Bears' loss to Packers a true team effort

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Give the Bears credit for this much: At least they know they stink.

Once again the defense was a total disappointment, getting abused, as usual, by the pass. But Sunday at Lambeau Field the Bears also were gouged by the run. In three earlier games this season, late defensive lapses cost the Bears a chance to win.

But this time it didn't matter, since the offense was just as bad and never got close to the end zone in a 37-3 loss to the Packers.

"We got dominated," safety Mike Brown said. "You guys can analyze it and do whatever you want to with that, but we just got destroyed, bottom line."

It was the Bears' worst defeat of the Lovie Smith era, surpassing in ineptness the 41-10 loss to the Colts on Nov. 21, 2004. The Bears hadn't lost a game by so much since the 2003 season opener, when they were defeated 49-7 in Dick Jauron's final season as head coach. It was the Bears' most lopsided loss to the Packers in almost 14 years, since they lost 40-3 on Dec. 11, 1994.

"Of course we're better than this," said linebacker Lance Briggs, who led the Bears with 10 tackles, 1 more than Brown. "(But) did we play better than that today? No. It was (darn) poor today, and we must get better."

After being dominated in every phase of the game by a team that entered with a 4-5 record, it's difficult to make an argument for the Bears even being a contender for a playoff spot. But they find themselves in a three-way tie for first place in the NFC North at 5-5 with the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings, who also lost Sunday.

"We have a lot of opportunities still ahead of us," Briggs said. "But we can't talk playoffs. We can't talk about winning the division until we regroup and get back to work."

There's a lot of work to do in all phases, but the defensive failures were stunning in their frequency. The Packers controlled the ball for 37:28 to the Bears' 22:32 and outgained them 427-234.

Brown said any talk comparing the current defense to the 2006 defense that powered the Bears to a Super Bowl performance should be tabled.

"Our perception is that we have a good defense," Brown said. "The reality is we don't.

"Obviously our defense isn't what it used to be. Everyone wants it to be what it used to be, and it's not. It's all about performance, and we haven't been performing well. Once we come to grips (with the fact) that our defense isn't what it's supposed to be, we'll all be better off."

The same defense that held the Tennessee Titans to 20 rushing yards a week earlier allowed the Packers to roll to 200 on the ground. When Green Bay decided to throw the ball, they were just as effective.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, in a slump of late after a red-hot start, got his groove back by completing 23 of 30 passes for 227 yards, 2 touchdowns and a passer rating of 105.8.

While this no longer comes as news to followers of the Bears, the defense failed to get even 1 sack and has a total of 5 over the last five games.

"They had 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing," defensive end Alex Brown observed. "You guys should write as much negative stuff as you want. It's probably deserved at this point."

Probably?

The Packers took a 7-0 lead on their second possession, taking advantage of the Bears' soft coverage that has been a problem all season.

Rodgers and his receivers made it look easy. Donald Driver took advantage of a big cushion provided by Charles Tillman for a 16-yard reception, and four plays later Driver did the same to Nate Vasher, who compounded poor coverage by whiffing on a tackle attempt as Driver picked up 14 more yards.

Jordy Nelson was an easy target for Rodgers in front of safety Kevin Payne for 19 yards, and then Driver caught a 9-yard slant in front of Tillman from the right side and Greg Jennings beat Corey Graham on a slant from the left side for a 3-yard touchdown.

The drive appeared ridiculously easy, as Rodgers completed 7 of 7 passes for 81 yards.

"The offensive line dominated the game," he said. "I barely got touched all day."

The Bears countered with Robbie Gould's 35-yard field goal early in the second quarter, never suspecting that the three plays they ran from inside Green Bay's 35-yard line would be their only three of the day from that close. The Bears had just nine plays in Packers territory all day.

The Packers' offense changed it up on the second scoring drive that extended their lead to 14-3 with 1:11 left in the first half.

This time they chose to have their offensive line blow the Bears' defense off the line of scrimmage.

Ryan Grant's 4-yard TD run gave him 105 yards on just 13 carries and left most of the Bears' defenders shoved back into their own end zone. Grant finished with 145 yards on 25 carries.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=251255">Photos from the game </a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=251261">Orton: I stunk it up<span class="date">[11/17/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=251265">GM Angelo less than enamored with defensive underachievement <span class="date">[11/17/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=251286">Packers rush to take nothing for Grant-ed <span class="date">[11/17/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=251262">Smith says the race is just starting <span class="date">[11/17/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=251260">Imrem: Showing no fight biggest Bears' woe <span class="date">[11/17/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>