As with most wild parties in Las Vegas, the Bears awoke the next morning with some cleaning up to do. Beating the Raiders on Josh Blackwell’s blocked field goal in the final minute Sunday was thrilling, but the furniture is in disarray, someone is missing a tooth and Mike Tyson’s pet tiger is locked in the bathroom.
Alright, it’s not that crazy, but there is a lot to address.
The Bears pulled off a 25-24 win amid ongoing ups and downs from quarterback Caleb Williams, a carousel at left and right tackle, a wobbly defensive line and an idling ground game. It was admirable, but unsustainable. Hoping for four defensive takeaways and a blocked field goal is hardly a sound plan.
Coach Ben Johnson was happy — “It’s always good when you play that poorly and you’re still able to come away with a win,” he said Monday — but there was a healthy grasp of reality as he planned to “do a little soul searching” during the bye week:
• Looking at a run defense that has allowed an NFL-worst 6.2 yards per carry, including 7.7 to the Raiders, he said, “That’s not what Chicago Bears football is about.” The Raiders’ 240 yards rushing was the most in the NFL this season.
• The offense missed major scoring opportunities and managed only one touchdown out of the five possessions that began in Raiders’ territory, and Johnson called the overall operation “just … a mess, man” and added, “I’m just not proud of what we put on tape.”
• It was too early Monday to even put together the criteria for deciding who will start at left tackle — Braxton Jones or Theo Benedet — when the Bears resume Oct. 13 at the Commanders.
• Running back D’Andre Swift isn’t at fault for the feeble rushing attack in Johnson’s view, but “I don’t feel like everybody on offense yet is pulling their weight, and that’s myself included [as a play caller].”
That’s a hefty list. The Bears got to the bye at 2-2 after losing their first two games, but they won’t make real headway if they can’t solve those problems.
No one influences the Bears’ success more than Williams, and his and Johnson’s relationship is still in its infancy. The sum so far is that Williams has a mixed bag of a 97.8 passer rating (13th in the league), 62.3 completion percentage (24th), third in touchdown passes (eighth), two interceptions (10th by percentage of passes) and 231.8 yards per game (14th).
The two of them couldn’t find workarounds for the Raiders’ pass rush in the first half, but managed it better in the second. Williams opened the game 2-for-7 passing, then rallied to complete 20 of 30 the rest of the way.
He’s been doing some version of that roller coaster all season. He started hot against the Vikings, then plunged. He got going way too late in the blowout loss to the Lions. His performance against the Cowboys was pretty much perfect — no complaints there, but it was against the league’s worst defense.
One of Williams’ downfalls has been holding the ball too long and it hurt him against the Raiders and Maxx Crosby early in the game. He appeared to adapt in the second half by speeding up his internal clock, and Johnson believes he’s been doing well in that aspect throughout the season.
“There’s probably a couple times I think he can just throw the ball away a little bit sooner … but other than that, I really don’t want to mess with that mechanism too much because it is so natural for him and he’s doing a really good job,” Johnson said.
Fixing the Bears’ other deficiencies will help Williams.
Everything they do in some way connects back to him. A better running game will keep defenses guessing and open space to pass. The impact of a steady left tackle is obvious. And a defense that can keep games reasonable gives him better leverage.
Running back has been a concern ever since Johnson arrived. He was with the Lions when they offloaded Swift, but inherited him here. He’s speedy and shifty, and the Bears don’t have a proven power back to complement him.
“He’s a guy that continues to run the ball very hard, even though the yards per carry aren’t where any of us want it to be right now,” Johnson said. “He’s as frustrated as anybody.”
The Bears are 24th in yards rushing per game (102.3) and 25th in yards per carry (3.8). Swift has gotten 68.3% of the non-quarterback carries, and after a career-low 3.8 per rush last season, he’s down to 3.3 this season. That’s not viable.
The defense will get some help with the likely return of tackle Grady Jarrett (knee), linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring) and nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon (hamstring) coming out of the bye, but it’s uncertain whether that alone solves everything. Johnson must go beyond his expertise and work with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to make sure they adjust schematically, too.
Oh yeah, also, it’s almost October and they’re still having a position battle at a crucial spot between Jones and Benedet. Johnson needs to submit his final answer and move on.
So while there’s no game this weekend, the Bears are as busy as ever.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
