Bears QB Justin Fields’ first drive falls short, leads to Packers going up 7-0
Bears QB Justin Fields made his 26th career start Sunday vs. the Packers.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
The Bears’ offense looked good at the start against the Packers in the season opener Sunday, but stalled at their own 40-yard line and turned the ball over on downs.
On fourth-and-inches at their own 40, the Bears sent quarterback Justin Fields on a sneak and while he got close enough that officials had to measure for a first down, he was short. The Packers took over with excellent field position.
The Bears opened with Khalil Herbert running for one yard, then Fields dumped the ball to Herbert at the line of scrimmage for a 19-yard gain and a first down.
Fields followed with a five-yard pass to rookie Tyler Scott on the left sideline, then Herbert ran for four yards to get the Bears to third-and-one. They tried a quarterback sneak with tight end Cole Kmet, something they used at times last season to save Fields from some hits, but came up short.
Rather than punt from their own 40, the Bears sent Fields on a sneak, but the Packers stopped him.
Losing that gamble was somewhat costly. Packers quarterback Jordan Love converted a third-and-13 on a pass to Romeo Doubs and they picked up another first down on a seven-yard run by Aaron Jones on third-and-two from the Bears’ 12.
Love converted again on third-and-goal from the 8-yard line with a touchdown pass to Doubs for a 7-0 lead with 6:08 left in the first quarter.