The Chicago Bears are 3-6. It’s not a great feeling because fans know it shouldn’t be this way. The team was painfully close to winning several of those games, if not for some unfortunate bounces. Still, optimism remains high thanks to the ascent of quarterback Justin Fields. He has played better than almost any QB in the league over the past three weeks. Things are trending up for a team that is clearly rebuilding. The Green Bay Packers are 3-6 too, except it was never supposed to be like this.
Everybody predicted the same thing. The Packers would be right back in the Super Bowl picture like always, even after losing star wide receiver Davante Adams and top pass rusher Za’Darius Smith in the same off-season. They still have Aaron Rodgers. Everything would be fine. Well, everything is not fine. Rodgers is playing some of the worst football of his career, the offense is 27th in scoring, injuries have ravaged the defense, and they just lost to the previously one-win Detroit Lions.
I’m sure the response from Packers fans, after so many years of winning, is measured and composed…
Should Matt LaFleur have a job on Monday? pic.twitter.com/5EtkhmMd2o
— IKE Packers Podcast (@IKE_Packers) November 6, 2022
People got mad when I said on the post-game show that after the last month of Justin Fields, he's been better than Aaron Rodgers this year but it's true.
He's played better the last month than anything Rodgers has approached this year. https://t.co/yNqStYnhF5
— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) November 7, 2022
This team was never going to be good enough offensively to win a championship, but I don't think anyone could have envisioned it being this bad.
It's not all his fault, but that starts with Aaron Rodgers.
They can't bench him now, but once they're mathematically eliminated?
— Jacob Westendorf (@JacobWestendorf) November 7, 2022
Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers pic.twitter.com/vNYduxVixY
— shawn green (@shawngreenshow) November 7, 2022
Announce Packers fire Brian Gutekunst https://t.co/KjSaMH7Fh7
— Lance P (@LancePiep) November 7, 2022
You guys. THREE YEARS ago this GM drafted a backup QB, RB, and a FB in the first three rounds of a loaded Wide Receiver class. He then later extended the starting runningback.
This was right after the team was in the NFC Championship. Gutekunst has BEEN a fraud for a while now.
— Marcus Whitman (@TFG_Football) November 6, 2022
They’ve been insulated inside a cocoon of positive energy for 30 years. Since 1992 when Brett Favre arrived in town, the organization has produced 24 winning seasons. They made the playoffs 22 times, reached nine conference championships, went to three Super Bowls, and won two Lombardi trophies. Across that same period, the Bears have had nine winning seasons, made the playoffs seven times, reached two conference championships and one Super Bowl. So it’s easy to understand why Bears fans are laughing hysterically at Packer fans right now.
The moment their team goes through a tough stretch, they immediately start calling for heads. It speaks to how spoiled they’ve been. This is the reality check that felt inevitable. Many older Green Bay Packers people warned the younger generation to enjoy the success while it lasts. They weren’t around during the dark years of the 1970s and 1980s. With Rodgers approaching retirement and Justin Fields on the ascent, it’s possible their kingdom is finally crumbling.
