Bears suffer 35-14 loss to Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis. - How bad was it for the Bears Thursday night at Lambeau Field?
A 45-minute lightning delay at the end of the first quarter was one of their early highlights in the 195th meeting with the Packers.
As rivalry games go, this was a pathetic performance - at least by the Bears, who fell to 1-3 in a 35-14 blowout. The Packers improved to 3-1.
"Obviously a very poor performance, and I think it starts at the top," Bears coach John Fox said. "We got out-coached, we got out-played in every area. We have a lot of work to do.
"We have time to evaluate and do the things necessary for us to improve, and that's across the board."
A 4-yard TD pass from Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson gave the Packers a 28-7 lead with 4:09 left in the third quarter left no doubt about the outcome, which was never in doubt. Those two collaborated again for an 8-yard TD on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 35-7. It was their 64th TD connection, the most in Packers history.
Just as the game appeared to be getting away from the Bears even before halftime, they put together a seven-play, 72-yard drive with a well-executed two-minute drill. Quarterback Mike Glennon, who had already turned the ball over three times, and added a fourth later, briefly regained his touch. He connected with wide receiver Kendall Wright for a 5-yard TD that brought the Bears within 21-7 with eight seconds left in the half.
That won't be nearly enough to stop the masses from demanding rookie Mitch Trubisky replace Glennon, who has 3 TD passes, 5 interceptions and has lost 3 fumbles.
"We need to make a lot of changes," Fox said. "Everybody wants to fix the quarterback, but we have more things to fix than the quarterback."
The Bears' run game, which piled up 220 yards in Week 3, was not a factor in the first half. It managed just 31 yards on 14 attempts for a 2.2-yard average.
By midway through the second quarter, the Packers were down to their No. 3 running back, rookie Aaron Jones, after Ty Montgomery and Jamaal Williams went out with injuries.
But it didn't matter. The rookie from Texas-El Paso scored his first NFL touchdown on a 2-yard run to make it 21-0 Packers with 4:48 left in the first half.
That score was set up by Glennon's third turnover of the evening, and his first interception. Glennon overthrew Markus Wheaton but connected with Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton Dix. On the Packers' first play, Rodgers connected with Jordy Nelson on a 58-yard deep ball, down to the Bears' two-yard line, victimizing cornerback Marcus Cooper. Jones took it in from there.
Trailing by 2 touchdowns and still in the first quarter, the Bears managed to move to the Packers' 29-yard line with an opportunity to get back into the game. But on their next play, Cody Whitehair's snap to an unsuspecting Glennon bounced off the quarterback's shin and was recovered by Packers linebacker Blake Martinez.
That was Glennon's second fumble of the night and his fifth of the season, 3 of which the Bears have failed to recover.
Just 6:14 in, the Bears already trailed 14-0.
Down 7-0 before their first play from scrimmage, it went from bad to worse for the Bears. Glennon was sacked and stripped by Clay Matthews, and the fumble was recovered by Green Bay's Jake Ryan at the Bears' three-yard line.
Late in the third quarter Packers wide receiver Davante Adams was taken from the field strapped to a backboard and motionless after he took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan.
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