Week 13 Preview: As Packers Come Calling, Rodgers Bears Ownership May Be At Stake
Bears fail big without Justin Fields, who looks to make a big return in the rivalry game
If the last game didn’t show you how important Justin Fields is to the Chicago Bears offense, I’m not sure what will.
Without their starting quarterback in Week 12, as he was sidelined with a shoulder injury, the Bears turned to six-year veteran Trevor Siemian.
On the other side, the New York Jets also forced a back up signal caller to step up to the plate in Mike White. That substitution worked much better, as White led the Jets to a 31-10 thrashing of the Bears, who fell to 3-9 on the season.
But it should be understood just how different the situations are in New York and in Chicago — the Jets were and continue to be a potential playoff team in search of a QB, the Bears are a QB who’s waiting on a team to be built around him.
As Justin Fields continues to wait, he’ll also continue trying to make the most out of the games in front of him, meaning that his clean bill of health coming from Friday’s practice almost certainly means he’ll be playing this Sunday against Green Bay, especially given news of Simian’s season-ending surgery.
And that’s to say nothing of the importance of this rivalry game, which for once seems to be back within grasp of the Bears competitively, given the Pack’s precipitous drop out of the ranks of NFC playoff competitors.
Injuries Galore
As if the losses themselves weren’t enough, the injuries accompanying them are becoming too much for the Bears to bear.
Just as Fields’ late shoulder issues punctuated the down day in Atlanta two weeks ago, against the Jets a couple more Bears fell and represented another lost Sunday even more than the final score.
Chicago’s top receiver, Darnell Mooney, left the game early in the second half after injuring his left leg while blocking for running back David Montgomery. On Monday, coach Matt Eberflus announced Monday that Mooney will require surgery to repair his ankle and will miss the remainder of the season. This potential breakthrough season ends with only 493 yards and two touchdowns on 40 receptions for Mooney.
Meanwhile, Eddie Jackson, whose 2022 was much more of a return to Pro Bowl-level form, is also dealing with a bitter interruption to his season. Jackson exited the Jets game early with a foot injury that was later diagnosed as a Lisfranc injury. On Tuesday news came that Jackson, like Mooney, was also on the injured reserve.
Though Jackson could possibly return after the designated four games missed on IR, its likely, with only one game after that period, that his season is over as well.
Add on the lingering concussions issues of rookie defensive back standouts Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon and the Bears are once again reaching deep in their reserves to simply field a full defense this week.
In the light of the defensive health struggles, the effort that Fields is making to take the field Sunday couldn’t be more appreciated.
“I feel better than I did last Wednesday, for sure,” said Fields at this past Wednesday’s press conference.
“I’m just going to go out there and if I feel like I can help my team win, help my team score…then I'm going to play.”
Mind Games?
The decision to sit Fields against the Jets was not announced until 90 minutes before game time.
All week it was assumed that if Fields was out, Siemian would make the start, but leading up to game time it was reported that in fact third-stringer Nathan Peterman would be the starter.
This was a surprise to many as Peterman was just activated off the practice team on Friday, but it turns out that was a needed move as Siemian was dealing with an oblique injury.
As Bears fans were settling with the bleak prospects of Peterman leading the game, once things started, the QB that ran out to the field was Siemian and he would be the only person to play the position for the day, not even emergency QB David Montgomery would be needed.
A more conventional pocket passer than anyone else the Bears have, Siemian began his day completing six of his first eight passes, including a 31-yard bomb to Chase Claypool that extended a drive which led to a touchdown pass to Byron Pringle that put the Bears in front 10-7 within the first minute of the second quarter.
Unfortunately, that was the last time the Bears would get on the scoreboard — the Jets proceeded to score 24 unanswered points on their way to a convincing victory.
White Hot
The main reason for that offensive explosion from the Jets was their backup quarterback Mike White, who was making only his fourth career start on Sunday.
White’s epic day saw him throw for 315 yards on 22 of 28 passing. Simian, by the way, went 14 of 25 for 179 yards with an interception to go with his touchdown.
Surprisingly, given the few starts in his career, last Sunday’s numbers weren’t career high’s for White. Last Halloween, White threw for a whopping 405 yards on 37 of 45 passing in a win over the Bengals.
Against the Bears, White was able to constantly feed his hot-shot young receivers in Garrett Wilson and Elijah Moore, who combined for 159 yards and three touchdowns.
And beyond the passing game, the Jets may have found a new candidate to be their lead back in 21-year-old Zonovan Knight, who ran for 69 yards on 14 attempts in his NFL debut. The Jets have been searching for production at that position since losing Breece Hall for the season after he tore his ACL late in October.
This was a key win for the Jets, who have their sights on the AFC playoffs and are now 7-4 in a stacked East division that features all four teams over the .500 mark.
Packer Week
Aaron Rodgers may be bruised, but he’s far from broken.
After leaving Sunday night’s game against the Eagles in the fourth quarter with a rib injury, Rodgers was already speaking confidently about his playing the Bears by the time of his weekly appearance with Pat McAfee on Tuesday.
Indeed, Rodgers did not have an injury designation on Friday, so he’s set to try and sweep the Bears in their season series Green Bay for the fourth straight season.
In the first, the Packers did so much of what they always do to beat the Bears, including Rodgers throwing for 234 yards and two touchdowns on 19 of 25 pass attempts while unning back Aaron Jones ran through the Bears' defense with 132 yards and a touchdown in the 27-10 Green Bay victory.
Just about to a man, the remaining healthy Bears defenders spoke plainly about having another chance at the Packers this week.
“We hit them all game, they gonna tuck it in,” defensive lineman Justin Jones said. “Hit (Rodgers) hard, hit him often, that’s the plan.”
The September win was the start of a three-game win streak for the Packers. Since that streak, they have only won a single game.
Green Bay may have its ownership stake in the Bears up to date, but it walks into Soldier Field with a 4-8 record, sitting only a game above the last-place Bears in the NFC North.
With a 23-5 career record against the Bears, the former California Golden Bear will look to feast on a defense that just got torn up by Mike White but he won’t be the only one looking to feast.
Physically, Fields should be all systems go if he’s gonna touch the field at all on Sunday and just as A-Rod looks across at a defense that’s ripe for aerial picking, JF1 sees one in Green Bay that just allowed 157 rushing yards to Jalen Hurts in prime time.
Meanwhile, the NFC North standings will not be affected by this game, but the draft standings will.
If the draft took place today, the Bears would pick second overall and the Packers would pick eighth. The stakes are different in this one, but the heart of the NFL’s oldest rivalry still beats intensely.
The Bears and Packers kick off Sunday at Noon at Soldier Field.
Bear Tracks
Bears who are OUT for Week 13: S Jaquan Brisker (concussion), OT Larry Borom (ankle/knee), CB Kyler Gordon (concussion), QB Trevor Simeon (oblique).
Coach Matt Eberflus announced Friday that quarterback Trevor Siemian’s oblique injury requires surgery and will miss the remainder of the season. Nathan Peterman now moves into the backup position.
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Saul Rodriguez is WARR Media’s associate producer and lead Bears reporter