Instant reaction: The Chicago Bears get SMOKED by Jordan Love and the Packers in season opener

No Aaron Rodgers, no problem.

Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers picked up where No. 12 left off, rolling their way to a 38-20 victory at the Soldier Field on Sunday.

Here are our quick reactions to the giant disaster on the lakefront:

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Adam Hoge

Well, whatever the worst case scenario was… that was worse. The Bears were thoroughly outplayed and outcoached in every facet of that football game. Save the “it’s only Week 1” talk. Aaron Rodgers is gone and there’s just no excuse to be embarrassed by your rival like that. You can question EVERYTHING after that performance.

Mark Carman

You would have had a hard time scripting a worse opening week nightmare. Green Bay dominated the Bears again on third down with Jordan Love having all the time in the world to pick apart a Bears defense that could not cover a mediocre — at best —  receiving group playing without Christian Watson. The Bears were outplayed and outcoached by 7 miles. Luke Getsy has a lot to answer for his curious at best play calling which featured a designed run in the fourth quarter with the Bears down 31-14. Whatever optimism the Bears had coming into the season has evaporated in one week. 

Will DeWitt

What a pitiful performance by this team. It started bad and only got worse as the game wore on. Good luck trying to find a silver lining in this one. For all of the “improvement” that supposedly happened over the offseason, this looks like the same old Bears team. No offense. Soft defense. Meek play calls on both sides of the ball. They have a ton to figure out if they actually want to compete in the division. So much for turning the page in this rivalry. 

Nicholas Moreano

The Bears had a prime opportunity to change the narrative in their historic rivalry with the Packers. No more Aaron Rodgers meant hope. Instead, the Bears were embarrassed in their 2023 home opener. The offense failed to use its new weapons. The defense gave up big plays by allowing receivers, running backs and tight ends to run freely in the open field. A complete and total disaster to start the season.

Greg Braggs Jr.

Well, I said many times leading up to the game, the Bears SHOULD win this game. Which meant there was some pressure on the Chicago to do so. And man did they not handle the pressure well. Dominated in all three facets. The first play of the game was a penalty on the kickoff. The first drive of the game ended on a loss of downs by failing to get one inch of yardage on two failed sneaks. A sign of things to come.

The defense was a leaky faucet only benefitting from some missed downfield throws in the 1st half. Consistently giving up back-breaking third down conversions to Jordan Love. The offense started the game with 1 nice screen to Herbert and proceeded to call 15 more screens that didn’t work. The offensive line had a rough game blocking along with multiple penalties by Braxton Jones. They rarely threw downfield.

The million dollar question is why? People want to know if it’s because Luke Getsy doesn’t trust Fields to properly read the field. But if he does, then what gives with the play calling? Luke Getsy had a terrible day. Both Alan Williams and Matt Eberflus were out-coached on the defensive side. I don’t care if Eberflus is a CEO; this is on his watch. Matt Lafleur completely out coached him today. Lafleur was in his bag calling plays.

Pathetic performance from everyone on the Bears sidelines. And I don’t want to hear about, “It’s just one game.” This game meant so much more for everyone and it was another big letdown in a laundry list of letdowns on the lakefront. Impossible to rank them. They all sucked. But this one is up there. I’ll be drinking myself to sleep on Meatball Island, thank you very much. Good night.

Kevin Kaduk

It’s hard to think of a worse way to start the season. From Jodan Love making big plays on third down to Justin Fields throwing a pick six, the Bears were totally and utterly outclassed by a Packers team that many expected them to beat. Same as it ever was. The only thing that was different was the man under center, but honestly how many Packers fans are missing Aaron Rodgers right now?