Green Bay Packers grade card: Position evaluations vs. Chicago Bears
Here's a position-by-position analysis of how the Green Bay Packers graded out during their 24-17 loss Sunday to the Chicago Bears.
Quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers (68.9 rating) missed touchdown throws to Equanimeous St. Brown and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, didn’t appear to trust his reads and ended up holding the ball too long on several occasions (five sacks). Grade: C-
Running backs: The Packers lost Aaron Jones to a knee injury early, which left Jamaal Williams (12 carries for 55 yards) to shoulder the load. Williams runs hard and had a 10-yard touchdown, but he isn’t as patient or explosive as Jones. Grade: C+
Offensive line: This could have been worse going against the Bears’ excellent defensive line. Guard Justin McCray had a tough time handling Akiem Hicks in the opener, and Lucas Patrick fared much better against him in this game — Hicks had three tackles and no quarterback hits. Khalil Mack had 2½ sacks but you can’t say he wrecked the Packers’ passing game while often matched against backup tackle Jason Spriggs. Grade: C
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Receivers: Davante Adams (eight catches for 119 yards) had his usual good game. Randall Cobb (three for 30) had a big drop in the fourth quarter. St. Brown (42 snaps) has blown past Valdes-Scantling (21 snaps) in the playing rotation, but neither made a play of note Sunday. Grade: C+
Tight ends: Bears linebacker Roquan Smith probably got a hand on the pass at the goal line to Jimmy Graham that ended up being a carom and interception in the fourth quarter, but Graham has had trouble catching the ball since he injured his thumb, and you have to wonder if that was a factor, too. Lance Kendricks had four catches and Graham three, but nobody made a play. Grade: C
Defensive line: Dean Lowry and Tyler Lancaster held up well without Kenny Clark (inactive, elbow) and Mike Daniels. The Bears averaged only 3.3 yards a carry, and that includes quarterback Mitch Trubisky picking up 16 yards on three scrambles. The inside pass rush suffered without Clark, though. Grade: B-
Inside linebackers: Basically, this is a grade for Blake Martinez, who usually is the lone inside linebacker on the field. He quarterbacked the defense but had trouble getting off blocks and didn’t make any eye-catching plays (four tackles). Grade: C+
Outside linebackers: Clay Matthews had a sack and Kyler Fackrell held the edge against the run, but the outside rush was spotty, and Reggie Gilbert couldn’t bring down Trubisky when he had a chance at a sack. Grade: B-
Cornerback: The Packers had no interceptions against a quarterback who had thrown 12 in 11 games coming in. Jaire Alexander gave up a 30-yard gain early when he went for a breakup on a short pass, which allowed Allen Robinson a 30-yard catch and run. Rookie cornerback Josh Jackson (40 snaps) didn’t tackle well and appeared to get benched for a while. Grade: C
Safeties: Eddie Pleasant filled in the run game OK, and neither Tramon Williams nor Josh Jones allowed a big play over the top. But no playmaking here, either. Grade: C+
Special teams: JK Scott hit a short (39 yards), low punt that allowed for a key 44-yard return by Tarik Cohen that set up a field goal with the Packers down by seven in the fourth quarter. Grade: C-