While acknowledging that the Bears need to produce more passing yards than the 101 they mustered in Sunday's overtime win over the Steelers, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains praised quarterback Mike Glennon's performance in the game.
"We're very aware that it's going to be hard to win NFL games throwing for just 100 yards," Loggains said. "You go into games with a game plan and all of a sudden they do something different and you adjust to it. That's why more runs were called.
Bears quarterback Mike Glennon threw for 101 yards in Sunday's victory.
"They were in a lot of split safeties, playing Tampa 2 a lot, and they thought that was the best answer to stop us and they stayed in it and thought that we did a really good job upfront. Mike was patient. They took away a lot of our downfield throws doing that, so we stayed with the run longer because of that.
"I think a lot of credit should go to Mike. If you eliminate his [four] dropped balls, he'd have finished 19 of 22 and he did exactly what he needed to do to win that game."
Glennon completed 15 of 22 passes for 101 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a 74.2 passer rating. His deepest throw of the game—intended for Markus Wheaton in the first quarter—was on target. But the receiver lost control of the ball when he hit the ground. In fairness to Wheaton, one of his arms was being held by Steelers cornerback Artie Burns. But no penalty was called.
"I thought [Glennon] threw a really good deep ball early on to Markus Wheaton," Loggains said. "We had an opportunity to take a shot and we got it and I think it backed them off a little bit and they zoned us out and tried to keep everything in front of them. I can't speak for those guys; maybe they didn't think we'd be patient enough to run the ball like we did and stick with it. But I have plenty of confidence in Mike to be able to do those things and throw the ball down the field."
Impact play: Nickel back Bryce Callahan produced the first takeaway of his three-year NFL career in the first quarter Sunday when he sacked Ben Roethlisberger on a well-timed blitz, causing a fumble that was recovered by defensive end Akiem Hicks.
"[Callahan] has got a good feel for [blitzing] and if he gets close he's handy," said defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. "He can maybe get his hand on the ball and I do think he can make the tackle if he's got an opportunity. As always when you're blitzing those [smaller defensive backs], you're hoping they're coming free because they're not real physical. He does a good job with it."
The sack was the second of Callahan's career. He also recorded one in a 24-20 loss to the Lions in the 2015 season finale at Soldier Field.
Special effort: Sherrick McManis utilized perfect technique to block Chris Boswell's 35-yard field goal attempt late in the first half Sunday.
"He's been close for a long time and what he did an exceptional job on that play was not only his get-off, but his ability to get underneath the guy that was trying to punch him," said special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers.
"He really had no resistance physically on that play. They're obviously trying to block him, but the guy was a little bit high with his punch. He did a good job of getting low and he's fast. He's been so close so many times that when you get in that situation you're trying to figure out where exactly to put your hand. He timed that out perfect and was able to keep points off the board there."
Health update: The only two Bears players who did not practice Tuesday were safety Quintin Demps, who is out indefinitely after breaking his hand against the Steelers, and linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, who suffered a pectoral injury Sept. 17 in Tampa.
Offensive linemen Hroniss Grasu (hand) and Josh Sitton (ribs) were limited.
For the Packers, cornerback Davon House (quadriceps) did not practice; while tackles David Bakhtiari (hamstring) and Bryan Bulaga (ankle) and defensive tackle Mike Daniels (hip) were limited.
