6 Takeaways From The Bears Week 3 Loss: Frustrations continue on offense despite rookie connection shining
It was another frustrating game for the Chicago Bears' offense in what turned out to be another close affair thanks to the Bears opportunistic defense, which has been the story of the team's entire season through three weeks.The Bears 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts did, however, have a lot more big moments to build […]
It was another frustrating game for the Chicago Bears' offense in what turned out to be another close affair thanks to the Bears opportunistic defense, which has been the story of the team's entire season through three weeks.
The Bears 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts did, however, have a lot more big moments to build off of going forward. The fixable mistakes just reared their ugly head at the worst times and ruined another opportunity to get a win.
Here are the top takeaways from Week 3:
Caleb Williams-Rome Odunze make highlight plays
Something that took a while to come to fruition was the connection between the team's top two rookies; quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze.
We got a taste of the connection during the preseason, but didn't see much from the team's top two draft picks in the first two games. That changed in Week 3.
Williams and Odunze connected six times for 112 yards and one touchdown. The first connection went for 47 yards in the second quarter. On the following drive, the two connected again for another gain of 27 yards.
Later in the game when the offense needed to make a play, Williams went back to Odunze and the two connected for what was the first NFL touchdown for both players. It was great to see this connection finally come alive and the touchdown will be the first of many for the young duo.
Personnel and play-call decisions keep holding the offense back
Before I start bashing offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, I will say he did a better job managing the offensive personnel compared to the first to weeks, especially with tight end Cole Kmet and running back Roschon Johnson.
Until… he completely botched a scoring opportunity late in the second quarter. After getting the ball inside the 10-yard line through the air, the Bears ran the ball four straight times and turned it over on downs. Khalil Herbert managed to fight for three yards on three carries but was replaced by D'Andre Swift on fourth down. Swift then managed to loss 12 yards on an outside speed option.
As J.J. Watt said during the halftime show, you're the Chicago Bears, run the ball up the middle. Horrid play calling and use of personnel in that situation.
Defense tried to do their part
For the most part, the Bears defense played well once again all things considered.
The unit did give up more deep passes than you'd like and allowed running back Jonathan Taylor to have his way, but the unit still created needed turnovers and stood tall when it mattered.
After the Bears made it a one possession game with 2:01 remaining in the fourth, the team opted to kickoff and rely on the defense instead of attempting an onside kick. That's not something you see every team do, even if it didn't work out.
At the end of the day, the Bears came away with five pass deflections and two interceptions in coverage (one of which in the endzone), along with one sack and three QB hits.
The Colts offense finished the game 3-12 on third down and had a big stop on fourth down. Chicago's defense certainly did their part to get the ball back to the offense with a chance to win the game, just as they did during the first two games.
This offense desperately needs a healthy Keenan Allen
For the third straight week, the Bears offense struggled on third/fourth down in passing situations. Tight end Cole Kmet was able to convert on some big moments in the game but the unit needs another go-to guy on those plays.
Overall, the unit finished the game on Sunday going 9-21 on third down opportunities. It's a frustrating result and one that has turned into a real trend. Fortunately, the Bears have an answer to this issue, the only problem is that he can't get on the field.
The veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen missed the last two weeks with a lingering heel injury. Toward the end of the week, head coach Matt Eberflus noted that Allen is close to returning and hopefully he can be back next week.
Allen is one of the best third down players in the league, regardless of position. He was brought into Chicago to be a reliable weapon for his young quarterback in critical situations. You can't be reliable when you're not on the field in the first place.
Changes made on the offensive line
As it turns out, the Bears did make some changes to the starting offensive line after a horrible outing in Week 2.
Matt Pryor started the game at right guard for the Bears over Nate Davis, who was added to the injury report on Friday with a groin injury. Davis was active and eventually rotated in at his usual position for a few plays after Pryor filled in at left tackle for an injured Braxton Jones.
Jones returned on the following drive, Pryor slid back to right guard, and Davis returned to the bench. The offensive line looked much more improved with Pryor in the game at guard, outside of a bad sack he allowed late in the fourth quarter.
Montez Sweat finally hits home
After becoming the first player to lead two franchises in sacks during the same season, it took until Week 3 for Montez Sweat to finally end a five game sack drought.
Even though it took a while to get there, Sweat has still been a main factor in the team's pass rush pulling in double-team looks that allow other players to get into the pocket. But on Sunday, Sweat was finally able to get in on the fun.
During the Colts second offensive drive, Sweat was able to collapse the pocket off the edge and bring down quarterback Anthony Richardson to force a 3rd-and-11, ultimately halting the drive before it even got started.
“He’s going to get there,” defensive coordinator Eric Washington said during the week. “He has the talent and the mindset and the intelligence to get there. There are things that are obvious, sacks, hits, those types of things, and sometimes there are things that are obvious to us. And what I’m looking at with (Sweat) is how he is factoring on certain plays.
NFL punishes multiple Bears players ahead of Week 3 matchup against Colts
The NFL is all about cracking down on certain rules in 2024 and its not having any trouble handing out accompanying fines in order to prove a point/curtail certain behaviors on the football field. Three Chicago Bears were fined for multiple infractions during the team's Week 2 matchup against the Houston Texans. The biggest one […]
