Bears finally got Colston Loveland going in Week 6, and now there’s a crucial test to prove it’s a sign of things to come
The Chicago Bears finally got tight end Colston Loveland more involved in Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons and he’s too big of a threat to not continue feeding him the football.
It had been a quiet start to the 2026 regular season for Chicago Bears second-year tight end Colston Loveland, at least statistically. And the reason why isn’t as simple as “Oh the Bears just refuse to use their most dangerous weapon”.
The good news for Bears fans, and fantasy owners, is that Loveland finally got going on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. Prior to Week 6, he had just 13 receptions for 110 yards. In that game on Sunday, Loveland had six receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown on seven targets.
I understand head coach Ben Johnson’s offense is matchup dependent when it comes to who the focal weapon will be any given week. But, Loveland is a matchup nightmare for any defense that can always be involved and the Bears need Sunday’s game to be a sign of things to come.
What went right for Colston Loveland in Week 6 and why it should continue
The first two weeks of the season, it was evident that Loveland wasn’t expected to be a primary option for the Bears’ passing game. The Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings also did everything in their power to make sure Loveland didn’t beat them.
The following three weeks, Loveland had a slight uptick in production with Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent at quarterback. Yet, when you watched the tape, there were still multiple opportunities to get Loveland the ball that were simply passed up, especially in Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers.
With Caleb Williams back at quarterback on Sunday, it wasn’t like the plan was to get Loveland going by any means. Williams was simply able to work his way to Loveland multiple times as the non-primary read and give him a catchable ball to work with.
“I don’t think there was any big change. His number just got called. I don’t know if it was more than it had been in the past. It was just the ball was able to find him,” offensive coordinator Press Taylor said. “He did a great job getting open. He made some tough catches… I don’t think there was really anything out of the ordinary. We weren’t searching it. We weren’t forcing it to him or anything like that and I think you see that in the efficiency that Caleb was able to play with as well.”
Having Williams back alone was a major benefit for Loveland. Williams was much better in his ability to process the reads, and his eagerness to get Loveland more involved is what bodes well for this momentum to continue.
“It’s just a matter of when,” Williams said. “He’s Colston Loveland, he gets open. He’s going to keep getting open, and I’m going to keep feeding him the ball. That’s my mindset. Like I said, I challenged these guys when I was coming back that they’re the best in the world. B-I-W is what I tell them; best in the world. I’m going to keep putting the ball up in the air, you keep making catches. Then from there, we’ll keep growing. We’ll keep trusting each other. Colston did just that. The first touchdown back was to Colston. It’s just me putting the ball up in the air in that situation. He took a hit, secured the ball, touchdown. We celebrate together, and it was fun.”
Can Loveland stack another strong game on Thursday?
The question now is whether or not Loveland can stack another strong game Thursday night against the New England Patriots. It’s clear now that it’s not an issue of him not being featured or not, and if he is for this game he should have a strong performance.
Really, the key to getting him involved is just on Williams processing through his reads and not forcing any bad balls. Just take what the defense gives you and work your way back to Loveland. We all know he’s going to be open more often than not.
As for the matchup itself, the Patriots are middle of the pack defending against tight ends, allowing 29 receptions (20th), 282 yards (18th), and one touchdown (T-24th) this season. We’ll see what the plan, and the results look like. But, everyone is hoping Loveland can continue to get more and more involved as the season continues.
