The Chicago Bears (2-1) came away with a narrow 23-20 victory over the Houston Texans (0-2-1) on Sunday, where there were still some concerns despite the win.
The offense continues to struggle, and they stalled in all three trips to the red zone. Placeholder kicker Michael Badgley accounted for all 12 of Chicago’s points. But even as Justin Fields looked like he improved somewhat, the offensive line let him down.
There was plenty to break down following Chicago’s loss against New York. Our Bears Wire staff is sharing their thoughts following the Week 4 game.
The Bears’ Week 4 loss vs. Giants
Alyssa Barbieri
The Bears’ loss to the Giants was even more infuriating than their loss to the Packers in Week 2. Stay with me here. For all intents and purposes, Chicago and New York are two evenly-matched teams. They’ve had sub-par quarterback play; they have dominant run games; their defenses have been stout, but not without their flaws; and they both had no business being 2-1 (now, for the Giants, 3-1).
At least when the Bears lost to the Packers, they lost to a team with a strong edge in talent and coaching. But Chicago’s loss to the Giants was made worse by the fact that the Bears couldn’t beat a borderline bad/average team. Credit to the Giants, who out-coached and outplayed Chicago (not to mention, who have one of the best running backs in the league in Saquon Barkley). But there were opportunities to win this game for the Bears.
Chicago has been a second-half team this year. They’ve done a decent job of making some sort of adjustments at halftime following some ugly first halves. But the offense’s inability to convert on all three trips inside the red zone was the reason they lost this game. The offense continued to struggle; the defense stumbled; and the coaching staff had a brutal outing (specifically looking at you, Luke Getsy).
If there’s a positive to take out of this, it’s that we finally saw the Justin Fields-Darnell Mooney connection manifest on the field. Unfortunately, Fields’ offensive line, other wideouts and offensive coordinator let him down. It’s hard not to worry about his development at this point, even so early on in Year 2.
This is one of those losses that makes you sit back and think, maybe the Bears are as bad as the national media made them out to be this offseason. Not that this wasn’t unexpected. I’ve expected Chicago to struggle this season. But I also expected this new coaching staff to bridge the gap and make them more competitive than they looked against a team in similar circumstances.
Brendan Sugrue
It was crystal clear that only one of the teams between the Bears and Giants actually did their homework when figuring out how to attack the opponent’s defense. The Giants had a simple, yet effective gameplan on how to neutralize the Bears defense. They fed Saquon Barkley until his legs fell off and used plenty of misdirection with Daniel Jones’ running ability. It should have been obvious after the second drive of the game, but it took an entire half for the Bears defense to make adjustments. The Bears offense, meanwhile, just did what they have done all season long, which was run the ball up the middle and give Justin Fields little to work with.
This game was there for the taking. The Giants literally couldn’t play with a quarterback for the final couple of drives. But the Bears played scared and refused to gamble when put in favorable positions, beginning with their second drive of the game when they chose to kick a field goal while inside the five-yard line.
As for the quarterback, Fields did play a bit better than he had the last couple of weeks and showed progress, but he had little to no time in the pocket. Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale brought the heat on nearly every play, giving the offensive line fits and showing they can be easily overmatched.
The main takeaway, however, is offensive coordinator Luke Getsy must find a way to be more creative with his playcalling. He may be limited by his roster, but he’s calling a scared plan after his scripted plays run out. You’re not winning many games when you refuse to throw the ball in the redzone. Something needs to change now that we’re about a quarter of the way through the season.
Ryan Fedrau
Justin Fields looked better, but that’s not saying much. It’s surprising to me that this team is 2-2, and even after how poorly the play calling was Sunday, they were in it to the very last play.
Chicago’s offense has to get better. I’m not sure where to start. The offensive line was brutal today, the play calling is inconsistent, and Fields has struggled. For now, as long as the defense can do enough to make it a close game, anything can happen.
Nate Atkins
The game went as expected. In a 60-minute game, the Bears are a 50-minute team. There will be more close losses coming. Teams are starting to key in on the run, and the Bears can’t counter.
Despite the Giants trying to take the run away, the Bears continued to run. The problem is, this week’s running couldn’t offset the issues with the passing game.
It’s going to be a long season. The Bears are well-coached and will play tough, but they’ll lose a lot. The roster doesn’t have the depth or the talent to win much this year.
There’s optimism in seeing Justin Fields and Darnell Mooney re-establish their connection. The playbook seems to be opening. If the staff tried hiding Fields, they can’t anymore. I expect his pass attempts to continue increasing.
