It wasn't nearly enough to produce a win, but the Bears' receiving corps delivered its best performance of the season Sunday at Soldier Field.
Dontrelle Inman caught six passes for 88 yards, Kendall Wright added five catches for 46 yards and Joshua Bellamy scored the Bears' only touchdown on a 46-yard reception from Mitchell Trubisky in a 23-16 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Inman, a fourth-year pro, made his Bears debut Sunday after being acquired Oct. 26 in a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for a conditional draft pick.
"He's a solid starter in this league," said coach John Fox. "He's been that. He has good football intelligence. I think he's helped the locker room. I thought he had a good day and will just get better moving forward."
Bellamy, meanwhile, scored his first touchdown of the season when he hauled in a perfect pass from Trubisky after beating cornerback Davon House.
"We got the right coverage we wanted, took out the safety, he had a great double move on the outside, and I just put it where he could get it," Trubisky said. "That's one of his strengths and I have a lot of confidence in him. We have a good chemistry going and have been on the same page. He did a great job and had a great catch.
"The offensive line also did an awesome job protecting up front. It was just great execution. We need all 11 guys on the same page in order to have those types of plays to happen, so I feel good about that going forward."
Backup plan: The Bears caught a break Sunday, facing the Packers without injured star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. But replacement Brett Hundley performed well, completing 18 of 25 passes for 212 yards with one touchdown and a 110.8 passer rating while quarterbacking an offense that did not commit a turnover.
"He's a very talented guy," Fox said. "I watched him come out of college. He has good height, he makes all the throws and he has a very strong arm. He is a poised young man. He has good athleticism that we saw on a couple of scrambles. What I saw today is no different than what I saw when he was coming into the league."
Long story: Bears guard Kyle Long, who was limited in practice during the week and listed as questionable with a finger injury, did not play on offense Sunday. Hroniss Grasu started at center, with Josh Sitton at left guard and Cody Whitehair at right guard.
"[Long] was healthy," Fox said. "I think he went in for a play [on the field-goal team]. We wouldn't have suited him up if he wasn't healthy. I just didn't think maybe he was going to get the whole load of the whole game starting, so that's the way we went."
Perfect day: After missing a field-goal attempt in each of the two previous games, Connor Barth made all three of his tries Sunday from 45, 44 and 49 yards. The kicks came on a day that featured a steady mist and temperatures in the low 40s.
Barth is now 10 of 14 on the season.
"You'd like him to be perfect," Fox said. "But the reality is he has missed four kicks in nine games. He was good today in tough conditions. Those weren't really easy conditions for anybody that handles a football."
Roster notes: Cornerbacks Bryce Callahan (knee) and Sherrick McManis (hamstring), linebacker Danny Trevathan (calf), guard/tackle Tom Compton (ankle), tight end Dion Sims (illness) and defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris (hamstring) did not play. Quarterback Mark Sanchez was also inactive.
News and notes: Two of the Bears' three sacks came on blitzes by cornerback Cre'von LeBlanc and linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski. Outside linebackers Leonard Floyd and Sam Acho split the third one. … Packers linebacker Nick Perry recorded three of Green Bay's five sacks of Trubisky. … Rookie tight end Adam Shaheen caught two passes for 39 yards. … Jordan Howard was limited to 54 yards on 15 carries, but he became the fastest rusher in Bears history to reach 2,000 career yards, accomplishing the feat in his 24th game.
