festival.
A season that began with Super Bowl aspirations ends before the playoffs even begin to the bitter rival that set the Bears back from the start. Here are my five takeaways from the unofficial end to the Bears season.
1. This game showed who the Bears truly are
Are the Bears as good as the team who defeated the Dallas Cowboys last Thursday night behind the arm of Mitchell Trubisky? Or are they as bad as the team that put up just nine yards of offense in the first half of their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles? The answer is neither.
This team is a .500 team that can hang with good teams, but isn’t good enough to get over the hump for a victory. They’ll take care of business against teams such as the New York Giants and Detroit Lions, but will struggle against real competition.
The Packers, despite having a record of 11-3, were vulnerable coming into today’s game and the Bears couldn’t take advantage. The question that needs to be answered this offseason will be if the Bears are closer to the 12-4 squad from 2018, or the .500 team in 2019?
