The Chicago Bears fell far short of victory on Thursday night in their 23-10 loss at the hands of Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, and Bears fans weren't left with much good news to process. Running back Matt Forte suffered a high ankle sprain and had to leave the game, Jay Cutler got sacked seven times and hurried on at least 20 occasions, and Brandon Marshall failed to make an impact on the contest. The biggest issue over at Bears blog Windy City Gridiron was the mistakes that flowed from Cutler all night long. Steven Schweickert explains:
For whatever reason, Cutler's reads were not as sharp as they were on Sunday. Call it Dibeetus Night Vision, call it shirking away in prime time, whatever. In the third quarter, he lofts a high one to Kellen Davis, who can't get under it, the ball hits the safety square in the stomach, and drops. His second quarter interception just should not have been thrown. His third quarter interception was the product of 3rd and long and trying to force the ball into some very good coverage on Earl Bennett. And in the fourth quarter, the read was fine, but there was not enough distance on the throw - the underthrown ball just got picked up.
Meanwhile, the community of Packers fans at Acme Packing Company had the good fortune of being able to focus in on a dominant pass rush that bothered the Bears on nearly every passing play:
From the Bears' first series, it was obvious that the Packers' defense had a different strategy and level of intensity than they did last week. Dom Capers sent a blitz on the first play from scrimmage for the Bears, and a sack by D.J. Smith was the result. That was a regular occurrence in the first half, with the Packers picking up three first half sacks. Clay Matthews finished the game with 3.5 sacks, and the Packers picked up seven sacks on the night.
For more on the Packers, be sure to visit Acme Packing Company. Additional coverage on the Bears can be found at Windy City Gridiron, while SB Nation's NFL hub is the place to go for all of your pro football needs.
