The Chicago Bears were defeated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 27-17, in a game where things were a little better than the season opener but things were still a complete disaster.
The Bears have now lost 12 consecutive games dating back to last season, and they’re staring down a 0-2 start with the Kansas City Chiefs on the horizon. Things feel like they’re spiraling out of control through the first two weeks, and jobs could very well be on the line.
Buy Bears TicketsThere was plenty to break down following Chicago’s brutal loss to Tampa Bay, including the coaches, offensive and defensive struggles and more. Our Bears Wire staff is sharing their thoughts following the Week 2 game.
The Bears’ Week 2 loss vs. Bucs
Alyssa Barbieri
If you would’ve asked me before the season started if I could see a scenario with the Bears being 0-2 but still having some semblance of confidence, I would’ve said yes. With plenty of new faces on the roster, Chicago was bound to get off to a slow start. But this isn’t just a slow start, it’s about as bad of a scenario as you can imagine through two weeks.
Somehow, this Bears team is seemingly worse than last season with an improved roster and a full season under these schemes. That’s, quite frankly, impressive. But, seriously, how did we get here? How did we reach the point of full-on panic after just two weeks into the season? Especially against two winnable opponents?
But we’ve been here before. We all had to know this was coming. It’s all too familiar. A struggling young quarterback. An offensive coordinator who’s a detriment to his development. An ineffective defense. A losing streak that won’t see to end. Wash, rinse, repeat.
While the Bears slightly improved from last week (considering they had a chance to win this game in the final minutes), this game showed the coaching staff learned absolutely nothing from the season opener.
Luke Getsy should be out of a job. After not taking accountability for the offense’s struggles in Week 1, he doubled down on his game plan (albeit with runs). He continues to run screens at an abnormally high rate (including one with the team backed up on their 5-yard line, which turned into a pick-6), he ignored what was a productive run game (Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson combined for 11 carries) and continues to force Justin Fields to be someone he’s not (a pocket passer).
There’s plenty of blame to go around — Getsy’s playcalling, Fields’ internal clock struggles and failure to find open receivers, the offensive line struggles, the defense’s lack of a pass rush, a depleted secondary, you name it.
We’re just two games into the season, and I’m trying not to overreact. But this is about as bad as it gets, and it’s only going to get worse (especially with the Chiefs on the horizon). The Bears are 3-16 under Matt Eberflus, they’re on a 12-game losing streak and haven’t won in nearly a full-calendar year. How am I supposed to believe this is going to get any better?
Brendan Sugrue
The Chicago Bears 2023 season can already be classified as a disaster just two weeks in. This team is 0-2 with very few redeeming qualities, hasn’t won a game in 11 months, seems to be going backwards from last year, and is now staring down the barrel of the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, who have former Bears head coach Matt Nagy as their offensive coordinator. Can we just skip the next game and try again in Week 4?
The good news was that the overall effort improved after Week 1, but that isn’t saying much. It was a low bar to clear. More importantly, we saw Justin Fields and the offense open up the passing game and involve D.J. Moore right away. The result was a touchdown on the first possession and an early lead. But the offensive series can never be consistently productive. It seems as if once the Bears take a step forward, they take two steps back shortly after. I don’t feel any better about Fields and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s working relationship or the coaching staff’s ability to help take the quarterback to the next level. Instead, Fields lacks urgency in the pocket, refuses to run, and is indecisive with too many throws. The bottom line is that it looks like he’s regressing, and that’s a major problem. They should have had a cohesive two-minute drive to either tie or win the game late, but instead, there was a questionable call for an inside screen pass that resulted in a pick-six.
Defensively, the box score wasn’t great given the Buccaneers had over 35 minutes of possession, but this unit did well enough when considering the circumstances. They were down multiple starters in the secondary and played with a “bend but don’t break” mentality for much of the day. It wasn’t great, but holding Tampa to 20 points was enough to win on the road in the suffocating heat and humidity. They had a chance to win in the end but couldn’t. This loss is more on offense than anything else.
Now 0-2 for the first time since 2017, head coach Matt Eberflus should be feeling a little heat under his seat. He’s 3-16 in his career. He currently has the worst winning percentage of any coach in team history. If he’s going to rally this team, it’s now or never.
Lucas Hunt
It’s been nearly a full calendar year since the Bears won their last game. One year since the good people of Chicago could celebrate a victory achieved by their beloved team.Not since Week 7 of the 2022 season could the loyal Bears’ fans revel in a win. That is simply inexcusable as an NFL franchise, and there needs to be consequences for such systematic failure.
The Bears seem to be the only team in the league that raises more questions than answers after 60 minutes of football. Who’s at fault for Chicago’s continued tradition of putrid offense? Is it head coach Matt Eberflus? Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy? Quarterback Justin Fields? If the answer is Fields, the fans are in for an extremely rude awakening. What if these first two games are an early indicator of the cold truth that Fields is yet another failed Chicago quarterback experiment that will see his Bears’ career come to an end? If his inconsistent play is a symptom of such a terminal problem, the Bears as an organization should be deemed as an utter failure.
For what it’s worth, I personally don’t believe the team is at such a juncture. The offense did play better than it had in Week 1, which is really saying something. The defense is a whole other can of worms, but in the very least the extreme pressure the Buccaneers offense put on the unit didn’t break them. I could find other consolations in the loss, but I, like every other passionate fan, am sick and tired of it. As much as it sickens me to reference a Matt Nagy-ism, Eberflus and his staff need to find the “whys” or the city will be saying their goodbyes to some coaches.
Ryan Fedrau
Another tough loss… That’s 12 in a row for the Bears, dating back to last season. I’m unsure who tricked me, but I was certain this team was supposed to be good, or at least competitive. Somehow, the offense has become worse, and the defensive improvements they made have made little-to-no difference. It’s early, things can jell together, maybe they can make a Lions-like comeback and start 1-6 and finish the season 9-8, but that doesn’t happen every year.
This team is bad. They need a pass rush, they need an improved secondary, they need help on the offensive line, and I hate to say it, but they likely need a quarterback. I truly wanted Justin Fields to be the guy, because every time the Bears draft a quarterback, we’re setting ourselves back at least one season of no playoffs as fans. At 5-22 as a starter and continuing to look worse.
