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It wasn’t a particularly unique affair. The Bears have lost this game to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers plenty of times. If you need additional details beyond which is provided below, search the archives and find all the recaps of those games.

• Justin Fields continues to show signs, and that’s all you are asking for each week from a rookie quarterback. The touchdown drive he led in the fourth quarter, that could easily have been derailed by a nonsense holding penalty on Sam Mustipher, was a thing of beauty.
  • The Bears have to open up this offense for Fields moving forward and that should start Sunday against Tampa. The Bucs have a terrible secondary but are impossible to run against.
  • The clock still has to speed up for Fields. Sunday, his “run clock” was there. When he saw the space, he took it. But he’s still struggling to recognize how fast these pass rushers are. He ain’t playing Rutgers anymore. Once he starts to feel it, and it’ll be soon, he’ll stop taking unnecessary sacks.
• The refs were not to blame for this Bears loss. But they were dreadful.
  • Has an offsides ever been missed before? There are officials literally staring down the line of scrimmage pre-snap.
  • The hold on Mustipher and pass interference on Jaylon Johnson were both nonsense.
  • I still don’t understand the OPI on Green Bay, or how that touchdown catch was originally ruled incomplete. Neither were close calls.
  • Why was Justin Fields’ timeout attempt rejected? I have never seen that before.
• Aaron Rodgers was the best player on the field. Again. And it’s not surprising when the best player on the field wins, especially when that player is a quarterback. That’s the goal for the Justin Fields Chicago Bears. They have to get there.

• Positives:
  • Robert Quinn’s pass rush has been brilliant but his work in run support has been genuinely shocking. He’s the team MVP to this point.
  • Khalil Herbert is a starting tailback in this league. And one or two more performances like this will ensure David Montgomery doesn’t get a second contract in Chicago.
  • Cole Kmet only had 4 catches for 49 yards but they felt important. The catches were in big spots but he also trucked some defenders for extra yards and a first down. This was the game the Bears need from him consistently.
• Negatives:
  • Eddie Jackson is no longer a good safety. He does nothing well.
    • Tashaun Gipson isn’t much better. This position needs a complete overhaul in the offseason.
  • When the opponent knows the Bears have to throw, Fields is going to need his mobility to get the ball downfield. This line simply can’t hold up under those circumstances. The only defensive lineman the Bears needed to block in the fourth quarter was Kenny Clark. And they couldn’t do it.
  • Did Fields miss a wide open Allen Robinson? Yes. But it shouldn’t require blown coverages for these wideouts to get separation. Too often Fields created space to throw and had no one to throw to. This isn’t getting corrected with scheme. Bears need better players.
  • Herbert and Damiere Byrd can’t drop easy screens for easy yards. Those are the kinds of mistakes that leave a bad offense chasing the sticks.
  • Mario Edwards shouldn’t play against Tampa. Nobody is better at drawing personal fouls than Tom Brady. And nobody is currently better at committing them than Edwards.
  • Akiem Hicks’ reaction to being sideline by his groin injury should tell you he’ll be gone a while.

The Bears are now 3-3. So are the Vikings. So are the Panthers. The Saints are 3-2. There is a scrum for the final two seeds in the NFC and it’s going to take a while to sort through it. But that’s where the Bears will live for the remainder of the 2021 season.