The Chicago Bears offense once again struggled as it did in Week 1. Unlike last week, however, the defense and special teams could not bail it out in a 19-13 loss in which quarterback Caleb Williams took a beating.
The Chicago Bears have played two games and in both they failed to display the high-powered offense that everyone thought they would have. General Manager Ryan Poles overhauled the offense and added some great talent to give Caleb Williams, the top pick of this year’s NFL Draft, a great offense to lead.
Williams is considered a generational talent so many fans have high hopes in him. They hope that he is finally the franchise quarterback the Chicago Bears have spent over a century looking to lead the franchise into contention.
Well, after the first games things have not changed much. Before Williams, the offense struggled to move the ball and get into the end zone. In the recent past, the Chicago Bears ranked at or near the bottom of most offensive categories.
So far this season, it has been the same old story. The Bears rank 31st in passing yards, 28th in passing completion percentage, 31st in first downs, and tied for last in sacks allowed.
© Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Some fans already are feeling down. They see the same thing happening, despite all the changes. It seems that the only thing that changes with the Chciago Bears offense is the faces of the players and coaches. The results are always the same.
Williams took a beating against the Houston Texans in Week 2. He was sacked seven times and knocked down countless other times. He had to run for his life to avoid more hits. In the process, he got caught trying to do more than he could.
Williams threw two interceptions while trying to do too much. He was harassed on two consecutive plays. Instead of trying to throw the ball away and living another play, he went downfield with the ball. Both times he underthrew the ball and a Texans defender caught the ball.
The Chicago Bears lost the game 19-13 but it might as well have been 59-13. The offense could not do anything in the second half. In Week 1 it failed to score a touchdown. At least the Bears scored a touchdown in the first half against the Texans. However, the offense has yet to score a passing touchdown.
One disappointing aspect of the offense is the offensive line. The unit has been downright awful. Coleman Shelton at center was getting overwhelmed. The right side of the line, with Nate Davis and Darnell Wright, struggled with missed blocks and penalties.
© Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
It was frustrating to see the Chicago Bears linemen to commit pre-snap penalties coming out of timeouts. If ever there was a time to get things down, it is after a timeout. Seeing a lineman commit a false start after a timeout is just plain unacceptable.
Pace did a great job of improving the offense. Having subpar offensive linemen derails all of his plans, though. As we saw, Williams had little time to stand in the pocket and throw the ball. He tried to stand in the pocket but ultimately had to move around because of the pressure.
We see that the Chicago Bears offensive line just has not been able to do anything. Even the running game is struggling because of the lack of holes available. The Bears rank 28th in rushing yards, 29th in yards per carry, and tied for 30th in rushing touchdowns.
© Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
This is not the recipe for a good season. Of course, it has only been two games. There is still plenty of time to fix things. However, time can be fleeting.
One positive thing that came out of the Texans game was how well Williams performed when he did have time. He torched the Texans when they did not blitz. He completed about 70 percent of his passes. That is evidence that shows that Williams can be deadly when he has time.
Poles and the Chicago Bears coaching staff have to figure out a way to get some protection for Williams. If he has the time he will show why the franchise is so high on him. If he doesn’t, he might be another name on the long list of quarterbacks who failed to live up to the hype of being the franchise quarterback the Chicago Bears have needed.
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