As the Bears break down what went wrong this season, and there was plenty, the majority of their concerns will be about the offense. That puts coordinator Luke Getsy in jeopardy more so than anyone else at Halas Hall.
They finished 18th in points at 21.2 and arrived there unevenly with the No. 2 rushing offense and No. 27 passing offense. They scored 20 points or fewer in 10 games, and got a spike in their season average by dropping a combined 95 points on the Broncos, Commanders and Cardinals, which were three of the NFL’s worst defenses.
As the Bears’ defense raced ahead, their offense let them down. They fell in their season finale Sunday despite holding the Packers to 17 points because all they could manage offensively was three field goals.
It was one of three losses this season in which the defense kept the opponent to 20 points or fewer. The offense also went quiet during late-game collapses against the Broncos, Lions and Browns.
When asked Monday if the offense played up to its capability, top wide receiver DJ Moore said, “Probably not,” and rookie running back Roschon Johnson added, “We definitely could’ve been better.”
Given the amount of talent and potential, that’s true.
While not perfect, the roster featured quarterback Justin Fields (1,143 yards rushing last season), Moore (nearly 1,100 yards receiving per season over his career), wide receiver Darnell Mooney (1,055 yards receiving in 2021), ascending tight end Cole Kmet and running back Khalil Herbert (5.7 yards per carry last season).
That seems like enough to work with for Getsy, but it didn’t click. And it cost the Bears a trip to the playoffs as their defense roared in the second half of the season.
“They were playing lights out and kept us in a lot of games,” Johnson said.
Player frustration accumulated, most recently with Moore saying Sunday, “Look at our explosive [plays] with the games that we won and look at if we had explosives when we lost. Are we gonna be an explosive team, or are we gonna be a run team that’s gonna just play off the clock?”
A month ago, Mooney declined to answer whether he felt he was a good fit in Getsy’s offense, saying instead, “I will not be a distraction to myself or my team.” He went from a 1,000-yard receiver the season before Getsy and coach Matt Eberflus arrived to a plunge in production last season and career lows this season at 31 catches, 414 yards and one touchdown.
Normally one of the Bears’ most accessible players, Mooney declined to speak with reporters Monday.
The most resonant objection came from Fields back in Week 3, when he went public with the complaint that he was being over-coached, then tried to contain the mess he made by hugging Getsy in front of TV cameras at the start of practice and inaccurately claiming the media twisted his comments.
But what he said stuck.
“Could be coaching,” Fields said in the unfiltered version. “They’re doing their job when they’re giving me [information], but I can’t be thinking about that when the game comes... It’s time to play free at that point.
“When you’re fed a lot of information and you’re trying to think about that when you’re playing, it doesn’t let you play like yourself.”
Moore probably was the only one to produce like he expected this season, setting career highs with 96 catches, 1,364 yards and nine touchdowns (one as a runner). So if he was dissatisfied with the offense, everyone should be.
He said he gave “good feedback” to general manager Ryan Poles and Eberflus in his exit meeting Monday and they took notes throughout. There’s no doubt they agreed that the offensive underperformed, and their task is to determine why. As they figure that out, the blame on Getsy is stacking up.
