Cheesehead
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
- 2,854
- 0
Former Bears safety Adrian Amos haunted his former team with an interception on Mitch Trubisky’s third-down floater to the back of the end zone with two minutes left.
The Bears had reached the Packers’ 16-yard line, their deepest drive of the game, but on third-and-10 Trubisky lofted one into triple coverage and Amos made an over-the-shoulder grab to silence the crowd of 62,435.
One final last-ditch drive by the Bears was snuffed out by Preston Smith’s fourth-down sack, the free-agent newcomer’s second sack of the game. Fellow free-agent pass rusher Za’Darius Smith also had a sack, as Green Bay GM Brian Gutekunst’s new defensive additions were the stars in their first game as Packers.
“They gave us a big boost, that’s for sure,” LaFleur said. “It was great for Adrian to come in here and close out that game with a pick right there at the end.
“I’m extremely happy Gutey and his crew did a great job of getting those guys for us, because they were a difference tonight.”
The Bears got one early field goal, thanks to great field position when the Packers’ offense was sputtering out of the gate. With their kicking situation a troubling story since last January’s playoff loss, the Bears also passed on a chance at a 51-yard attempt in the third quarter and went for it, unsuccessfully, on fourth down.
Chicago finished with just 254 yards, were 3-of-15 on third down (plus 0-of-2 on fourth down) and only got Trubisky (26-of-45, 228 yards, 62.1 rating) comfortable in short and fleeting spurts.
On the other side, it was a tough slog for LaFleur’s new offense, with the stout Bears defense picking up where it left off last year.
Three straight three-and-outs (with two sacks) for minus-12 yards to open the game were flat-out ugly, but the second quarter began with a play-action deep shot to Marquez Valdes-Scantling to jump-start things.
“It was a huge play in the game,” LaFleur said. “It gave us the spark we needed.”
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had called a timeout right before the play with the play clock running down, but during the break he and LaFleur decided to stick with the deep call. It featured two play-action fakes and gained 47.