Bears fall to Packers in old-school war of attrition

The Bears' defense sacked Aaron Rodgers five times but received very little support from the Bears' offense. (Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports)

by Cole Little - Senior Writer - Fri Sep 06 02:11:26 GMT-05:00 2019

CHICAGO — It was only too appropriate that Thursday's season opener between the Chicago Bears (0-1) and the Green Bay Packers (1-0) kicked off the 100-year anniversary season of the NFL because the low-scoring war of attrition definitely resembled a gridiron battle of yore. Losing 10-3, the Bears failed to reach the end zone at Soldier Field, with the team even eliciting boos from the home fans at certain points in the latest installment of the NFL's most iconic rivalry.

The two NFC North rivals combined for fewer than 500 yards of offense and punted a whopping 17 times on the night. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for a modest 203 yards on 18-of-30 passing but also led Green Bay on the only touchdown drive of the contest. As for Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who was shaky throughout the course of the game, he amassed 228 yards while going 26-for-45 through the air. The star performer for Chicago was wide receiver Allen Robinson II, who hauled in seven receptions for 102 yards.

Due to the deflating ending of the 2018 season for the Bears, kicking was an obvious focal point of Chicago's performance, and it served as one of the few bright spots of the Bears' losing effort. After winning the kicking job in the preseason, Eddy Pineiro recorded the sole points tallied by the Bears when he sent a 38-yard field goal through the uprights in the first quarter. That proved to be Pineiro's only kick attempt of the Week 1 matchup.

At the 13:08 mark of the second quarter, the Packers took a 7-3 lead when Rodgers capped off a 4-play, 74-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jimmy Graham. A 47-yard catch by wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling occurred on the first play of the possession. Following a Green Bay field goal late in the game, the Bears drove the ball to the Packers' 16-yard line before Trubisky threw an interception in the end zone. Former Bears safety Adrian Amos, who signed with the Packers in the offseason, picked off the pass, thereby helping to seal the 10-3 Green Bay win.