Staley Da Bear
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- Mar 16, 2019
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(2) The Bears defense did a decent job against star quarterback Aaron Rodgers but once again failed to generate any game-changing plays.
Rodgers completed 16 of 33 passes Sunday—marking the first time in 24 career starts against the Bears that he failed to connect on at least 50 percent of his throws. He also passed for just 203 yards—matching his exact total from the Packers’ 10-3 season-opening win over the Bears at Soldier Field.
What hurt the Bears most was their inability to take the ball away; the defense failed to generate a takeaway for the second straight game, the fifth time this season and the second time in as many contests against Green Bay this year. After leading the NFL with 36 takeaways and 27 interceptions last season, the Bears have produced 16 takeaways and eight picks this year.
The Bears excelled at playing complementary football last season, turning 18 of their 36 takeaways into 13 touchdowns and five field goals for a total of 107 points. This year they’ve converted 10 of their 16 takeaways into six TDs and four field goals for a total of 54 points.
Forcing no turnovers Sunday in Green Bay, the Bears started all 13 of their possessions in their own territory. With just one takeaway in their last three games, only one of the Bears’ 35 drives has started on their opponent’s side of the field—and that was after Anthony Miller recovered an onside kick with :07 remaining to clinch a win over the Cowboys Dec. 5 at Soldier Field.
(3) Akiem Hicks displayed a warrior mentality, leaving and returning to the game on multiple occasions while dealing with a painful elbow injury.
The veteran defensive tackle picked himself up off the canvas after writhing in pain more times than Rocky Balboa. Hicks aggravated the elbow injury that had forced him to miss eight games a couple times Sunday. But each time he went into the injury tent momentarily and then returned to the field.
Hicks, who played with a brace on his elbow, recorded four tackles and two quarterback hits. “I will say this in regards to how he played yesterday,” Nagy said Monday, “he was unbelievable. I thought he played lights out. Even all the stuff, fighting through the aggravations of the injury throughout the game, the way he played and the plays he made yesterday, that was fun. We missed that. That was fun to watch.”
Hicks didn’t wait long to make an impact. On Green Bay’s first two plays, he pressured Rodgers into an incomplete pass and then tackled running back Aaron Jones after a 4-yard run. On the second play of the Packers’ second possession, Hicks stopped Jones for a 1-yard gain.