Bears WR Luther Burden III played with the kind of fire fans will love against the Packers and continues to bring a necessary physical edge
The Bears need a dawg like that on offense.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson got his first taste of the Bears-Packers rivalry on Sunday and while the team came up just short at the end, Chicago proved they can hang and that they belong in the conversation among the top teams in the NFC.
Offensively, the Bears got out to a slow start and fell behind early after some big plays surrendered by the defense. In the second-half, Chicago started to rally back in a heated game where every yard had to be earned.
One player who was ready for that kind of environment more than anyone on Sunday was Bears’ rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III.
Luther Burden III wanted all of the smoke against the Packers, rose to his opportunity
When the Bears drafted Burden in the second-round of the 2025 NFL Draft, you could just tell something was different with that dude and his mental approach to the game. After falling out of the first-round, Burden made his intentions known that he would make people pay for passing on him.
It was a slow start to the season after working his way up Johnson’s totem pole of trust, but Burden is starting to become a real factor in the Bears’ offense and he’s bringing a much-needed physical element in more ways than one. Something that was really evident in this kind of atmosphere.
Burden played a season-high 50 offensive snaps on Sunday with Rome Odunze sidelined due to a foot injury. He finished the game with four receptions and a team-high 67 yards on six targets, all four of his receptions went for a first down and he averaged 16.8 yards per reception.
The more Burden gets involved in the offense, the more he’s delivered and his play style is something the Bears need to start mixing in a lot more of. This guy fights for every last yard he can get on every touch and is even creating hidden yards, like when he baited Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon into a costly penalty.
Compare Burden’s game on Sunday to DJ Moore, who finished with negative four yards on three targets and it’s clear who needs to start being featured more down the stretch, even when Odunze returns to the lineup.
What Burden is bringing to this offense is a special kind of impact and the Bears need to have a dawg like that on offense more in these type of games going forward.
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