The harshest and most acutely accurate critique of how the Bears and quarterback Justin Fields played against the Packers in the season opener Sunday was that it was nothing new.

And everything was supposed to be new this season.

New offensive line.

New wide receivers.

New and improved version of Fields.

New mindset.

Where was any of that? It sure looked the same as it has for the last three decades or so as the Packers rolled them 38-20 at Soldier Field. It was a continuation of the droning misery the Bears endured throughout the Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers eras in Green Bay.

And these are hardly the Packers of Favre or Rodgers. They didn’t have to take on an obvious future Hall of Famer on Sunday. It was just Jordan Love, making the second start of his career. He wasn’t overwhelming, but he didn’t have to be. He just had to be better than Fields.

There’s a long list of complaints about this one, and Fields’ performance tops it.

It’s not big ask to insist that an NFL quarterback pump life into the passing attack and steer clear of destructive mistakes, but Fields couldn’t handle that request Sunday. After meandering in the passing game most of the afternoon, he imploded with a fumble in the third quarter and a pick-six in the fourth.

Fields threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney in between those debacles, but that merely got the Bears within 24-14. The Packers had control the entire second half.

Fields finished 24 of 37 for 216 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception for a 78.2 passer rating, plus he rushed nine times for 59 yards. He had 146 yards passing when the Bears took the field down 38-14 with six minutes left.