Now that all of the drama and controversy from an eventful Wednesday have subsided a bit, Chicago Bears fans can look forward to a late afternoon Sunday game against the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Yay.
While the odds of the Bears winning are slim — and I mean, very slim — it’s not an impossible undertaking like it has been in years past. The Chiefs dropped their opening game of the season to the suddenly ferocious Lions, and Kansas City only scored 17 points against a solid-but-not-great Jaguars defense. The Chiefs may present a gigantic challenge, but it’s not an obstacle the Bears can’t overcome.
Buy Bears TicketsFor the Bears to shock the NFL world, several things will need to happen. Let’s break down the five keys to a Bears win vs. the Chiefs in Week 3.
Fields lets loose and trusts his talent
The Bears’ QB said it himself: he feels like he’s been playing too robotic over the last two games. Fields told the media in what would be an interesting Wednesday at Halas Hall that he’s going to “go out there and be me” when Sunday comes around. Fields will never be an elite pocket passer who effortlessly reads coverages and makes the right decisions; he is a physically gifted dual-threat quarterback who gives Chicago their best chance at success when he’s rolling out with his legs and creating plays.
Fields has made the vow to get back to what makes him special in Week 3 against the Chiefs, and he’ll need to hold true to that promise when he takes his first snap at Arrowhead Stadium. Fields will look to escape the pocket earlier than what we have seen in previous games as he tries to extend plays and, if he’s not seeing anyone open downfield, he’ll once again strike fear into NFL defenses by racing past Chiefs defenders for big gains. Fields became the NFL’s most dangerous player last season because of his eagerness to take off from the pocket and devastate opposing defenses; the Bears QB will need demonstrate that same willingness to run if he’s going to put points on the board in Week 3.
On the passing front of Fields’ game, he’ll need to adopt the same mentality that he will with his running tendencies: stop overthinking and let it rip. The star passer was one of the NFL’s best deep throwers in 2022 due to his opponents getting pulled out of position because of his running ability, allowing Fields to find receivers downfield for huge gains. If the Chicago QB proves to the Chiefs defense that he will attack them with his legs, that dimension of his game will create a gravitational pull that will yank defenders forward in an attempt to limit the damage he can deal, giving receivers more space to get themselves open and catch a ball from Fields.
On more traditional drop back passing plays, Fields will naturally need to turn off that internal clock that he’s had ticking in his head in the first two games and trust his natural throwing ability. Instead of attempting to thoroughly read coverages like he was asked to previously, the passer will use his arm talent to complete passes into tight throwing windows; he won’t be dissecting coverages, but he’ll react to receivers coming open and not second guess it.
Chicago’s football team will live and die by Fields’ unique way of playing quarterback, and Week 3 will determine if that style of play will be enough to overcome insurmountable odds.
Bears rely on the run game
If Fields is to come into his own as a quarterback, the Bears need to establish a solid run game to support him.
Of the many issue the offense has had to start the season, the offense’s inability to stay balanced between passing and running the ball is one of its most glaring. The Bears cannot once again be one dimensional in their offensive scheme, as the Chiefs have a strong pass rush that led by All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones. Solely relying on the passing game will only play into Kansas City’s hands and make moving the ball through the air even more difficult for Fields.
Chicago should call on starting running back Khalil Herbert and rookie Roschon Johnson to pound the ball past the line of scrimmage. Should the running duo consistently gain good yardage and Chicago continues to commit to the run game, it will pay dividends as the game goes on. Herbert and Johnson both should have their best games of the young season.
Getsy caters gameplan to offense's strengths
Among the many interesting happenings at Halas Hall yesterday, Fields was the first to make headlines when he mentioned his coaching was part of the reason why he felt he was overthinking during games. The quarterback demonstrated good leadership when he saw how his quote was aggregated and privately cleared up the misunderstanding with Getsy, but my personal opinion is that there is some truth to what Fields said. The Bears offensive coordinator is trying to mold his quarterback into something he is not, and it’s time for Getsy to flip his philosophy and cater his gameplan to Fields and the rest of the offense’s strengths.
If the coaching staff is now of the same mind that Fields is, they’ll call designed QB runs and rollouts often and early in an attempt to get their star player comfortable using his legs. In passing downs, Getsy should opt to call passing concepts that Fields feels comfortable reading. The offensive play caller did a solid job in getting his star receiver DJ Moore involved last week and that will need to continue on Sunday. Moreover, the ball should be spread to the reliable Darnell Mooney as well, as that will keep the Chiefs secondary from hyper-focusing on Moore.
It will be imperative that Getsy adds another dimension to the offense with the previously mentioned run game. Herbert and Johnson should get a hefty workload through the entirety of the contest, not just in select drives. It doesn’t take a genius to know that having a balanced attack on offense only helps that team’s chances of scoring. Getsy has been a predictable play caller up to this point in the season, so utilizing draws, delayed handoffs, and misdirection should counter the defense teeing off on a play they think is coming.
Sunday will reveal how versatile Getsy is as an offensive coordinator.
Defense pressures Mahomes and sacks him
The one silver lining in Chicago’s deflating loss to Tampa Bay was the defense consistently getting in the backfield to pressure Baker Mayfield; the only problem is they weren’t able to sack the Bucs QB. Not one time.
It was the perfect encapsulation of the horrible start the Bears have had; even when the team does something right, they still somehow do it wrong. It goes without saying the front four will once again need to win their individual battles at the line of scrimmage and get in the face of future Hall of Fame quarterback Patrick Mahomes and actually tackle the passer for a loss. Big defensive tackle Andrew Billings has been one of the lone bright spots on the team through two games, and he’ll aim to beat pass blockers on Sunday. It can reasonably be expected that rookie defensive tackle duo Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens will become a bigger part of the defense’s rotation on Sunday, and they will need to continue their strong play, as will edge rushers DeMarcus Walker and Yannick Ngakoue. Matt Eberflus did a good job of sending pressure in select situations last week, and those well-timed blitzes will need to come up with results in Week 3.
Defense commits to stopping TE Travis Kelce
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Kansas City is the latest team to harbor the special quarterback-tight end connection, as Mahomes has already tossed a staggering 46 TDs to the best TE in the NFL. Somehow and someway, Chicago will need to cut the string connecting the two on Sunday.
Kelce is one half of the engine that makes the Chiefs offense roll, and the Bears will do everything they can to make that engine sputter. Expect the defense to designate Kelce as Mahomes’ primary target and fixate their coverage on him. The Bears’ will task their most athletic linebacker — most likely Tremaine Edmunds — to blanket Kelce to the best of his ability, while rolling a safety over the top for support. If that tactic quickly falls apart, Chicago may deploy a safety to keep tabs on Kelce, which will most likely produce some three-safety defensive looks.
While Kelce doesn’t need deception to be a deadly force, Chicago will need to be aware of the tight end slipping out the back door on play action plays. The defense was fooled on such a play against Green Bay in Week 1, leaving the tight end wide open for a huge gain. The unit will need to be more disciplined in their assignments and diagnose these plays when their called.
If the Bears can obstruct the legendary Mahomes-Kelce connection, a shocking Week 3 victory will be within reach.
