Another week, another loss. The Chicago Bears squandered a strong opening drive and allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to pull away, losing the game 27-17.
Many of the fans’ worst fears came true: Quarterback Justin Fields was inconsistent, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy continued to make incomprehensible offensive decisions, the defense was torched by a Tampa Bay offense ran by Baker Mayfield, among others.
Buy Bears TicketsThere’s a lot to unpack from Sunday’s game, so let’s get right into it and talk about the good, bad and ugly from the Bears’ Week 2 loss to the Buccaneers.
The Good
Starting strong: The Bears offense really made fans believe the team was turning over a new leaf their first series of the game, looking polished and decisive on a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Moore was the key contributor on the drive, bringing two catches for 64 yards.
DJ Moore: Speaking of, the star receiver flashed his connection with quarterback Justin Fields for the first time yesterday, hauling in six catches for 104 yards. Despite whatever inherent issues the Bears have, it’s comforting to know Chicago has a No. 1 receiver.
Better pressure: There wasn’t much hope that the Bears would stand much of a chance in pressuring Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, but they routinely pushed Mayfield out of the pocket and made him improvise. It’s teeth-grading to see a big fat zero in the box score where the sacks should be, but the front four looked much better in yesterday’s game.
Bend, don’t break: Don’t get me wrong; Chicago’s defense was bad in Week 2. Giving up over 300 yards to a mediocre Tampa Bay offense orchestrated by Mayfield while not getting any turnovers should embarrass head coach Matt Eberflus. What matters beyond the yards is whether the opposition can score touchdowns, and the defense stood fast in that regard. They only allowed two touchdowns to the Bucs offense, with their third touchdown coming on a back-breaking Fields interception near the end of the game.
The Bad
Offensive line: You know things have gone awry if I can genuinely say the line played better than they had opening weekend, and they’re still in the bad category. The offensive line actually did a solid job in pass protection, giving Fields time to find receivers downfield. Their “bad” rating comes from their run blocking, as the unit could not move any defensive lineman off the line of scrimmage all game. Better than last week, but they still have a long way to go.
Defense can’t get off the field: Even if Chicago’s defense did a decent job in keeping the Bucs from scoring, it’s almost overshadowed by the defense’s inability to force a three-and-out. Tampa Bay converted over 50 percent of their third downs, sustaining long drives that kept the Bears offense off the field. It’s made even more frustrating that several of the Buccaneers’ conversions were in third-and-long situations. That’s supposed to be a situation where the offense buckles their helmets on and gets last minute feedback from coaches, but the defense would miss an assignment or tackle and give it up. All this money throw at defensive pieces with nothing to show for it.
Time of possession: Even when the defense got a stop and went to the sidelines, they wouldn’t have to wait too long before they had to get back out there. Chicago lost the time of possession battle by a landslide, with the Bears having the ball only 24 minutes while the Bucs had it for nearly 36 minutes. The team was playing out of their element in 90-plus degree temperatures with humidity at almost 100 percent, and the offense’s inability to keep drives moving only further exhausted an already exasperated defense. They say teams should play complimentary football? Well, there’s a way to play uncomplimentary football, as well.
The Ugly
Justin Fields: The ranks of the Chicago faithful are bracing themselves for an uncomfortable, harrowing reality: Fields may not be the Bears’ long-term, franchise quarterback. The thought of going through the same, tortuous cycle as the fans did with former quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is sickening but it may be the cold truth. While his overall stats don’t look horrible, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Fields once again did not throw with anticipation or read the defense well, and it resulted in a touchdown drought from after the first drive to nearly the end of the game. It’s still too early to completely abandon the Fields ship, especially since he did play better than he had in Week 1, but some painful questions are going to be asked if he doesn’t turn it around soon.
Luke Getsy: Chicago’s most infamous coach lived up to his title with another poorly called game. Getsy and the Bears offense pulled the fans back in with smart play calling on a touchdown drive to begin the game, only to push them out the window for the rest of the game. Chicago’s next six offensive possessions featured several mind-boggling decisions like not getting Moore the ball, not calling designed QB runs and bootlegs, not involving Darnell Mooney, not helping the pass with the run, barely involving rookie stud Roschon Johnson, and the list goes on. It all boiled over into a stinking pile of you-know-what on the offense’s last drive of the game. One is a poorly designed play that involves two receivers running the same route, which obviously didn’t work.
Ok Justin didn’t have a great day. But why are 3 guys running the same route within 5 yards of each other? 🤨
🎥:@dave_bfr pic.twitter.com/hVfJ09C2jF
— JAY 🤘🏽Bears (0-2)🐻⬇️ (@Directhim) September 18, 2023
The second was the Fields’ interception that he tried to toss over Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett to get to running back Khalil Herbert on a screen. Barrett mentioned in the post-game press conference that the entire Bucs defense knew the play was coming; a statement that serves as an indictment of Getsy’s ability as a play caller. A new play caller is needed if Chicago wants to find any success this year.
Defense can’t bring down Mayfield: Chicago was able to get through a tough Buccaneers offensive line and pressure Mayfield, but there was one problem: they couldn’t actually bring him down for a sack. The Bears didn’t tally one sack in yesterday’s game despite their constant pursuit of the passer. Mayfield channeled his inner Michael Vick and eluded defenders all game, only to get the ball out to a checkdown receiver just in time.
I’m so here for the Baker Mayfield revenge arc pic.twitter.com/0HBNw4Si3s
— Mikerophone (@MikerophoneNFL) September 17, 2023
The most hair-pulling aspect of this entry is how it reflects the defense’s lack of discipline in their tackling. It’s not just on Mayfield, either; Chicago routinely whiffed and gave up bigger plays than they had any right to be. If Eberflus continues to be more hands-on with the defense, he needs to get his guys to be more sure tacklers.
