Packers: The Good, the bad, and the ugly from win over Bears

Last night was a roller coaster of a game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. After the Bears jumped out to an early lead, the Packers didn’t panic and dominated the second half, giving them a 45-30 victory over their rivals.

There were plenty of really good things from this game, but at the same time, there might have been just as many bad and ugly things too. This Packers team is rolling right now, but there are still some things to work on and others that are completely out of their hands.

So let’s take a look at the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Packers’ latest victory.

The Good: The Packers offense is still rolling

Despite a slow start and Aaron Rodgers playing with a broken toe, the Green Bay offense was able to move the ball consistently against the Bears, particularly in the second half. The Packers put up 45 points on the Bears, all in the final three quarters. Thirty-eight of those were scored by the offense, the other seven came from a Rasul Douglas pick-six of Justin Fields.

Rodgers finished the game 29/37 for 341 yards and four touchdowns, good for a 141.1 passer rating. Once again, Rodgers was phenomenal. His play has me completely back on the Rodgers train. I don’t know how you can get rid of a guy who’s still playing this well. Make it work, Gute.

Davante Adams was Davante Adams, despite a hamstring injury that appeared this week. Jaylon Johnson did about as well as you could hope as a Bears fan, but at the end of the day, Adams still feasted. He finished with 10 catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Aaron Jones also seems to be back. He had a big game as well, scoring twice. Once on the ground and once through the air. He finished with 35 yards and a touchdown on the ground and five catches for 30 yards and a touchdown through the air. Then A.J. Dillon ground the Bears’ defense down at the end of the game, chewing up the clock and moving the ball.

Overall, despite injuries on the offensive line, this offense is still humming along.

The Bad: Injuries continue to pile up along the offensive line for the Packers

Injuries have been a problem for the Packers this season, especially along the offensive line. They started the year without All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari after he tore his ACL last year before the Packers’ playoff run. He had a minor setback and had to get his knee scoped, delaying his return just a bit longer.

Earlier in the year, starting rookie center Josh Myers also went down with an injury.

Luckily, Elgton Jenkins stepped right into that left tackle position and the Packers didn’t skip a beat. That is until he tore his ACL against the Minnesota Vikings.

Now last night, starting right tackle Billy Turner, who has been very good and extremely under-appreciated, went down with what looked like a knee injury and was quickly ruled out, which is never a good sign.

So now, the Packers have four starters out on the offensive line. Luckily for the Packers, Adam Stenavich has been an amazing offensive line coach and has worked wonders to keep that line intact and Rodgers off his back.

The Ugly: Special teams continues to be the Packers’ Achilles heel

I mean, where do I even begin? Every time the Packers had to punt or kick, Packers fans had to hold their breath last night just hoping the Bears wouldn’t return it for a touchdown. They punted one ball all the way down to the Bears’ three-yard line and the returner still juked out about four or five Packers and returned it for a touchdown.

I lost count of how many Chicago possessions started on their own 40-yard line or better. It got to the point where I joked that they should just kick it out of bounds to limit the returns. Next thing you know, Mason Crosby’s kickoff literally went out of bounds. It blew my mind.

On top of that, we can’t seem to find a competent kick/punt returner. Either they make a really stupid mistake letting one go or they muff a punt. I just don’t get it. The Packers’ special teams have been a mess for a long time. I’m not sure what the answer is.

Is it Maurice Drayton? Is it just the personnel that they have available? I’m not sure, but it needs to get fixed because the Packers aren’t always going to be playing a team like the Bears. A special teams performance like this in the playoffs could very well cost the Packers the season.