Performance from Bears' rookie offers a small silver lining from an otherwise forgettable loss against the Cardinals
The Chicago Bears' offense led by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams looked dreadful once again against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9.Williams was pressured on nearly 50 percent of his dropbacks and sacked six times, the run game was held to just under 70 yards on the ground, and one of the team's top weapons was […]
The Chicago Bears' offense led by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams looked dreadful once again against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9.
Williams was pressured on nearly 50 percent of his dropbacks and sacked six times, the run game was held to just under 70 yards on the ground, and one of the team's top weapons was frustratingly held completely out of the game plan.
However, there was one small silver lining from the loss that offers some kind of encouragement for the unit moving forward.
Despite the blowout loss, rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze looked great for the Bears, finishing his night with his second career 100-yard performance.
The Bears have been trying for weeks to get Odunze going again after having his first breakout game against the Indianapolis Colts back in Week 3. On Sunday, the team's rising star had seven targets, turning it into five receptions for 104 yards.
Odunze has been routinely cooking opposing defensive backs this season and always seems to get open. The only problem has been that he's not one of the primary reads within the offense. That trend changed on Sunday.
Six of Odunze's seven targets came in the first half of Sunday's game, including two on the opening drive of the game that went for 32 yards.
It was nice to see offensive coordinator Shane Waldron finally try to get Odunze more involved in the passing game because the rookie is incredibly talented. There's still some plays Odunze would love to have back, including this bad drop, but overall the team should be pleased with how Odunze played on Sunday.
On the box score, Odunze was still behind veteran Keenan Allen, who had 10 receptions that he turned into just four receptions for 36 yards. As for DJ Moore, the team's most dangerous weapon had nine targets for just four receptions and 33 yards.
Based on that, you'd like to see the coaches give Odunze even more opportunities going forward since he's the one that's consistently cashing in on his looks in the passing game. He's definitely looking like the best receiver on the team and should be treated like that in the weeks to come.
Lack of involvement from one of the team’s top weapons proves the Bears’ coaches aren’t learning anything from their mistakes
It shouldn’t be this hard to figure out.
