Certain aspects of the Bears' offense caught the Packers by surprise in first game under new OC Thomas Brown
The Chicago Bears' offense under new coordinator Thomas Brown surprised a lot of people on Sunday despite the loss, including the players on the other side of the field.Against the Green Bay Packers in Week 11, the Bears' offense totaled more points and third-down conversions than their previous two games combined while totaling nearly 400 […]
The Chicago Bears' offense under new coordinator Thomas Brown surprised a lot of people on Sunday despite the loss, including the players on the other side of the field.
Against the Green Bay Packers in Week 11, the Bears' offense totaled more points and third-down conversions than their previous two games combined while totaling nearly 400 yards of total offense.
It wasn't the final outcome anyone hoped for, but the first game under the guidance of Brown was certainly promising for the remainder of the season.
After the game, quarterback Caleb Williams broke down some of the key differences he noticed with Brown calling the offense, most notably the speed of getting the calls in and the play designs itself.
The play-calling specifically is what was able to catch the Packers' defense off-guard throughout much of the afternoon. For starters, the Packers had no answer for the designed runs and scrambles made by Williams. Williams finished the game with a career-high 70 rushing yards, 60 of which came in the first-half.
“But that’s the thing with a new offensive coordinator in the middle of the week. We didn’t really prepare for that," Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark said on Sunday.
The run game as a whole looked much more improved under Brown, beyond Williams. Attacking head-on in the run game is something Brown noted he wanted to build his offensive gameplan off of when talking to the media on Wednesday.
The Bears as a whole rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns, but how they split the carries was also a big reason why. Under Brown, Roschon Johnson was utilized better as a change of pace and short yardage back, tying a season-high 10 carries.
As for starting running back D'Andre Swift, nine of Swift's 14 carries were on outside runs, including this 39-yard touchdown run that swung the game in the Bears' favor.
In the passing game, Brown dialed up a lot of short, quick passes early on for Williams to get into an early rhythm and put the ball into the hands of his play-makers.
It was also eye-opening to see the difference in the screen game. Compared to Shane Waldron, Brown called screens to the shorter side of the field, allowing the blockers to get out front easier, which shouldn't be rocket science but apparently it was for him.
The Bears still had some plays left on the field you'd like to have back, but overall the unit put the team in position to win the game against a tough divisional opponent. You can't ask for anything more than that in this league.
It was a promising debut for Brown as the offensive coordinator and a lot of people should be excited to see how the unit builds from this game.
Caleb Williams reveals the key differences of having Thomas Brown as the offensive coordinator in Week 11 loss
This was clearly the right move.
