Bears @ Packers
Final Score: Packers 45, Bears 30
Writer: Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter)
This historical rivalry got the Sunday Night spotlight and Aaron Rodgers and the Packers didn’t disappoint. The Bears came into Lambeau Field looking to make the Packers and Rodgers pay for the “I own you” bit in Week 6. This game was looking like a shootout in the first half but ended up being a runaway game for the Packers in the second half. The game result was Green Bay Packers 45, Chicago Bears 30.
Chicago Bears
Quarterback
Justin Fields: 18/33, 224 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT | 9 carries, 74 yards
Justin Fields 😬 pic.twitter.com/3ynDm1zuxq
— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) December 13, 2021
Justin Fields had a tale of two halves type of day. If you saw him play the first half you would’ve thought this guy is really something special. Fields was scrambling well and getting outside of the pocket to extend plays. He got a couple of easy touchdowns in the form of an end-around to Jakeem Grant and a slant pass that Damiere Byrd took for 54 yards. Except for his misread on the pick-six by Rasoul Douglas, Fields was borderline outplaying Aaron Rodgers in the first half.
It was in the second half that the Bears started looking like DA Bears we all know and love. Fields had the weight of the team on him the entire second half. The Bears literally went into the half up and came out in the second half and ran the ball on the ground three times. Fields went 10/22 for 82 yards, an interception, and a fumble in the second half. That’s how you sabotage your rookie QB. This is a guy with a lot of talent and he’s finally getting confident using his 4.4 speed, so obviously, the answer in Matt Nagy’s head is to throw it as much as possible and take away their advantages.
This was an incredibly mismanaged second half and makes me feel bad for Fields. Overall, he’s got a lot of potential and should be someone to trust in fantasy as a Superflex option someday.
Running Back
David Montgomery: 10 carries, 42 yards | 7 targets, 6 receptions, 39 yards
Damien Williams: 2 carries, 13 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 4 yards
Khalil Herbert: 1 carry, 3 yards
David Montgomery ran the ball in the first half and was retired in the second half…not really, but he only got one carry for two yards after halftime. He was averaging 4 YPC in the first half and the Bears decided to go away from that in a tight game. This essentially put all the workload on Fields, the rookie who hasn’t played amazing this year. Montgomery earned a bunch of check-down passes late in the game which helped bolster his line for PPR, but otherwise, it was a disappointment of a game. Damien Williams wasn’t effective as a runner in this game but was a penalty away from scoring on a punt return fumble that he recovered and took to the house.
Sheesh, @AustinEkeler. #BoltUp
📺: #LACvsPHI on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/vUeueH1L9n— NFL (@NFL) November 7, 2021
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Damiere Byrd: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 76 yards, TD
Jakeem Grant Sr: 3 targets, 1 reception, 46 yards, TD | 97-yard punt return TD
Darnell Mooney: 5 targets, 1 reception, 19 yards
Cole Kmet: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 17 yards
Allen Robinson: 6 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards
Jimmy Graham 3 targets, 2 receptions, 9 yards
Fields answers back.
Damiere Byrd goes 54 YARDS for the @ChicagoBears touchdown! #DaBears
📺: #CHIvsGB on NBC
📱: https://t.co/ptqAMuLpIh pic.twitter.com/4qS3nfKpzz— NFL (@NFL) December 13, 2021
Jakeem Grant Sr. was absolutely electric in this game collecting, the team’s first TD of the game on an end-around pop pass that went for 46 yards. His speed on the sideline was something special, but his 97-yard punt return was incredible. At one point he ran backward for a few yards to set up his running lane to the house. This guy needs to see the field more often with the Bears out of playoff contention. Damiere Byrd was another speedster that broke loose in this game, finding a gap in coverage to slip by while running a slant that turned into a 54-yard sprint to the endzone. Darnell Mooney was a huge letdown in this game as he caught a pass for 19 yards on the very first drive but failed to reel in any of his other four targets. On one target he helped break up an interception, while he was also overthrown on Fields’ final pass of the game. Allen Robinson just doesn’t seem to have a rapport with Justin Fields as the two continue to struggle to get anything going.
Green Bay Packers
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers: 29/37, 341 yards, 4 TD
TOUCHDOWN @AllenLazard!
A 2-yard pass from @AaronRodgers12 on fourth down! #ProBowlVote | #CHIvsGB | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/z8yFAtPmkL
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 13, 2021
Aaron Rodgers gave a master class today to the Bears. Early in the game the Bears were getting good pressure, getting sacks, and forcing bad throws but once Rodgers got it going he couldn’t be stopped. Early on it seemed like Rodgers and Davante Adams weren’t going to be the connection, as Adams was relatively ineffective until the last drive of the first half. This opened the door for other wide receivers, as Allen Lazard was the first TD recipient on a two-yard pass. After an interception return for a TD by the Packers injected some life into the stadium, Adams finally woke up and caught a 38 yard TD pass while side-stepping the safety into the corner.
This was just the beginning, as the second half started with Rodgers and Adams connecting for 28 yards on two receptions, and letting Aaron Jones handle the rest with a three-yard rushing TD. After a fumble, the Packers came back on the field for one play, Rodgers to Jones in there for six. Rodgers was heating up, and about three drives later Rodgers would hit Adams for their second TD of the game and essentially finish off the Bears.
Rodgers was nuclear in the second half and it only took consistency with his number one target Davante Adams. He did come out after the game and say that his toe is “worse” and it may end up being an issue if he can’t go for Packers. As we’ve seen, Jordan Love is not ready and may never be, so whether it’s fantasy or regular football losing Rodgers would be astronomical.
Running Back
A.J. Dillon: 15 carries, 71 yards
Aaron Jones: 5 carries 31 yards, TD | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 30 yards, TD
Kurt Benkert: 2 carries, -1 yard
A 23-yard TD pass from @AaronRodgers12 to @Showtyme_33! #ProBowlVote | #CHIvsGB | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/M5AfZV0bHE
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 13, 2021
Aaron Jones looks to have a new role in this offense and I don’t mind it. In this game, the Packers were running A.J. Dillon as the main back and he looked really good as a bruiser. He had a great motor in this game and was doing his best to fall forward on most runs. This left Jones to be the main scoring back as he caught a 23-yard TD and ran in for a 3-yard rushing TD. If this is how they start using this RB corps then we’re going to see the Packers start dominating more games. I mean, they were saving their best back’s energy for scoring situations, almost guaranteeing they’d hit paydirt. Overall I like both these guys’ fantasy value, they are talented and offer upside for fantasy managers.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Davante Adams: 13 targets, 10 receptions, 121 yards, 2 TD
Allen Lazard: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 75 yards, TD
Mercedes Lewis: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 51 yards
Josiah Deguara: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 44 yards
Marquez Valdes-Scantling: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards
.@AaronRodgers12 to @tae15adams for the DEEP TD! 🙌 #ProBowlVote | #CHIvsGB | #GoPackGo
📺 NBC pic.twitter.com/OjQZn1hHvG
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 13, 2021
Allen Lazard, where has this guy been? He filled in nicely in the first half catching four passes for 58 yards and a TD. This included a 38-yard bomb that made my jaw drop, I didn’t know he could jump that high. While Davante Adams was waiting for the second half, Lazard was having himself a first half to remember. Adams actually came alive at the end of the first half, on the last drive he made a beautiful catch, and then like a bullfighter he Ole’d the safety right into the corner, walking in for a 38 yard TD. Like I said, his day was just getting started as he would get 65 of his 121 yards in the second half and add on to his impressive day with a second TD. Mercedes Lewis and Josiah Deguara have tried to fill the Robert Tonyan role, and both were good combining for 7 receptions and 95 receptions. The overall outlook on this receiving corp was that the WR2 position isn’t filled by anyone, and is really a game-time decision, so for fantasy managers they probably want no shares of either Lazard or Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Adams is the guy you want in this offense as long as Rodgers is the QB
— Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter)