Despite 15 carries and 122 rushing yards by running back David Montgomery, the Chicago Bears fell to the Green Bay Packers 27-10 on Sunday, September 18, at Lambeau Field.
In the first quarter the Bears jumped out to a 7-3 lead, thanks to a seven-play, 71-yard drive that was capped off by a three-yard touchdown run by quarterback Justin Fields.
The score was the first rushing touchdown for Fields this season and the third of his NFL career.
Bears running back David Montgomery also contributed offensively, surpassing the century mark in rushing for the first time this season. His 122 yards rushing on Sunday night was his second career 100-yard game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Montgomery’s rushing performance now stands as the third-highest rushing yardage total of his career.
“I did think there were some good things in there when you look at it. A lot of good things on offense in the second half,” said coach Matt Eberflus about his team’s performance. “Montgomery had a great performance tonight.”
In addition to Montgomery’s successful night, wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown hauled in a 30-yard reception in the first half. It was the third-longest reception of his career.
In spite of big plays by Montgomery and St. Brown, the offense managed to score only 10 points.
With the offense struggling, the Bears defense needed to step up. The defensive unit got to quarterback Aaron Rodgers three times on Sunday night. Defensive end Trevis Gipson got to him first, dropping Rodgers for a loss of four yards with 9:18 to go in the first quarter. It was Gipson’s first sack on the season and the eighth of his career.
Gipson added a second sack on the night with 7:15 to go in the second quarter. Sunday night marks Gipson’s second career multi-sack performance (January 2, 2022 vs. NYG). He finished with three QB hits and two tackles-for-loss in addition to the pair of sacks. The three QB hits are the most he’s had in a game in his career.
Defensive end Robert Quinn applied the pressure on Rodgers’ second sack, taking him down with 12:41 to go in the second quarter for a loss of 11 yards. It was his first of the 2022 NFL season and the 102nd sack of his career. Quinn has recorded 7.5 sacks in his career against the Packers, which is tied with the Rams’ Leonard Floyd for the most sacks among active players.
Defensive lineman Mike Pennel Jr. fell on an Aaron Rodgers fumble with 9:18 to go in the third quarter to give the Bears the ball back. The fumble recovery was the first of Pennel’s career.
Bears linebacker Nicholas Morrow matched a game-high 11 combined tackles (seven solo) in the game. It was the fourth time in Morrow’s career he’s recorded double-digit tackles in a game, the last time on January 21, 2021 at Denver as a member of the Raiders.
Bears linebacker Roquan Smith was one of three Bears with 10 or more tackles, finishing with 11 combined tackles. Smith has recorded 27 games in his career with double-digit tackles, with three of those performances coming against the Packers.
With the loss, the Bears are now 1-1 on the season. After building a 7-3 lead, the Bears were outscored 24-3 to close out the game.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
- Joseph Phillipshttps://chicagocrusader.com/author/joseph-phillips/
- Joseph Phillipshttps://chicagocrusader.com/author/joseph-phillips/
- Joseph Phillipshttps://chicagocrusader.com/author/joseph-phillips/
- Joseph Phillipshttps://chicagocrusader.com/author/joseph-phillips/