Packers vs. Bears: Full Report Card Grades for Green Bay
It wasn't always pretty, but the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 26-10 at home on Thursday night, improving their record to 4-2 in the last of their stretch of four games at Lambeau Field.
In fact, contrary to what has been the norm this season, the Packers offense looked pretty good at times en route to the win.
This was not a balanced football game on offense for the Packers, in part due to the fact both the team's running backs, Don Jackson and Knile Davis, were only added or activated to the active roster in the week preceding the game. In 81 total plays, Aaron Rodgers attempted 56 passes, while the team ran the ball 23 times. Many of those times, it was wide receivers carrying the ball out of the backfield.
On defense, the Packers were stout, holding Chicago to 189 total yards and twice intercepting Matt Barkley, who came on the field in place of an injured Brian Hoyer.
Let's take a closer look at each Packers position group and hand out some grades for Week 7.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Thursday night almost went badly for Rodgers. The Packers went into halftime without having scored a touchdown, though that wasn't entirely the signal-caller's fault; Randall Cobb dropped one sure touchdown catch, and on another, Cobb couldn't get both feet down in the end zone.
Rodgers also fumbled the ball in the third quarter, part of an alarming trend of the usually sure-handed quarterback lacking basic ball security. That brings his total number of fumbles on the season to six.
But as if sensing that a Packers turnaround hinged on his shoulders, Rodgers got the offense moving after that mistake. In the third quarter, he connected with Davante Adams on a quick five-yard pass for a touchdown.
In the fourth quarter, Rodgers built on that momentum, finding Adams again for a touchdown. He then finally found Cobb on the pair's third attempt at a score.
Rodgers attempted a whopping 56 passes and completed 39 of them, a career-high total, per ESPN. He would have had five touchdowns had Cobb been able to bring them in, so while he lost points for the fumble, he gained a lot back for those red-zone attempts.
Grade: B
Running Back
2 of 10
The Packers had two halfbacks on the gameday roster Thursday in Jackson and Davis, but they didn't do much of anything, amassing four attempts for seven yards between the two of them.
The real stars of the backfield Thursday night were none other than wide receivers Ty Montgomery and Cobb.
Montgomery had nine rushing attempts for 60 yards, including one 30-yard breakaway that showed off his speed. Cobb added another five carries for 21 yards.
So while those players with a running back designation didn't contribute much against Chicago, we'll base the grade off the effectiveness of all the ball-carriers. And considering the contributions Montgomery and Cobb also made in the passing game and the fact they don't spend much of their time studying the rushing plays in the playbook, the grade is high.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver/Tight End
3 of 10
Montgomery wasn't only lighting up the backfield for the Packers on Thursday. In addition to his 60 rushing yards, Montgomery connected with Rodgers on 10 receptions for 66 yards.
But the big star of the night among the pass-catchers was Adams, someone many weren't sure would play Thursday. Adams had a whopping 13 receptions on 16 targets for 132 yards and scored two of the Packers' three touchdowns.
The third score belonged to Cobb, who could have had two more, but he couldn't bring them in in the end zone. Cobb added 95 yards on 11 receptions and made contributions in the backfield as well.
Jordy Nelson had a quiet night, with one lone reception, but Adams stepped up when the team needed him. The receivers still struggled to get open in man coverage, which is a problem the offense will continue to face as defenses craft similar game plans to beat it. But overall, it ended up being a big night for the Packers pass-catchers; Green Bay became only the second team in NFL history to have three players with 10 receptions in a game, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).
Richard Rodgers, on the other hand, provided nothing in the way of offense, which has become a worrisome trend for the tight ends.
Grade: A-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
For the first time this season, things got a little iffy on the Packers offensive line.
Rodgers was sacked twice, and one of them ended disastrously, with Rodgers fumbling the ball near Green Bay's end zone and the Bears' Leonard Floyd recovering it for a touchdown.
At the time, that put the Bears up 10-6, and the Packers didn't seem capable of generating the offense they would in the second half.
That unfortunate sack happened right after T.J. Lang had to come out of the game, Don Barclay replacing him. The Bears capitalized on the personnel change immediately and benefited from the weak link in the offensive line.
However, this offensive line also helped wide receivers gain 81 yards out of the backfield, so not all was bad.
Grade: B-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
For the second week in a row, defensive tackle Mike Pennel proved the Packers were wise to activate him in Week 6 following his four-game suspension.
He and the rest of the defensive front consistently beat Chicago's offensive line back, and at one point Pennel swatted down a Barkley pass.
Rookie Kenny Clark was disrupting the backfield and stopping the run, as he won his battles with the Bears' left guard. He was also making tackles downfield.
The Packers held the Bears to 64 rushing yards.
Grade: A-
Linebacker
6 of 10
There's no doubt the Packers defensive line had itself a great game when it came to executing on the fundamentals. But it was the linebackers who were making the flashy plays that show up on the stat sheet at the end of the night.
Outside linebacker Nick Perry had himself another game in what continues to be the best season of his career. Perry had three solo tackles, a sack and his first career interception. His case for a contract extension appears to be rock-solid.
Rookie inside linebacker Blake Martinez also got in on the picks party, intercepting Barkley toward the end of the game and getting so excited he started his celebration before he was down.
Finally, while no one ever wants to see a player get injured on the field, Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers combined on the sack that ended up taking Hoyer out of the game.
Grade: A
Secondary
7 of 10
The Packers secondary went into Thursday night's game missing Sam Shields, Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins and Chris Banjo.
And given LaDarius Gunter's performance against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6, there was cause for concern.
But Gunter looked like a different player Thursday. He had multiple passes broken up and tight coverage on top Bears wideout Alshon Jeffery, who was held to three receptions on 11 targets for just 33 yards.
Micah Hyde did get called for a pass-interference penalty but made some nice plays against the run, including a tackle for a one-yard loss on Jordan Howard and a tackle on Joshua Bellamy in the fourth quarter to bring up fourth down.
Demetri Goodson proved beatable, and the Bears targeted him. But he was only in his second week back on the active roster, and disaster was avoided.
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 10
Nothing gold can stay. After being perfect all year on field-goal and extra-point attempts, Mason Crosby had a 31-yard field goal blocked and missed an extra point.
For some reason, this always seems to happen against the Bears.
Still, Crosby did contribute the Packers' only points in the first half, so that has to count for something.
Jake Schum only punted once, for 46 yards. Nothing of note happened in the return game.
It was a quiet night overall for special teams, which unfortunately means Crosby's mistakes weigh a little heavier into the grade.
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 10
Heading into Week 7, fans were all but calling for Mike McCarthy's head after the loss to Dallas, frustrated with the Packers' predictable play-calling and the fact the head coach continued to run Eddie Lacy in Week 6 after he re-injured his ankle and when Green Bay was down 29-7.
Did McCarthy settle the firestorm, at least momentarily, with this win? Well, he figured out how to keep the offense from becoming one-dimensional with two halfbacks who, as of Monday, weren't even on the roster. He deserves some credit for that.
He also won a challenge. But then he lost one, so those cancel each other out. And one of the worst coaching decisions of the night was putting Davis back on a kick return when halfback Don Jackson was injured, meaning Davis was the only healthy halfback on the roster.
McCarthy was also feeling aggressive, going for it on 4th-and-4 from the Chicago 29 in the first quarter (successful) and later on 4th-and-1 from the Bears' 1-yard line at the end of that quarter (not successful).
The coach also told reporters he only found out at 1 p.m. Thursday that Adams, the leading receiver on the night, cleared the concussion protocol and would be available against the Bears. The adjustments he made to work him so effectively into the game plan are laudable.
But still, one somewhat ugly win does not undo a season of frustrating decision-making. The Packers need to convert in the red zone. They need to convert third downs. And they, for the love of God, need to work in different route concepts to get their receivers, who are so often oppressed by man coverage, open.
Grade: B-
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Quarterback | B |
| Running Back | B |
| Wide Receiver | A- |
| Offensive Line | B- |
| Defensive Line | A- |
| Linebacker | A |
| Secondary | B |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | B- |
| Final Grade | B |
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