James Jones Stellar in Packers Return

That is a dramatic turnaround from previous year when the Packers bombed the Bears 55-14.

Two excruciating losses to Green Bay in 2014.

Ultimately it wasn’t enough.

Cobb played through pain in the Packers’ 31-23 win against the Bears at Soldier Field. Cutler, too, looks far from done. Despite the loss, the Bears players, primarily receiver Alshon Jeffery, told CSN Chicago that the team believes they can play with anyone.

The biggest reason could be the play of Jay Cutler.

Rodgers started right where he left off in the second half, driving Green Bay down the field and finding Jones again for a score through the air.

The optimism for the offense overall needs to be balanced with the missed opportunities and the crushing turnover, and they’ll have a stiffer test next Sunday against Arizona’s defense.

The opposing quarterback, Jay Cutler, had a rougher go but was able to come up clutch on a couple of important plays. The preseason displayed to me that he has to be in the mix as well if this Bears offense is going to have success. Naturally it led to a Green Bay touchdown. The product I saw yesterday at least gave me hope that the Bears will be competitive this season, that they won’t have that 1,000-yard stare when the scoreboard is against and that they will come into games with an actual game plan that makes sense and puts the team in a position to succeed. With his 28-yard boot in the first quarter, he broke the franchise record for field goals made with 244, passing Kevin Butler. That’s something they rarely resembled last season, and it’s no secret how that played out. He’s equally as effective in the real world.

Unfortunately, one Matt Forte rush for four yards, and three Cutler incompletions later, and the Bears’ turned the ball over on downs all the way down at the Green Bay two-yard line.

Released by the Raiders in the offseason, and by the New York Giants on the final roster cut, it was not hard to see why the Packers brought him back.

Actually, Jones caught three TD passes, but one was wiped out by a penalty. Jeffrey, who was still getting over a calf injury and was on the bench for a few more possessions than he normally would be, was easily Cutler’s favourite target as he threw to him 11 times despite the limited time on the field. “He does so many things well….” “Everything that happened at the goal line and the interception, I still feel like we beat ourselves”.

Cutler was more proactive than usual in terms of tucking the ball and rumbling for positive yards. Matthews intercepted the ball in the fourth quarter, running it for 42 yards, setting up a touchdown run for Eddie Lacy. Send us your fan photos and we’ll add them to our online gallery.

For all the things that have gone wrong for the Bears, everything about Matt Forte has gone right, and he’s still a must-start wide receiver…. The Bears had their explanations for going away from Forte at a key point in the fourth quarter, but that still did not look like the best strategy.