Week 4 Recap: Packers Embarrass Bears, Bears Embarrass Themselves
After Sunday’s win over the Bengals, the Packers had plenty of obvious questions and concerns. The offensive line was in rough shape prior to the game and Bryan Bulaga banged up his ankle again, only for Kyle Murphy to end up on injured reserve midweek.
Ty Montgomery, meanwhile, was coming off a historically bad game, producing just 50 yards on 20 touches while still putting a lot of wear and tear on his body, taking virtually every snap on offense.
The defense, meanwhile, was battered and bruised by Joe Mixon, couldn’t get a consistent pass rush, and were mired in a turnover drought, having gone since the third quarter of week one without a takeaway.
All that changed against the Bears.
The offensive line, battered though it was, kept Aaron Rodgers relatively clean en route to four touchdown passes. Ty Montgomery, prior to leaving the game with broken ribs, posted 28 yards on five carries. The defense, meanwhile, was everywhere, forcing Mike Glennon into two interceptions and bottling up the Bears’ run game.
But as much as the Packers pummeled the Bears, the Bears took every opportunity to beclown themselves.
On top of his two interceptions, Glennon had two embarrassing fumbles in the first quarter, the second an errant shotgun snap that ricocheted off his knee right into the waiting arms of the Packers defense. His inability to hang on to the ball led to, of all things, a social media war of words between the Bears… and a candy bar.
Butterfinger beat the Bears badly, but that wasn’t the last of it for Chicago.
Late in the third quarter, linebacker Danny Trevathan launched an egregiously brutal hit on Davante Adams, who left the game on a gurney and was rushed to a hospital for evaluation for head and neck injuries and a concussion.
Trevathan was flagged but not ejected for his hit, and if there was anything wrong with it, it appeared to be news to him. While Adams laid motionless on the field, Trevathan chose to jaw with Packers players, apparently indignant over what was clearly an unnecessary hit.
The Bears coaching staff, meanwhile, seemed to agree with Trevathan’s assessment of the situation, leaving him on the field for the remainder of the game. Even without an ejection, it was puzzling to see the Bears take no action themselves, especially given the exchanges between Trevathan and Packers players that seemed destined for an escalation.
Even with as bad of a beating as the Packers put on the Bears, it hardly seems to compare with the level of embarrassment the Bears heaped on themselves.
Four and out
1 - Clay Matthews picked a pretty impressive way to break the Packers all-time sack record. With his strip sack of Mike Glennon in the first quarter, Matthews moved past Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila into first place in Packers history in sacks. The turnover put the Packers in position to go up 14-0 early and set the tone for the entire defensive effort.
2 - Something is going on with Damarious Randall. Randall spent virtually the entire second half on the sidelines, sitting on the bench without his helmet before moving to the locker room. According to multiple reports from Packers beat writers, Randall was not dealing with any kind of injury, but he still gave up his spot to Josh Hawkins. Keep a keen eye on this story.
3 - Aaron Rodgers’ weird start to 2017 continues. We wrote this week about how Aaron Rodgers is off to a weird start this year, and that continued this week. Though he was impressive, it’s also the first time in his career he’s thrown for four or more touchdowns while throwing for 200 yards or fewer. It’s just the fourth time since 1950 that a Packers quarterback has put up a line like that.
4 - If running backs Ty Montgomery and Jamaal Williams both miss time, the Packers have quite the backup plan. Rookie Aaron Jones, the team’s fifth round pick this year, scored his first NFL touchdown and ran hard. Not only that, but the Packers have a third rookie running back remaining on the roster. Devante Mays wasn’t active for Thursday’s game, but he contributed in the run and pass game in the preseason and packs quite a punch with his 5-11, 230 pound frame.