Bears get clobbered by Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field
Christian Watson caught two long touchdown passes from Jordan Love, MarShawn Lloyd also scored twice and the Green Bay Packers exacted a measure of revenge against the Chicago Bears by trouncing them 31-7 on Sunday.
Love went 25 of 31 for 367 yards, the highest total by a Packers quarterback against the Bears at Lambeau Field. He connected with Watson on a 42-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 53-yarder in the third.
Green Bay had lost three of four to the Bears and blew a 21-3 halftime lead in a 31-27 NFC wild-card playoff loss at Chicago last season. Caleb Williams celebrated that come-from-behind victory by grating cheese on the field, poking fun at Green Bay's Cheesehead fan base.
Williams missed a third straight game Sunday with a hamstring injury, and Tyson Bagent started in his place. Xavier McKinney intercepted two passes from Bagent as the Packers forced five turnovers.
Green Bay (3-2) moved over .500 for the first time this season.
Watson finished with six receptions for 143 yards. Matthew Golden added a career-high 123 yards receiving while matching a career best with six catches.
The Bears (3-2) were coming off wins over the Philadelphia Eagles with Case Keenum at quarterback and the New York Jets with Bagent, but they never threatened Green Bay.
Bagent went 12 of 21 for 87 yards. Keenum took over early in the fourth quarter and went 10 of 15 for 101 yards with an interception and a fumble. Chicago turned the ball over on four straight second-half possessions.
Packers play keep-away to build early lead
Green Bay took command early by flipping the script on the Bears, who entered the day leading the NFL in average time of possession. The Packers, who had been ranked next-to-last in time of possession, outgained the Bears 130 yards to 9 in the first quarter while controlling the ball for 11 minutes, 45 seconds.
Watson's first touchdown capped a 91-yard drive on Green Bay's first possession. Two plays later, McKinney's first interception gave Green Bay the ball at Chicago's 45-yard line.
Lloyd capped Green Bay's ensuing possession by running over Jaylon Johnson and scoring from 7 yards out on the first play of the second quarter. It was the first career TD run for Lloyd, who scored on a 6-yard reception against the Jets on Sept. 20.
The Packers didn't get a single first down on any of their next three series as the Bears cut Green Bay's lead to 14-7 when D'Andre Swift scored from 1 yard out on fourth-and-goal.
Green Bay regained control after halftime.
One play after an offensive pass-interference penalty on J. Michael Sturdivant wiped out a 43-yard completion that would have given him his first career touchdown, Watson scored for the second time. Watson was well covered, but he made the catch by reaching his arms over the helmet of safety Dillon Thieneman, whose back was to the play.
One disappointment for Green Bay was the performance of rookie kicker Trey Smack, who had gone 6 of 7 on field-goal attempts in the Packers' first four games. Smack made a 35-yarder Sunday but missed from 43 and 47 yards and sent an extra-point attempt wide left.
Injuries
Bears: RB Kyle Monangai (toe, thumb), Chicago's leading rusher, did not play. LB T.J. Edwards left with a hamstring injury in the first half. DL Dayo Odeyingbo (quadriceps), CB Tyrique Stevenson (hamstring) and DB Cam Lewis got hurt in the second half.
Packers: WR Skyy Moore hurt an ankle in the first half and didn't return. CB Benjamin St-Juste injured a hamstring in the second half. DT Javon Hargrave got injured late in the fourth quarter.
Ditka honored at game
Philip Hauff says he has owned Chicago Bears season tickets for the last 25 years but had never attended one of his favorite team's games at Lambeau Field before this week.
After former Bears coach Mike Ditka died Friday at the age of 86, Hauff figured he had to make a trip to Green Bay to pay respects to the coach who had personified the Bears franchise as much as anybody. Hauff bought a ticket to Sunday's game the day of Ditka's death and showed up wearing an 89 jersey, the number Ditka wore while playing tight end for the Bears from 1961-66.
"It's a very emotional time right now," the 61-year-old fan from Oak Park, Illinois, said before Sunday's game.
The Bears wore No. 89 stickers on the backs of their helmets Sunday. The Packers and Bears honored Ditka with a pregame moment of silence. Bears coach Ben Johnson had said Friday that Ditka is "the gold standard in terms of this place" and that the Hall of Famer's impact was still being felt.
Perhaps the most notable tributes to Ditka came in the stands rather than on the sidelines.
No. 89 jerseys were a featured choice of attire among the sizable contingent of Bears fans who made the trip to Green Bay.
Ditka revolutionized the tight end position during a playing career that started in Chicago. He returned to the Bears to coach them from 1982-92. Ditka's 1985 Bears won the franchise's lone Super Bowl title and remain one of the most iconic teams in NFL history.
"Ditka's like (Michael) Jordan," Hauff said. "He's Chicago. His passion, his devotion, his no-quit, his toughness. He's compassionate. We're a team that sucked for years and he brought us a championship."
Ditka's lasting legacy was evident from the fact many of the Bears fans wearing No. 89 jerseys weren't even born during that 1985 season. The ones who were old enough to experience that title wanted a chance to thank Ditka for helping create an indelible moment.
"I snuck a keg of beer in my dorm room, and me and my college buddy and roommate had the greatest time that day," said Hauff, a Ball State alum. "That was amazing. It was a wonderful time."
Other fans arrived wearing the blue Bears sweater vest that Ditka had worn during the Super Bowl blowout of the New England Patriots.
Ryan Tousley of Des Moines, Iowa, said he had bought his sweater vest nearly 20 years ago to dress as Ditka for a Halloween party. He squeezed into it again Sunday for the first time in about 15 years.
"It's very clear it doesn't fit, but I had to pay homage to him and get all the good vibes we get," said the 41-year-old Tousley, who was born during the Bears' 1985 championship season.
Bob Moretti, a 43-year-old Bears fan from St. Charles, Illinois, had bought a similar sweater vest by coincidence just last week.
"Ditka resembles everything we think about when we think about football," Moretti said. "You think about hard-nosed, grinding, just hard-working — Chicago. We put the weight on our shoulders and we go."
Tousley said he wasn't surprised Ditka had remained enormously popular in Chicago well over three decades after his Bears coaching tenure had ended.
"He did things differently, and he won in Chicago, which hasn't happened since," Tousley said. "Chicago's that type of city, that hangs on to the winners."