Some observations from the Bears’ 35-16 loss to the Packers on Sunday at Soldier Field:
Botched coverage
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ 72-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the second quarter came after he noticed Bears defensive players looking unsure of themselves before the snap.
Rather than motion a running back into the backfield for protection, as was the plan, Rodgers kept him outside and got the snap as the play clock hit zero. Against a blitz, he found Valdes-Scantling matched up against the much-slower Danny Trevathan.
“[Rodgers] saw the matchup,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “He saw the confusion going on. I think those are the things that not everybody understands about a guy like Aaron, just what he’s capable of doing, how cool he is under pressure.”
Pass-rush problems
The last time the Bears faced Rodgers, they didn’t touch him. On Sunday, they hit him six times, and Khalil Mack sacked him once. It was disappointing, given the circumstances — on Thursday, Packers star left tackle David Bakhtiari suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice.
Quick replay
LaFleur threw the red replay flag — and lost a challenge — before a second had ticked off the clock. He argued the official ruling that Bears returner Cordarrelle Patterson had caught the opening kick while standing out of bounds down the left sideline. Had Patterson caught the ball inbounds and stepped out, it would have been the Bears’ ball at the 1. Instead, the Bears took over at the 40.
