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The Chicago Bears are going to 'run the table.' Lou explains | After the Whistle
Lou Canellis thinks we've seen the last of the Bears losing this season. He explains why he thinks they can run the table in the final four games.
GREEN BAY, Wis. - It was a second winning streak that was fun while it lasted.
No, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson won’t be taking his shirt off after this one. Considering the wind chill factor meant it was a standing temperature of five degrees, it was unlikely to begin with.
The Bears still went into Green Bay, shrugged off a sluggish start and came within 14 yards of the end zone with less than a minute remaining and down seven points. The rematch is at Soldier Field in less than two weeks.
Here’s what we learned from the Bears’ 28-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Bears’ first loss since October.
This Bears vs. Packers game had a similar feeling
When Jordan Love hit Bo Melton for a 45-yard touchdown at the end of the first half, this one felt like plenty of other Bears-Packers games.
Those were the ones where the Bears faded as the Packers stomped on their necks and won by multiple scores.
The Bears’ comeback felt short. But, the game was never out of hand. How many times in the past did these games get out of hand?
Too many. It’s why Ben Johnson was hired. The Bears didn’t complete the comeback on Sunday, but they had a chance to in an environment where they’ve rarely won games, let alone stayed competitive in them.
"Give credit to Green Bay," Bears coach Ben Johnson said. "They made more plays than us".
The locker room vibe postgame was telling
It’s moot to compare this team to last year’s squad. But, there was a moment in the 2024 season where the Bears lost to the Patriots.
The air around the locker room postgame was dreary. It was an eerie quiet because it felt like the Bears had no answers to their issue.
On Sunday, the team that just lost a rivalry game to the Packers and dropped from No. 1 in the NFC North and the NFC standings to second in the division and No. 7 in the conference didn’t act as they stumbled far.
The players acknowledged the sting of the moment. The Bears knew it was going to be tough climbing out of a slow start, but got back into the game with the gritty running game they used to beat the Eagles.
"We knew we wanted to do that going in," left tackle Ozzy Trapilo said. "Really took until the second half of that to kick in."
The Bears acknowledged they are far away from the Packers at all. A team that hasn’t lost much this season understands how to find answers fast.
"Everyone's obviously a little disappointed just because we wanted to go win this game," Linebacker TJ Edwards said. "It's a great environment. It's a really good football team, but, I felt like we wanna go get that one, but we'll right back to you tomorrow and see what the tape is, learn from it and keep rolling."
Caleb Williams was close to glory
It was very close to the same play that iced the Eagles.
Last week, the Bears sealed a win over the Eagles when Caleb Williams rolled out of the pocket and slung a toss over the top to Cole Kmet in the end zone. Williams opted for the kill shot instead of the checkdown.
He tried that again Sunday, when he tried to loft a pass over the top in the end zone to Kmet with 27 seconds left in the game. Keisean Nixon intercepted the pass. Game over. After the game, Williams took ownership of the mistake.
"In those moments, you want to put the ball in play and trust your guy or try to have your guy make a play," Williams said. "Just have to give him a better ball."
So, so close.
This came after a dismal first half where the Bears had 59 total yards of offense. Williams finished the game completing 19 of his 35 passes for 186 yards, two touchdowns and that one interception.
He started throwing darts in the second half, too. They were confident throws that got to his receivers. Luther Burden was the biggest beneficiary, leading the team with four receptions for 67 yards.
"That's what he does. We know that," Bears receiver Olamide Zaccheaus said. "It doesn't surprise me, it's just that's who he is. That's what he does."
Williams almost had a second comeback against the Packers at Lambeau Field. But, moral victories don’t count.
Grading the Chicago Bears in their Lambeau thriller against the Green Bay Packers
The Bears fell to the Packers 28-21 in a game where Green Bay just made one or two more plays. Here’s how we graded the Bears in the primetime loss.
The Bears’ sense of urgency was the biggest bright spot
When the Bears went down 14-3, they started the second half by forcing a three-and-out and parlayed that into an offensive drive that ended in a touchdown, plus a two-point conversion.
Coming out with that moxie was impressive.
That’s the confidence Ben Johnson instilled in the Bears. It’s showing in December, which is important. The Bears need to stay confident as they have three more games against NFC Playoff contenders in Green Bay, San Francisco and Detroit.
Keeping that confidence when the score was 14-3 at halftime is impressive. Having confidence late in the game when the Bears were driving is the next step, too.
That stems from the sense of urgency the Bears have. Not just to get back in a football game, but to keep building for a postseason run. The Bears aren’t anywhere near where they want to be, which is far and away from a nine-win team.
"We’ll be a playoff team once we earn enough wins to become a playoff team," Ben Johnson said. "Right now, we’re a nine-win team. I don’t think nine wins is going to get you in this year. We got to do what we can to get enough wins to find a way to get into the tournament."
That sense of urgency gives the Bears confidence when the game is on the line, too. Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson said he was sure the Bears’ offense was going to score on the last drive of the game.
"They were gonna score, go for two and win a game," Jaylon Johnson said.
This was the third game in a row where Ozzy Trapilo held his own
For offensive linemen, it’s better to fly under the radar instead of hearing their name called consistently.
In three weeks as the Bears’ starting left tackle, Trapilo has done exactly that. He held his own against TJ Watt, Nolan Smith, Jalen Carter and, now, Micah Parsons. Parsons was credited with two quarterback hurries, but didn’t have a sack. He wasn’t always lined up on Trapilo, but Trapilo is still learning on the job.
What the Bears have liked about Trapilo so far is that he’s playing sound against his assignments.
It’s far from perfect. He’s still a step too slow at times against NFL rushers and his technique isn’t there at the NFL level. There was a near-sack against the Eagles where Trapilo got beat on the edges with a speed rush. Against the Packers, Trapilo struggled in the run-blocking game at times.
However, he’s been put through a gauntlet of top-tier pass rushers and held his own. Trapilo is a work in progress, but there have been more glaring examples of rookies standing out for all the wrong reasons at left tackle for the Bears. Jamarcus Webb, Braxton Jones and Chris Williams come to mind. Expectations are higher for Trapilo as a second-round pick, and he’s been show improvement.
"We saw improvement from the Steeler game to last week, and yet there's a lot of things for us that we have to get a lot better quickly," Bears offensive line coach Dan Roushar said on Dec. 4. "He's aware of that and he's working at it. He's very conscientious. You'd love to improve quickness, you'd love to improve pad level, you'd love to improve use of hands and those were all the things that we're trying to have the player do."