Todd Rosenberg/NFL
Bears running back Khalil Herbert
The Bears opened the season in disappointing fashion Sunday at Soldier Field, losing to the rival Green Bay Packers 38-20.
The Bears trailed 7-6 late in the first half before the Packers scored 17 unanswered points to take a 24-6 third-quarter lead. After the Bears cut the deficit to 24-14 late in the period, Green Bay scored two touchdowns in a :56 span to ice the game.
Justin Fields completed 24 of 37 passes for 216 yards with one TD, one interception and a 78.2 passer rating. He also rushed for 59 yards on nine carries, lost a fumble on a scramble and was sacked four times.
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Making just his second career start, Packers quarterback Jordan Love connected on 15 of 27 passes for 245 yards with three TDs, no turnovers and a 123.2 passer rating.
Green Bay running back Aaron Jones rushed for 41 yards on nine carries and one touchdown and caught two passes for 86 yards and one TD before exiting with a hamstring injury. Receiver Romeo Doubs had four catches for 26 yards and two TDs.
The Bears have now lost nine straight to the Packers, last winning on Dec. 18, 2018, at Soldier Field when they clinched the NFC North with a 24-17 victory.
Here's how things transpired Sunday:
The Bears turned the ball over on downs on the game's opening possession as Fields was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak at the Chicago 40.
The Packers made the most of the excellent field position, taking a 7-0 lead on Love's 8-yard touchdown pass to Doubs on third-and-goal with 6:08 left in the first quarter.
The Bears answered by marching to the Green Bay 31. But after back-to-back false start penalties stalled the drive, they settled for Cairo Santos' 47-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 7-3 late in the opening period.
After the defense forced the Packers to go three-and-out, Santos' 29-yard field goal trimmed the margin to 7-6 with 9:00 remaining in the second quarter. Fields sustained the drive with a brilliant 10-yard scramble on third-and-7. D'Onta Foreman followed with an 11-yard run and DJ Moore then caught passes of 11 and 14 yards from Fields.
Green Bay extended its lead to 10-6 on Anders Carlson's 52-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. The kick came after Yannick Ngakoue registered his first sack as a member of the Bears, dropping Love for an eight-yard loss.
The Packers opened the second half with an eight-play, 75-yard drive capped by Jones' 1-yard touchdown run, extending their lead to 17-6. The key play on the drive came when Love drifted to his left and threw a screen pass back to the right to Jones, who raced down the sideline for 51 yards to the Bears' 7.
After the Bears went three-and-out, the Packers widened the margin to 24-6 on Love's 35-yard TD pass to Jones on fourth-and-2.
The Bears then committed the game's first turnover as Fields was stripped by defensive tackle Kenny Clark on a scramble and safety Rasul Douglas recovered the fumble at the Chicago 18. But the defense forced a Packers punt.
The Bears cut the deficit to 24-14 late in the third quarter as Fields lofted a 20-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney in the right corner of the end zone, and Herbert followed with a successful two-point conversion run up the middle.
But the Packers answered immediately as Love capped a quick five-play, 61-yard drive with a 4-yard TD pass to Dobbs, widening the lead to 31-14. The TD came after Love connected with wide open tight end Luke Musgrave for 37 yards to the Bears 4.
Fields then threw a pass over the middle that was intercepted by linebacker Quay Walker, who returned the pick 42 yards for a TD to make it 38-14.
The Bears added a late TD on Roschon Johnson's 2-yard run with 2:54 remaining.
Check ChicagoBears.com later for expanded coverage.
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