The Green Bay humbled the Chicago Bears and head coach Ben Johnson at Lambeau Field on Week 5 in a game that served as a proverbial slap in the face to the Windy City franchise.
Green Bay built a 14-7 halftime lead, but unlike the last two meetings between the NFC North Division rivals, there was no quarterback Caleb Williams and no second-half magic from Johnson. In fact, it was the exact opposite.
The Packers hammered the Bears in the second half, forcing Tyson Bagent to the bench after two interceptions. All told, the Green Bay defense forced four turnovers on the day and embarrassed what was the No. 1 ranked offense based on overall yardage production in the NFL heading into Sunday.
Johnson was the focus of some intense criticism from analysts in the aftermath of the loss, during which the head coach refused to check his own obstinate ego.
I LOVE Ben Johnson. He’s won this team a lot of games since taking over as the HC. That said, the level of hubris shown today has played a big part in why they are getting their asses beat,” Aaron Leming of Windy City Gridiron wrote on X. “The refusal to swap QBs when it mattered. Repeating the same failed calls over & over. The list goes on. Have to take this as a learning experience not to change who you are during big games like this. Let’s hope Caleb is ready to roll for ATL. Won’t be an easy game, especially with this defense coming back to earth. #Bears.”
Bears Dearly Missed Caleb Williams Against Packers in Week 5
Part of the team’s issue on Sunday was the absence of Williams, who the Bears offense missed exponentially more against the Packers than in either of the two previous games.
Chicago entered the week as the No. 1 offense in the league, averaging 429 yards through the first four games of the year. The Bears posted just 246 yards against the Packers and turned the football over four times, including three interceptions.
The Bears were also No. 1 in rushing the football with 196.3 yards per outing. Absent Kyle Monangai on Sunday, the team managed just 81 yards on the ground.
“No one should question what Caleb means to the Chicago Bears anymore. This is the first blowout Packer win since Caleb has been drafted and it comes during the first game he’s ever missed against them,” the 79th & Halas podcast posted to X. “Without Caleb, the Bears struggled to move the ball more than 6 yards at a time. Some fans clamored for Tyson Bagent to start for reasons I cannot figure out (I know why). This is the result of it.”
Bears HC Ben Johnson Called Out After Packers Embarrassment