Bears Escape Drab Offensive Performance in Week 1

What a difference a win makes. Is the proverbial loser monkey now off the Chicago Bears’ backs, even if it was replaced with a hideous offensive win monkey? With attention focused on rookie QB Caleb Williams, he didn’t do anything to lose the game for the Bears against the Titans – no picks, no fumbles. But, he didn’t do anything to help them win the game with no touchdowns and 48% completions… Or did he?

Caleb Williams Did His Job

Chicago BearsPhoto byBlake GuidryonUnsplash

Even if it wasn’t as pretty as his painted nails or as cute as the friendship bracelet on his wrist, the Bears rookie signal-caller did what he was supposed to do. Caleb Williams was supposed to be a sponge in game one. Not the kind of sponge that soaks up all there is to learn quickly, adapt in real-time, and make adjustments on the fly. No, not that kind of sponge.

Caleb was supposed to be the sponge that soaked up all the pressure, heat, scrutiny, criticism, and hate – so the rest of his teammates could do their business. Caleb Williams absorbed the acute focal point of all the Bears fans and the haters and allowed his teammates to play loose and free. Caleb Williams may not have had some tangible actions on the field that directly helped his team win, but he didn’t lose the game. His intangible actions as a sponge empowered his teammates to go out there and win a football game for the Chicago Bears.

The Bears team as a whole fulfilled their duty. They won. O.G. Chicago fans rejoiced over the special teams and defensive touchdowns, sacks, and interceptions. That’s what the Bears have been known for and have done well for decades. Ah yes, familiarity of defensive prowess. The suspect defensive line showed up and balled out with three sacks, four TFLs, 10 QB hits, and a forced fumble. They could have been better against the run, but ultimately outperformed expectations. The newness of potential fireworks on offense though, will have to wait until week two.

We’re On To Houston

Win or lose, week one in the NFL be damned. It’s an extension of the preseason for the starters who haven’t played a real football game since last year. Wild and weird things happen, and all a team has to do is survive it to get the tally mark in the win column to go on to week two, where at least half of the game is also a preseason workout with fans.

The undefeated Bears take on the lossless Houston Texans at their house on Sunday Night Football in week two. The Texans just survived a whacky week one themselves, pulling out a two-point victory over the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans looked like a well-oiled machine on offense with newcomers Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs having monster games.

Though the Texans’ offense looked sharp, their defense gave up too many yards and points to the Colts. The Bears’ defense will have their hands full with the Texans’ balanced offensive attack. The Texans are a playoff team from last year and are much better on offense than the Tennessee Titans were last week. This is a game where Caleb Williams will need to do something tangible on the field to help his team if the Bears want to have a chance to be competitive.

The Playbook Needs to Open Up

Though Caleb Willams missed some throws against the Titans last week, the Chicago Bears’ game plan on offense was conservative. It was more of a “protect the rookie and survive” game plan. That approach will not fly against a team as good as the Houston Texans. If the Bears’ OC Shane Waldron takes a few more risks and calls some plays that move the ball down the field, it could be an entertaining matchup.

The Texans’ defense is not particularly scary on paper, but they will be ready to play in their home opener at NRG Stadium in Houston this Sunday night. The Bears offense needs to figure out how to score points in an NFL game before then, and a lot of them. One approach to accomplish that is to open the playbook up to somewhere beyond page one. Turn the young feller loose, let him run around, and find ways to get the ball out to his playmakers.

The one big problem with the Bears being able to do that is their offensive line. Low-hanging fruit here, but against the Tenessee Titans, the Bears’ offensive line played downright… offensive. They were the winners in one category only – of the two most concerning position groups on the team going into that game, O-line and D-line, they took the cake on that one. The Bears’ offensive line played so badly, that now the Bears have to wonder about their offense as a whole.

Final Thoughts

The Chicago Bears Offense could not run the ball, nor pass the ball with any success against the Tenessee Titans. Credit to the Titans’ defense who played much better than anticipated. The good news for the Bears is that the Houston Texans’ defense did not look as good as the Tennessee defense in week one. But, the one big question remains – was that because the Titans are a good defense, or is it because the Bears made them look that way?

The answer is a little of both. We knew the Tennessee Titans had some big-name acquisitions on defense this offseason to pair with a few already on the team. We didn’t know how they would gel together by week one and how the new defensive coordinator would put that talent together cohesively.

The Bears also helped them by playing sub-par up front and having some pretty vanilla playcalling. Combine all that with a few bad throws, some drops, and three fumbles (only one lost), and what do you get? A Titans’ defense that looked like a juggernaut.

The bad news, and it looks like it could be horrible – is how poorly the offensive line played and executed the play calls. That garbage needs to be cleaned up in a hurry for the Bears to have a chance to build on a week one win that was fostered by their defense and special teams.

Caleb Williams needs to grow up quickly and instill some trust and urgency with the big men in front to help improve things before the next game in Houston. Will a week be enough time to get things right on offense? How will the offensive line and Caleb Williams perform in Primetime?

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Article originally written by Cody Nickel