NFL
Packers Humiliate Bears 31-7 at Lambeau, Love Throws for 367 in Ditka Tribute Game
This was supposed to mean something. The first Bears game since Mike Ditka died, the man who made Chicago football matter, and the Bears walked into Lambeau Field and got embarrassed 31-7 by the Packers. Jordan Love carved them up for 367 yards and 2 touchdowns on 25 of 31 passing. The Bears turned it over five times. It was over early and it never got close.
Caleb Williams missed his third straight game with the hamstring, and whatever hope the backup plan offered died fast. Tyson Bagent got benched in the fourth quarter for Case Keenum. Let that sink in. The Bears benched their backup quarterback in a blowout loss. When your season reaches the "let's see what the 38-year-old has" stage in Week 5, things have gone sideways.
The turnovers tell the story better than anything. Five of them. You cannot turn it over five times at Lambeau and expect anything but a long flight home. The Packers did whatever they wanted on offense while the Bears offense looked like a group that met in the parking lot before the game. Both teams walk out 3-2, but they are not the same 3-2. One of them looks like a contender. The other looks lost.
And it happened on Ditka week. The Bears wore their grief into the most hostile building in the division and laid the single most lifeless egg of the young season. Coach would have had words for this one, and none of them printable.
What it means
The Bears are at a crossroads in Week 5 and that is not a sentence anyone wanted to write. Caleb Williams has to get healthy and stay healthy, because the alternative is a quarterback rotation nobody believes in. The defense that was supposed to carry this team just gave up 31 at Lambeau. The Packers, meanwhile, look every bit the class of the NFC North. Love is dealing, the offense is humming, and they just buried their oldest rival on a day Chicago desperately wanted to win one for Coach.
Key Facts
- Final: Packers 31, Bears 7 at Lambeau Field.
- Jordan Love: 25 of 31, 367 yards, 2 TDs.
- Bears turnovers: 5.
- Caleb Williams: Missed third straight game (hamstring).
- QB change: Tyson Bagent benched for Case Keenum in the fourth quarter.
- Records: Both teams 3-2.
- Context: First Bears game since Mike Ditka died at 86.
VIA game coverage. The Sports Nus Chicago desk.