“We just didn’t show the maturity and poise to win.” Ten words that could not have been more accurate regarding the Green Bay Packers 27-20 loss to the Chicago Bears Sunday night. Spoken by offensive lineman Mark Tauscher. The Packers need to become like the team that taught them a lesson on how to play big games. The Bears have been in big games recently and they never panicked, they just picked up their play and kicked the Packers butt all over Lambeau Field in the second half. Facts are facts.
This is just my personal opinion, but you have seen the pictures from Packernet and you know how close I am to the players, and this week I saw a significant difference between the demeanor of the Packers and the Bears. When the Bears left the field after their pre-game warmups, they were all business. And I mean business. There was no playing to the crowd or jumping around, they were in Lambeau for a reason. When the Packers left the field they reminded me of a high school team playing in front of a big crowd for the first time. Either they were overconfident or they were nervous.
Granted, the Packers did lead 20-10 after three quarters, and that’s the problem. They thought they had it won. The Bears knew it wasn’t over and when the Packers made a mistake they jumped on it and for all intents and purposes the game was over. The veteran Bears taught the upstart Packers how to win a big game when you have to. Now the Packers need to let this lesson be a message to them. Confidence is great, but you still have to play the game.
This week against the Washington Redskins we will find out a great deal about head coach Mike McCarthy. Coming off a loss in which the offense was totally shut down in the second half the Packers face the NFL’s third-ranked defense in a game the Packers have to win to prove they are for real. A two-game losing streak heading into the bye week, both at Lambeau, mind you, would leave the Packers’ 4-0 start a fluke. What a cruel thing a 16-game schedule can be.
Personally, I am not that terribly upset about last night’s loss. The Packers weren’t going to go 16-0 and losing to the NFC Champions, albeit a struggling champion, is not the end of the world. Turning the ball over five times will get you beat by anybody in the NFL.
I am a little worried about the vaunted Packers’ defense. They have been stout against the run but the last few weeks they have been a sieve against the pass. Little pass rush and heralded cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson have gotten off to slow starts. Linebacker Brady Poppinga couldn’t cover my grandmother. Poppinga was a huge factor in the Bears’ win yesterday. Something has to be done with that position soon.
Finally, while I think it was probably more what the Bears did than the play calling, I do think McCarthy made some major blunders. Both challenges he used where terrible calls and both cost the team valuable timeouts. Had the Packers had one of those lost TOs prior to the last play, who knows. Hopefully the coach learned a lesson as well.
I certainly am happy with 4-1, but the bar is raised. A loss at home to the Redskins will be simply unacceptable.