Bears address frustrations on offense, look for bounce back game against Colts

CHICAGO (WGN) — Whether it was on the field late in the game Sunday or afterward during the team’s press conferences, the Chicago Bears’ showed obvious signs of frustration. And on Wednesday, key figureheads addressed the struggles they faced against the Houston Texans.

“I need to play for the offense and be efficient,” said Caleb Williams. “Make less mistakes each week [and] don’t make the same mistake over and over.

“I had the two stupid mistakes, that won’t happen again.”

The Bears rookie quarterback got off to a sizzling start Sunday night, opening up the game 5/5 for 55 yards through the air on the Bears’ first drive.

The drive eventually stalled with only a field goal after two stuffed runs by D’Andre Swift and a Williams sack on third down – a reoccurring theme throughout the night.

Although Williams average time-to-throw was 2.59 seconds — sixth-fastest in the NFL in Week 2 — He was still pressured 36 times on 37 pass attempts, resulting in seven sacks and 11 quarterback hits by game’s end.

Williams finished the game 23/37 for 174 passing yards and two interceptions.

“The other team’s job is to try and confuse you, throw different things at you, different looks,” Williams said. “So, being able to adjust quickly in-game is the most important thing, and starts with communication.”

Dysfunction along the offensive line compounded the constant pressure, which Williams said forced him to throw on a different cadence, leading to play clocks running low and penalties being called.

The offensive line was called for four false starts and one illegal formation against the Texans, while Swift was also called for holding when he picked up a block in the backfield late in the third quarter.

“You look at the play, it comes down to fundamentals,” said head coach Matt Eberflus. “It comes down to a good kick. It comes down to keeping your inside foot up. It comes down to being patient and then working your protection.”

“That was the real frustration”

The pressure also knocked Williams out of rhythm with his wide receivers.

DJ Moore, the Bears’ leading receiver through two games, seemed visibly frustrated after he and Williams didn’t link up on a back-shoulder throw with three minutes to go in the fourth.

If completed, the pass would’ve given the Bears a first down and kept their second-to-last drive alive, but instead, the play became indicative of the struggles they faced all night against the Texans’ defense.

“We were one play away from the game changing,” Moore said. “We just couldn’t connect, like nobody on offense could connect [to] get the one play started to get us on track to go up.

“We were chasing that one play, and we just couldn’t get it.”

In hindsight, Moore said he shouldn’t have shown as much emotion after the play, but he’ll continue to be himself regardless of how a replay is portrayed in the public eye.

“We really just needed somebody, anybody to get it going and we just couldn’t,” Moore said. “So, that was the real frustration.”

Establishing an Identity

Two weeks in, the Bears offense still looks like its trying to do too many things, without having one facet of their game they can lean on.

Williams and Moore both admitted Chicago needs to establish their identity on offense. The quarterback emphasized the importance of establishing the run, while Moore said it was important to determine whether their offensive identity will be pass-first or run-first.

“One of the things we’ll be able to do really well soon is we’ll be able to run the ball,” Williams said. “[We’re] trying to figure out exactly what runs fit best with our personnel, the people we have. I think that’s the thing that’s going to emerge here really soon.”

“Now that it’s live action, [we’ve] got to take a step back [and] really look at the expectations and hone in on our identity,” Moore said. “Whether it’s going to be running the ball or passing the ball, and just get that down pat now.”

While the results weren’t what they wanted overall, the Bears offense did improve on involving Swift in the run game more from Week 1 to Week 2.

Swift’s carries increased from ten to 14, while his targets increased from one to six against Houston, leading to 18 rushing yards and four catches for 24 receiving yards from the former Georgia Bulldog.

By night’s end, only four teams averaged fewer yards rushing than the Bears, who have 77.5 per game through Sunday. Chicago is also 29th in the NFL in yards-per-carry at 3.5.

Against Houston, the Bears ran 22 times for 71 yards. Williams registered 44 of those yards.

Up Next

The Chicago Bears take on the Indianapolis Colts Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where kickoff is set for 12 p.m. CT.

“We working and guys are working on fundamentals and we’re figuring out what we do well,” Eberflus said. “It’s the second game in our offense so, we’re going to figure it out. I believe that we got better last week in terms of rhythm, timing, passing, distributing the ball to the skill. Now we’re working run game and all the other things that come off of that.

“When you have a game you’re not proud of, guess what? You come back and you have a good game. That’s how you respond.”

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