Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of email questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com.
When the Packers lineman got injured late in Sunday's game, why wasn't there a 10-second run off? Green Bay was out of timeouts and it's my understanding that that is the rule. Without those 10 seconds, the Packers wouldn't have had time to kick the winning field goal.
Mason J.
Indiana
The Packers were out of timeouts, so when left guard Lane Taylor was injured with :54 left in the game, the Bears had the option to accept or decline a 10-second runoff and they chose to decline. They obviously were hoping to stop the Packers on third-and-11, get the ball back and kick the game-winning field goal. But here's why the decision didn't cost the Bears: The clock was restarted before Green Bay's third-down play and Aaron Rodgers let it wind down until there was just :36 left before he snapped the ball. So if the Bears had accepted the 10-second runoff, the Packers would have had even more time (:44) when the ball was snapped.
Why didn't the Bears try for the winning touchdown instead of kicking the tying field goal late in Sunday's game? At 3-10, they had nothing to lose!
Aaron K.
Muskegon, Michigan
I'm actually shocked that there's been so much criticism of John Fox for kicking the field goal in that situation. In my humble opinion that is absolutely, positively 100 percent the correct decision. Kicking the tying field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 4 gives your team a much better chance to win the game than trying for a touchdown from the 4, it's as simple as that. Imagine the backlash if the Bears had kept their offense on the field and failed on fourth down. (They're ranked 31st in the NFL in fourth down efficiency, by the way, converting on just 2-of-11 opportunities this year). I would probably try for the touchdown from the 1-yard line and possibly the 2, but not the 4! The Bears didn't lose because of that decision; they lost because they committed turnovers on four straight drives that the Packers turned into 17 points and they allowed a 60-yard pass late in the game when that was really the only thing that could beat them.
What did you make of Alshon Jeffery's rant after the game? I saw his interview and he seemed angry. Do you think he's mad he wasn't getting the ball early?
Steve B.
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Only Alshon Jeffery truly knows, but I don't think it was anything more than he's just sick and tired of losing. The Bears haven't had a winning season the last four years and players put a lot of time and energy in preparing for each and every game. When they don't achieve the results they're working toward, it gets very frustrating. Not sure there was really anything more to it.
