Bears squandered a perfect opportunity against the Colts and it killed the offense in Week 3
Going into the Chicago Bears' Week 3 matchup, everyone inside the organization knew that they needed to get things going in the run game.It was set to be the perfect opportunity against a Colts team that allowed by far the most rushing yards in the league through the first two weeks.Instead, the unit fell flat […]
Going into the Chicago Bears' Week 3 matchup, everyone inside the organization knew that they needed to get things going in the run game.
It was set to be the perfect opportunity against a Colts team that allowed by far the most rushing yards in the league through the first two weeks.
Instead, the unit fell flat and continued to be a major embarrassment for the team.
For the third week in a row, starting running back D'Andre Swift got double digit carries, and averaged a disappointing 1.5 yards per carry against the Colts in Week 3.
The Bears did hold true to their word and mix in other backs into the gameplan. Former starter Khalil Herbert got four carries for nine yards with second-year Roschon Johnson finishing second on the team with eight carries for a team-high 30 yards, after he got zero offensive snaps a week prior.
As a whole, the unit rushed for 63 yards on 28 carries, an average of 2.3 yards per carry. The opportunity was there for the unit to find improvement, and they just failed to do so against the Colts.
"We want to do a better job efficiently running the football," head coach Matt Eberflus said after the loss. "That starts with not taking negative plays… I think it's just about fundamentals."
The play-calling and use of personnel was just as bad, if not worse, compared to the fundamentals on the field on Sunday. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron continues to struggle drawing up plays for the different style of players he has at his disposal.
For starters, enough is enough with D'Andre Swift. The Bears big time free agent addition has been absolutely awful on the ground and yet Waldron continues feeding him the ball in situations that don't fit his style of play at all.
The option run toss to Swift on 4th-and-goal that lost 12 yards was his biggest embarrassment, even if Herbert was stuffed on the previous three attempts. And even those three weren't Herbert's fault, I mean look at these play calls inside the 10.
Swift's best usage was again as a dump off target out of the backfield, where he turned two receptions into 22 yards. As for the ground game, Herbert and Johnson need to start getting more looks than Swift going forward.
The Bears have to get the run game going and no more excuses can be made. The ground game can help open things up in the passing game and take the pressure off of the team's rookie quarterback. There should be no reason Caleb Williams throws the ball 52 times in a one possession game, ever.
6 Takeaways From The Bears Week 3 Loss: Frustrations continue on offense despite rookie connection shining
Another disappointing outing.
