Bears made some questionable decisions in Green Bay

Caleb Williams might be the most scrutinized quarterback in the NFL right now, especially among the social media experts.

He is what he is. Elite escapability. Making decisive throws to his first read, he can complete those all day.

If Williams doesn't get that first open look and has to scan the field for other options, that part has substantial room for improvement. Then rolling to his right, he's capable of some amazing throws. There were three examples Sunday in Green Bay — the 26-yarder to Cole Kmet on the first touchdown drive, the TD to Olamide Zaccheaus a few plays later, and a strike to Devin Duvernay on their final offensive drive.

Rolling to his left, Williams doesn't seem comfortable. There was a game earlier this season (Baltimore, maybe?) where he had a great look in the end zone, but ran instead of throwing it.

So why, on the key play of the game, did the Bears send Williams running to his left? On that fourth-and-one at the Packers 14-yard line, it never looked like Williams thought about running.

Kmet was open right away in the end zone. D.J. Moore popped free late. But it looked like Williams was intent on squaring his shoulders a bit and trying to hit Kmet. In the process, he gave the defensive back time to recover and left the throw well short. Interception or incompletion, the game was over either way, since it was fourth down.

There were definitely some head-scratchers when it came to play-calling. A week earlier, the Bears did a magnificent job of using not only motion, but having Williams fake the bootleg pass, to open up run lanes in Philadelphia.

Against the Packers, there was barely any of that. Mostly, the Bears stood still at the snap. Williams handed the ball off, then stood and watched. The Bears ran very little of the split zone that has been so effective for cutback runs.

What's the deal? Saving it for later? Maybe they didn't think that stuff would work against Green Bay.

Overall, the Bears rushed for 132 yards and 4.3 per carry, which is a respectable total. But they never seemed to put themselves in a position where they could either rely on the run or use play action to create more openings in the pass game. Serious thought: Maybe they missed Rome Odunze’s blocking on the edge.

Green with envy

This was the Packers, so we've watched the Bears get out-coached in this matchup for the past, oh, several decades. Matt LaFleur's staff definitely had a good idea on how to attack the defense. Mostly, the plan was to get their receivers in a footrace with Bears defensive backs.

The sequence at the end of the first half was painful, after the Bears kicked a field goal with 1:17 left, then gave up a 45-yard touchdown to Bo Melton, who had two catches all season.

On the previous snap, the Packers ran a mesh to the left side, the Bears got crossed up and nobody covered Christian Watson. Just as Watson was breaking into the clear and waving his arms for attention, Jordan Love was unloading a short dump to the tight end that went incomplete.

On the touchdown play, it was trips left and for some reason, Jaquon Brisker gave Melton a giant cushion of about 12 yards. Once he made his cut, Brisker had no chance to catch up.

Meanwhile, the other safety Kevin Byard seemed to be watching Love's eyes, which were pointed toward Watson. Byard acted like he was expecting the ball to go to Watson, and ignored Melton and Jayden Reed running past him. Suddenly it was 14-3.

The first touchdown was a rough one too, because it came on a third-and-10 at the Bears 23, a green and golden opportunity to force a field goal. On this one, the Bears blitzed, sending seven rushers at Love, against seven blockers, and no one got home.

That made it basically 3-on-3 in the secondary. The Packers may not have a dominant receiver, but they have some good ones, and Watson ran past Byard for the game's first score.

On Green Bay's third touchdown, which made it 21-11, the Bears blitzed the linebackers, which left the middle open for Watson to beat C.J. Gardner-Johnson on a slant. Better to give Nahshon Wright that assignment.

Quick hitters

For the past several years, the Bears offensive line struggled badly against elite pass rushers. They had some rough moments in this game, and fell victim to a couple pick plays, where a rusher runs into one of the blockers to create an opening for someone else. Overall, though, not a terrible performance, with one sack and a few throwaways. …

With Kyler Gordon missing the game, Jaylon Johnson and Brisker looking less than full strength, and T.J. Edwards on a limited pitch count, you have to wonder if the Bears defense can reach a peak by the end of the season. Gardner-Johnson in open space is clearly not where they want to be.