The Chicago Bears’ Week 5 loss to the Green Bay Packers was ugly, but it wasn’t a total wipeout from an individual standpoint. A few Bears still managed to stand out at Lambeau, even as the team as a whole got flattened.
Devin Bush was one of them. Signed as a free agent to help shore up the defense, Bush came into Week 5 with 27 tackles on the season and posted his best game in a Bears uniform against Green Bay.
He finished with eight combined tackles, including three solo stops, and led Chicago for the first time. While he hasn’t always topped the team’s tackle chart each week, Bush has quietly climbed to the second-best tackle total on the roster.
Dillon Thieneman kept doing what he’s done all season: show up around the ball. He added seven tackles against the Packers, pushing his team-leading total to 37.
That made it five straight weeks that Thieneman has ranked among the Bears’ top two tacklers. Chicago took him 25th overall, and so far he has not disappointed.
He’s become a player worth tracking as the Bears wait for Coby Bryant’s debut.
Zavion Thomas gave the Bears a jolt in the return game. Entering Week 5, Chicago had the worst kick return average in the game, but Thomas helped change the tone against Green Bay.
The third-round pick, who flashed his speed in the preseason, returned six kicks for 192 yards. His longest went for 61 yards, though it came with the Bears already trailing badly.
He also got involved on offense, catching his lone target for 11 yards.
Getting blown out by a rival is never easy, and Chicago now has time to regroup. The Bears still have plenty of season left, and their next meeting with the Packers comes at Soldier Field on Christmas.
In Other News...
Ben Johnson And Matt LaFleur Just Added More Heat To This Rivalry
The latest chapter in the Bears-Packers rivalry had the usual stakes, but it also carried a little extra edge between the sideline bosses. Chicago coach Ben Johnson has made no secret of how badly he wants to beat Green Bay, and Packers coach Matt LaFleur has responded by keeping the focus on the rivalry itself rather than any personal back-and-forth. It has given this matchup a sharper feel, even before the teams get to the part where the players decide it.
After Green Bay handled Chicago 31-7, the coaches postgame exchange at midfield was as brief and businesslike as it gets. There was nothing warm or lingering about it, just a quick acknowledgment before both men moved on, which fit the tone LaFleur prefers when these teams meet. The rivalry already sells itself, but the way these two are carrying it is adding another layer of heat. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Loss To Packers Put Chicagos Quarterback Debate Back In Focus
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Tyson Bagent was pulled after a difficult stretch, and the timing only sharpened the sense that Chicago is once again looking at the position through a bigger lens. Caleb Williams, who had been listed as questionable before kickoff, is expected back under center next week against the Falcons, giving the Bears at least a possible reset after a divisional loss that reopened familiar questions. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylon Johnson Just Put The Bears Secondary Under A Harsh Spotlight
The Bears secondary left plenty to sort through after a rough Week 5, and Jaylon Johnson ended up at the center of it. Chicago needed steadier play on the back end, but Johnson was part of a group that struggled to hold up, continuing a season in which his Pro Football Focus grades have lagged and the ball production has not followed.
What makes the situation tougher is that the Bears do not have many easy answers at outside cornerback. Johnsons contract makes a clean breakup unrealistic, so the team is left trying to find fixes around a position that already looks thin, with little room to simply move on and start over. [Read more 🡒]