Feeling good about the Bears this season has been no easy task.
For every one-handed grab Brandon Marshall makes, Jay Cutler turns the ball over. For every dominating performance Willie Young or Kyle Fuller has, someone else struggles mightily. Hence the 3-5 record coming out of the bye week and heading into Lambeau Field for Sunday's showdown with Green Bay.
Other Chicago sports have done their best to provide distractions. The Bulls and Blackhawks are off to halfway decent starts, the Cubs have a new manager and the White Sox are raking in awards. They also give us a different way of examining what went down in the Bears-Packers game. We took the key plays and categorized them as:
Derrick Rose's ankles - Too painful to talk about.
Joel Quenneville's scowl - Puts you in a sour mood.
Joe Maddon's RV - You're happy when it shows up.
Jose Abreu's bat - Capable of carrying the team.
FIRST QUARTER
Maddon's RV: After missing the past three games, Lance Briggs takes down Eddie Lacy for no gain on the Packers' second play. Yeah, the Bears need a lot more of that.
Rose's ankles: Brandon Bostick catches a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers on fourth-and-goal from the 1. This speaks for itself.
Rose's ankles: Micah Hyde picks off Jay Cutler on the Bears' second drive as he tries to hit Martellus Bennett. Here we go.
Quenneville's scowl: First Cutler gets sacked, then Bears lineman Jermon Bushrod gets a penalty for smacking Julius Peppers in the helmet. Like that's going to do any good.
Score: Packers 14, Bears 0
SECOND QUARTER
Rose's ankles: Just when it looks like the Bears might force a Packers punt Jordy Nelson is wide open and catches a 73-yard touchdown pass.
Rose ankles: For the second straight drive, Rodgers hits Nelson for an incredibly easy TD pass, this time from 40 yards. It's legal to cover him, right?
Quenneville's scowl: Down 28-0, the Bears go for it on fourth-and-goal. Cutler almost throws an interception. Later, the Bears go for it on fourth-and-10 and Cutler gets sacked. Sounds about right.
Quenneville's scowl: Bears offensive lineman Jordan Mills leaves the game with a rib injury. Bears fans would ask what else could go wrong, but they know better by now.
Abreu's bat: OK, time to give Rodgers his due. He threw for 315 yards and six touchdowns in one half. One. Half. Maybe someday the Bears will have a quarterback like that. Maybe.
Score: Packers 42, Bears 0
SECOND HALF
OK, as much as we would have liked to continue our theme for this game, it just feels futile. (The Bears did finally score, which might be good news for your fantasy team.)
So instead, here are our favorite Bears-related tweets from the second half.
The #Bears' 42 points allowed in the first half is a new high, breaking the long-standing record of the Patriots' 38 points on 10/26/2014.
- Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) November 10, 2014
Who's excited for Jimmy Clausen and Matt Flynn? Coming soon to a TV near you!
- Melissa Jacobs (@thefootballgirl) November 10, 2014
No mustache on Trestman. No mustache. On Trestman. That is all.
- Coach Q's mustache (@CoachQsMustache) November 10, 2014
NBC sound effects dept. reconsidering policy of not playing slipping-on-banana-peel slide whistle noise when team screws up. #bears
- Matt Pais (@MattPais) November 10, 2014
Ok now I am starting to laugh. Wow.
- Patrick Mannelly (@PatrickMannelly) November 10, 2014
"I'm Rob Lowe. I coach the Packers.""I'm super creepy Rob Lowe. I coach the Bears."¿¿¿¿
- Richard Roeper (@richardroeper) November 10, 2014
THE PACKERS BLOCKED THE PUNT BY KICKING IT BEFORE THE PUNTER COULD http://t.co/HIbm9W68u2pic.twitter.com/v6atDA4REQ
- SB Nation (@SBNation) November 10, 2014
"I'll tell you what, man...Jay Cutler could spike the football & it would be one of his 3 most accurate passes tonight." - Gruden voice
- Frank Caliendo (@FrankCaliendo) November 10, 2014
OFFICIAL PETITION: Name Otter 681 #Bears head coach. http://t.co/cTjVe0h6tkpic.twitter.com/vcHmf3DYRj
- Mick (@swasko) November 10, 2014
New Years Eve alone #ThingsMoreFunThanThisBearsSeason
- Laura (@ReallyLaLa1) November 10, 2014
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Final score: Packers 55, Bears 14