Halas Intrigue Bears Report: Ownership renewal?

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The first rivalry game of the season will be played Sunday night. And despite the Packers' Week 1 loss, no one at Halas Hall believes Aaron Rodgers and Co. will be pushovers (7:20 p.m., NBC-5, WBBM 780-AM, WRTO 1200-AM). Read the latest coverage and analysis below.

1. Fields needs a complete game vs. Packers

Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy walked into the locker room at halftime Sunday with a smile on his face. A smile? With his team shut out and quarterback Justin Fields posting a 2.8 passer rating? With his offense having completed a grand total of zero throws beyond the line of scrimmage? And having averaged, until the scrambled final drive, 1.8 yards per play?

A smile?

"It's confidence," Fields said Wednesday. "I think just that little body language brought everybody on their feet and kind of encouraged everybody to come out differently in the second half."

Fields passed it on to his teammates with his play. He posted a 111.8 passer rating in the second half, leading the Bears to three touchdowns — two in the air — in a 19-10 victory against the 49ers inside a soggy Soldier Field.

Getsy, though, would probably rather not have to plaster a smile on his face Sunday night in Green Bay. The only thing better than Fields bouncing back at halftime is him not having to.

As the Bears spend the season searching for signs that Fields can be their quarterback for the next decade, they want to see steady play to go with his flashes of athletic brilliance. Fields had good drives, quarters and halves last season. His ability to turn the page at halftime against San Francisco was telling.

Still, he needs complete games. last Sunday wasn't one.

Justin Fields bounced back, but now he needs a complete game

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2. Running is allowed

As one of the few players to excel in Matt Nagy's offense, Bears running back David Montgomery figures to be even better with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy running the show — that's the theory, anyway.

It didn't happen in the Bears' season opener against the 49ers last week. Montgomery was stymied at the line of scrimmage on almost every carry. He rushed for just 26 yards on 17 carries. In fact, Montgomery's average of 1.7 yards per carry was the lowest of his four-year NFL career.

Khalil Herbert provided a bit of a spark with nine carries for 45 yards and a three-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. And Justin Fields rushed 11 times for 28 yards. Still, the Bears finished with 99 rushing yards on 37 carries, averaging 2.7 yards per carry — 31st in the NFL in Week 1.

"You have to take advantage of what's given to you," Getsy said. "And when you play an elite defense like we did last week [against the 49ers] — and we've got the same challenge this week [against the Packers], things are going to be hard."

But while they weren't very effective running the ball, they stuck with it — with 19 carries for 65 yards in the first half when they were shut out, and 18 carries for 34 yards in the second half when they took the lead.

"Coach Getsy came in at halftime and said, 'We're sticking with it.' We're doing this. We're doing that," Herbert said. "Just the belief that the OC has in us and the o-line has — that's very important, because not every run is gonna be a big run. Being patient — some runs might hit; some might not, but knowing that we're still gonna have the opportunities to make a big play — that definitely helps."

In these parts, that's an encouraging sign. The Bears too often abandoned the run at the first sign of difficulty under Nagy. The 99 rushing yards against the 49ers are the most the Bears have gained while averaging 3.0 yards or less per carry in the last 10 seasons.

Luke Getsy's resolve breathes hope into Bears' running game

The Bears averaged only 2.7 yards per carry against the 49ers in the opener but never gave up on the run — they finished with 99 yards on 37 carries. "We just have to stick to the plan and not get too caught up by the result too much right now,'' Getsy said. ''I think that paid off for us."

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3. But he's not wrong

Columnist Rick Morrissey weighs in on this week's criticism of Justin Fields:

Those of you who were beyond thrilled with Justin Fields' role in the Bears' upset victory over the 49ers — those of you who quite possibly lost muscle function in your rapture — well, you weren't wrong to feel the way you felt.

But neither was Mike Martz. The former Bears offensive coordinator might have been over the top in his recent criticism of Fields, might have been unduly nasty in his appraisal of the quarterback's performance Sunday, but there was truth mixed in with the harshness.

The Bears won a game they weren't supposed to in Week 1, which was worthy of the civic excitement that followed, and Fields had a few memorable plays in an overall not-very-good day, which was worthy of the Monday morning quarterbacking that followed from some corners. That the loudest couch quarterbacking came from Martz, who is inextricably linked with Jay Cutler's turbulent ups and downs in Chicago, galled Bears fans and made dismissing what he said easy.

But the description of Fields as "less than remarkable'' on Sunday . . . um, that's not far off. Might even be spot on.

It's possible to be excited about Justin Fields AND admit that mean, old Mike Martz was right. No, really.

The former Bears OC called the quarterback's performance ''less than remarkable'' in the team's victory over the 49ers. He wasn't wrong.

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4. In other news

The Sun-Times' experts offer their picks for the Bears' Sunday night game at the rival Packers.
Columnist Laurence W. Holmes says Matt Eberflus is giving off Lovie Smith vibes.
Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy knows from experience not to write off 0-1 Packers.
Can Eberflus finally find a way to get the best of Aaron Rodgers?
Wide receiver Darnell Mooney says "I'm gonna be here for a while and I'm gonna be a threat."
Justin Fields is embracing the rivalry with the Packers.
Despite his two misses against the 49ers, the Bears maintain faith in kicker Cairo Santos.
Aaron Rodgers would've been happy to see the Bears trade LB Roquan Smith.
Melissa Stark is back on a prime-time NFL show after a 20-year hiatus.
The Bears are reworking the offensive line.
Former Bears quarterback Erik Kramer, who survived a suicide attempt in 2015, is the personification of resilience and hope, writes Rick Telander.
Mark Potash breaks down Matt Eberflus' coaching debut.

5. From the podcast

Patrick Finley and Jason Lieser debate the narrative that the Packers are done for — and then pick winners for Sunday night's rivalry game. LISTEN HERE.

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