Five Bears whose stock went up or down in NFL Week 14 loss to Packers

The Chicago Bears learned the hard way what happens when they underperform and need another fourth-quarter comeback.

The Green Bay Packers defeated their NFC North rivals 28-21 on Sunday at Lambeau Field to take first place in the division.

Caleb Williams and the Bears’ offense finished the first half with just 32 passing yards and three points. They started to find their rhythm in the second half, but it was too much of a deficit to overcome.

The Bears tied the score at 21 with eight minutes left, but the Packers answered with a touchdown on their next possession with 3:32 remaining. Chicago’s offense had one last opportunity and marched to the Green Bay 14, but Williams’ fourth-and-1 pass with 27 seconds left was intercepted in the end zone.

The Bears (9-4) will have plenty of opportunities to learn from this loss, but they must respond quickly, especially since the Packers (9-3-1) are scheduled to visit Soldier Field in two weeks for a rematch that could determine the NFC North champion.

Here are the five Bears players who rose and lowered their stock in the Week 14 matchup.

The Bears’ rookie running back was meant to play in the Black and Blue Division.

Monangai’s 3-yard run in the second quarter perfectly sums up his physical style, as he made contact with Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, who lost a piece of his helmet from the hit.

The Bears finished the drive with a field goal that trimmed the Packers’ lead to 7-3.

Later in the third quarter, after the Bears’ first second-half drive resulted in Williams’ TD pass to Olamide Zaccheaus, head coach Ben Johnson elected to try a two-point conversion. Johnson called a run for Monangai, and he initially was stopped short of the goal line. However, he kept his legs moving, and Bears offensive linemen Drew Dalman and Joe Thuney helped push the rookie into the end zone to convert.

Monangai finished with 57 yards on 14 carries, and backfield mate D’Andre Swift added 63 yards on another 13 rushing attempts.

The Bears’ first-round draft pick continues to come up big.

This time, Loveland made a 1-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 21.

With Rome Odunze ruled out because of an injury, the Bears needed a collective effort to replace their star receiver’s production. Loveland did his part, with four catches on five targets for 29 yards and the TD.

The 6-foot-6, 241-pound tight end made a 10-yard reception on third-and-5 to keep the Bears’ offense on the field on their third-quarter TD drive. Zaccheaus scored five plays later.

Loveland now has four TD catches this season, putting him second on the team behind Odunze, who has six.

Kyler Gordon injured his groin during pregame warmups and was ruled out. Normally, losing a starting nickel cornerback so close to kickoff would be detrimental to a defense, but the Bears have a quality backup in Gardner-Johnson.

The seven-year NFL veteran created the first takeaway of the game when he intercepted a Jordan Love pass on the Packers’ first possession. Love had thrown just three picks all season before that.

After that, Gardner-Johnson’s play declined. He gave up a third-quarter touchdown to Christian Watson on a quick slant, as Love quickly got the ball out of his hands to his receiver, who outran the Bears defender for a 41-yard score.

Gardner-Johnson, who did finish with a team-high 10 tackles, missed a fourth-quarter tackle on Packers running back Josh Jacobs and allowed an 18-yard pass to Jayden Reed.

Jackson had a tough game from a pass-blocking perspective.

Per Pro Football Focus, the Bears’ veteran guard gave up two quarterback pressures and ended with a 49.3 pass-blocking grade, the worst on the team in this game. Chicago’s offense couldn’t establish any passing-game rhythm, especially in the first half, and Jackson played a part in that unit not being as consistent against Green Bay.

Jackson also didn’t have his best game as a run blocker, finishing with a 57.0 grade in that category, per PFF. That’s Jackson’s third-lowest mark this season, and in the previous two weeks against the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, he had 71.4 and 73.3 grades, respectively.

Jackson is capable of playing better, and he’ll have to show that against the Cleveland Browns next Sunday and in the Week 16 rematch against the Packers at Soldier Field.

The Bears’ No. 1 cornerback has been ramping up since he returned from a groin injury last week. He still was on load management against the Packers, but when he did see reps, he gave up some plays.

Watson beat Johnson on a slant route for 6 yards on Green Bay’s first possession, but Love ended up throwing an interception to end that drive. However, with 38 seconds before halftime, Love threw a 45-yard TD pass to Bo Melton to give the Packers a 14-3 lead.

The Bears initially had two high safeties with Kevin Byard III and Jaquan Brisker. Byard moved up, though, which vacated a zone. Tom Brady, Fox Sports analyst and seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback, provided his expert analysis on the play.

“Zone coverage by the Bears’ defense, and it looks like two deep,” Brady said, “but when Byard sinks in, Jaylon Johnson needs to take his place in the back half of the field. When he gets nosey with Jayden Reed, then Melton gets behind it.”

Johnson played 35 total defensive snaps and gave up two receptions on two targets for 25 yards, per PFF.

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