The first month of the Bears season had moments that seemed like many we’ve seen before.
Discombobulated offense. A play caller under heavy scrutiny. A defense doing all it can. Conversations about communication and accountability.
Some things looked different. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, albeit off to a rockier start than we expected, has progressed each week. The Week 1 win over the Titans was the type of game that recent Bears teams don’t win. The result of post-Colts-game tension led to a comeback victory over the Rams.
How good is this team? What alarm bells are real? And what strengths can carry the group from here?
Caleb Williams, the young leader
On third-and-15 from the Rams’ 22, Williams fired a pass at receiver DJ Moore down the right sideline, but his throw sailed through the end zone. Both players were rightfully frustrated.
Williams thought Moore would carry his route straight up the field against two high safeties, but instead Moore went inside his defender before cutting back outside and then up the field.
Moore blamed himself after the game for the miscue.
“I wouldn’t say it’s somebody’s fault,” Williams said on Wednesday. “I think (it’s) just us not being on the same page. We went over to the sideline, obviously, let everything calm down because I’m frustrated, he’s frustrated. We both want to go make that moment and go score right before half especially because that’s big for any game.
“And so you know having that moment, letting everything calm down, go talk to him after, just get on the same page so that when it does happen again, that we hit for a big one going into half.”
The Bears’ passing game is still finding its way. But the moments when Williams shows leadership and takes charge among his teammates are increasing.
When Williams hit Moore later for a touchdown in the back of the end zone against the Rams, the two celebrated with a hug.
Caleb Williams to DJ Moore!
📺: #LARvsCHI on FOX
📱: pic.twitter.com/qKkDF3wMLF— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024
“You got to know where you are in the read,” Moore said. “I probably was like second or third, but I knew it was gonna have to get back to me because it was a linebacker (in coverage). So I was like, if this thing doesn’t get back this way, we might have some more discussions on the sideline.”
Moore laughed when he said that.
“It ended up getting back, so there was no discussion on the sideline, it was all happy vibes,” he continued. “Most of the time it is happy vibes. So I gave him the ball after that. I was ecstatic for him.”
Williams’ discussions with the coaches last week about wanting to stay in the flow of things when the offense is humming is another example of his leadership coming through this early in his career.
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What’s next for the pass game
The coaches are pleased with the way Williams has “taken what the defense gives him,” as coach Matt Eberflus reiterated Wednesday. That was apparent in the win over the Rams. Williams lived up to Eberflus’ mantra of “get the ball to your skill (players)” in a big way. Against defenses playing to not give up the explosive play, the Bears could keep building off the short-to-intermediate success they had against L.A.
“Dispersing the ball around like we’re supposed to. Playing point guard like we talk about. And playing clean football,” Eberflus said. “That’s what last week was. We played good, clean football from that position.”
But they would certainly like to unlock a deep passing game. Williams could have better touch on some of those passes, as we’ve seen him miss receivers here and there by overthrowing them. He hit those throws in camp, though and did at USC time and time again.
However, Williams is 13-for-42 on passes that travel more than 10 air yards, per TruMedia, with three interceptions and a passer rating of 22.7. The Bears are last in the league in explosive plays. That has to improve, and part of that will be more reliable protection as well as smoother connections with his receivers, not to mention Williams’ comfort level growing within the NFL game.
Running back Roschon Johnson, right, scored the Bears’ first touchdown Sunday against the Rams. (Quinn Harris / Getty Images)
The status of the run game
Running back D’Andre Swift rushed for a season-high 93 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries last week against the Rams at Soldier Field. Roschon Johnson had seven carries for 26 yards and another score.
“The runners did a really good job of running downhill,” Eberflus said. “The types of runs were a little bit different. They were a little bit more downhill-type runs. The perimeter blocking was good. The reason you make those explosive plays is the perimeter blocking is there as well. It takes all 11 of the guys to get that done. The detail was really good.”
The Rams, though, also have the worst run defense in the league after four weeks, allowing 165.5 yards per game. The Bears totaled 131 on the ground against them.
In other words, the Bears shouldn’t get too carried away with what they did in Week 4.
The Bears rank 29th in rushing offense, averaging 87.3 yards per game, after four games. At this point, a major improvement shouldn’t be expected. The Bears are what they are on the ground. With Justin Fields no longer here to add to the Bears’ rushing yardage, better defenses should slow them down. After four weeks, the Vikings and Lions, two division rivals, have the second- and fourth-best run defenses.
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Personnel changes coming?
The offensive line has shuffled more than the Bears wanted. Ryan Bates (shoulder) has been on injured reserve, guard Nate Davis re-injured his groin and ultimately lost his starting job. Guard Teven Jenkins had to leave Week 3 with injured ribs.
Bates is eligible to return next week. Could the Bears reopen up the competition at center that we saw in the spring between Bates and Coleman Shelton? Will Matt Pryor stick it out at right guard the rest of the way? Could Doug Kramer factor in at all — he’s not on the roster just to be a short-yardage fullback.
Another player to monitor the rest of the way is third-round rookie offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie. The Bears are emphatic on not putting “ceilings” on players but seemed ready for Amegadjie to have a redshirt year. If line struggles continue, or if more injuries pop up, his name will be discussed.
The O-line is the unit that needs continuity the most and has had it the least. Even before the injuries, the performance was lagging.
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Defense vs. expectations
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson bristled at the idea that the defense is better than we thought it might be.
“Honestly, we haven’t been good enough,” he said Monday. “I feel like we definitely haven’t taken away the explosive plays that we want to. We definitely let some of those go. We definitely have got hit on some of our runs. Just not being disciplined, being where we are supposed to be consistently.
“We definitely haven’t scratched the surface for what we know we can do because we’re shooting ourselves in the foot.”
That should be scary for the rest of the league. The Bears are tied for third in the league in takeaways (eight) and eighth in points allowed per game (18.8). The best player hasn’t been Johnson or fellow Pro Bowler Montez Sweat, though both have made impact plays. It’s been defensive tackle Andrew Billings, who is the third-best pass-rushing interior lineman in football per ESPN’s pass-rush win rate. Not far behind him is Gervon Dexter.
Gervon Dexter Sr. gets the sack for the @ChicagoBears!
📺: #CHIvsHOU on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/AwvbGoWVS1— NFL (@NFL) September 16, 2024
While some teams have moved the ball on early downs or between the 20s, Eberflus’ defense has been strong when it matters most. The Bears are fifth in the league in third-down defense and tied for eighth at keeping opponents out of the end zone in goal-to-go situations.
Per TruMedia, the Bears are third in the NFL in defensive success rate and fifth in total defensive EPA (expected points added). You know things are going well when two non-starters, linebacker Jack Sanborn and defensive end Darrell Taylor, have made a handful of splash plays.
But the run defense is a concern. The Bears are 19th in yards allowed per carry (4.52) — last season, they were fifth. When the backup defensive line is on the field, teams are testing rookie defensive end Austin Booker. He’s a player who should keep ascending, but as Johnson said, this already stout group hasn’t hit its potential yet. When the schedule gets tougher after the bye, the defense can’t afford to allow as many chunk plays.
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Confidence level in coaching staff
Last week at Halas Hall had a precarious vibe to it. The Bears were coming off an awful loss to the Colts, and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron drew the most scrutiny because of his play calling, particularly for what he called on the goal line.
Waldron mentioned that he had discussions with his offensive leaders: Moore, Williams and tight ends Cole Kmet and Marcedes Lewis. Lewis, the oldest player on the team, revealed what he told Waldron — that players essentially needed to be coached harder, that mistakes needed to be pointed out and that accountability still mattered.
For one week, whatever they said and whatever they worked on clicked for the offense. The Bears rebounded and beat the Rams.
“I think it was more accountability really amongst the group,” Eberflus said Monday. “I don’t like making the division between coach and player. It’s a partnership, meaning that if something’s wrong, a player can say, ‘Hey, let’s get that over again, Coach.’ That’s OK. We do that all the time. It’s important for them to step up because they’ll see something because they’re in there blocking it, saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got to do that again, Coach.’
“That was really the accountability piece of the partnership of the whole group, whole unit. Special teams unit, offense unit, defense unit, (the) football team (is) making sure we get it right. We know when it’s right and the players know when it’s right, so when it’s not right, let’s speak up, let’s do it again.”
Time will tell if the Bears actually fixed what ails them. Waldron surely will be under fire again if his offense flounders and Williams’ season averages don’t improve.
But at the very least, the Bears displayed an openness and a willingness to find answers to their problems on game days. It’s better that it happened early in the season than when it’s too late.
(Top photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
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