Bears believe they have grown ‘tremendously’ since Week 1 beatdown against Green Bay
It has been 17 weeks since the season opener.
There were months of buildup between the end of the 2022 season and the season opener of 2023. Longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers left town. A Week 1 matchup between the Bears and Packers was supposed to be the beginning of a new era, with quarterback Justin Fields leading the Bears back on top of the rivalry.
Instead, the Packers punched the Bears in the mouth and cruised to a 38-20 win.
All these weeks later, when Bears coach Matt Eberflus turns on the tape from that Week 1 matchup, he sees a different team.
“What you recognize is our growth, I really believe, as a football team,” Eberflus said. “The growth and the maturation of our young players. You can certainly see that with our first- and second-year players. You can see the continuity with the free agents coming together on both sides of the ball. DJ [Moore] and Justin having a little more chemistry, you certainly can see that.”
The Bears will have a shot at redemption this week when they finish their 2023 season with a Week 18 matchup against the Packers at 3:25 p.m. Sunday at Lambeau Field.
It’s somewhat of a full-circle moment for this Bears team, which has come a long way from that Week 1 matchup. After the drubbing by Green Bay in Week 1, the Bears lost their next three games, falling to 0-4. At the time the organization had lost 14 consecutive games. Eberflus’ seat was most definitely hotter than it had ever been.
But then things started to change. Fields played two of his best games before a thumb injury sidelined him for a month. Backup Tyson Bagent won a couple of games in his place. Now, the Bears have won four of their last five games and five of their last seven.
The Packers are 8-8 and looking to earn a wild card berth into the playoffs. A Bears win on Sunday will make that increasingly difficult. If the Bears win, the Packers need several other results to fall in their favor.
Eberflus was careful Wednesday not to give the Packers any extra bulletin board material.
“I would say this, we’re going to keep it about us,” Eberflus said. “There’s always that factor of, hey, it’s an important game for them for sure. It’s an important game for us, for sure. We’re going to leave it at that. It’s a rival, and we’re excited about going up there and playing some football.”
Eberflus believes the Bears’ young players, of which there are many, have grown since Week 1. Rookies like tackle Darnell Wright, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and defensive tackle Gervon Dexter have logged a lot of professional snaps.
Moore and Fields have certainly emerged as a great duo for the Bears’ passing attack. The defense has improved drastically, especially since the addition of defensive end Montez Sweat.
“We’ve improved tremendously in all phases,” Fields said. “I think that’s players and coaches. We’ve grown a lot as a team, our chemistry has grown with each other.”
The Bears haven’t beaten the Packers since Dec. 16, 2018, at Soldier Field. They haven’t won at Lambeau Field in Green Bay since Nov. 26, 2015. The Packers have won 24 of the last 27 contests dating back to 2010.
The Bears want to beat this team, but to them it’s about so much more than the rivalry. This is about proving how far this team has come. This is about showing the football world that they’re building something positive here.
“We want to win every game, it doesn’t matter when they beat us [last time], we’re not thinking of that,” Fields said. “Our mindset is just go out there and play ball the way we’ve been playing. You know, win the game. We want to win every game, no matter if it’s against the Deerfield Park Whatever Team or the Green Bay Packers. When we step on the field we want to win the game.”