Chicago Bears: What to watch in latest attempt to end losing streak in Week 14

The Chicago Bears hit the road to take on the San Francisco 49ers trying to end their six-game losing streak and give interim head coach Thomas Brown a great start.

The Chicago Bears finally get back on the field of play. They went through a mini-bye week after they played on Thanksgiving. It has been a momentous time off for them, however. After another embarrassing blunder by head coach Matt Eberflus the players revolted against him and the team had no choice but to replace him.

Now the team is led by Thomas Brown, who had a mind-blowing three week span. He was the Chicago Bears’ passing game coordinator when the teams fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. He took over as offensive coordinator and the offense experienced a big boost.

In three games under Brown, the offense averages 22 points and 363.3 yards per game. In the three games prior to that, the averages were 9 points and 230 yards per game.

With the Eberflus firing Brown sees himself as the interim head coach. He has a five-game audition to try to take the interim tag off. The players like him and have bought in to his style of coaching as coordinator. Let’s see how they react to his overall style for the entire team.

The Chicago Bears’ next attempt to end their losing streak, which stands at six. They take to the road to face the defending NFC Champions, the San Francisco 49ers.

A few weeks ago this would have been a monumental task. However, the Chicago Bears are improved and competitive. The Niners, on the other hand, have had their struggles Injuries have piled on for them and they are in the midst of three-game losing streak. They have also lost four of their last six games.

The Chicago Bears hope they catch San Francisco in a situation in which they could beat them. Chicago just went through a gauntlet, facing the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions, their NFC North foes. It turns out that those three teams are three of the best teams in the conference. The Bears held their own and had a chance to win all three games.

Here is what to watch in the Chicago Bears’ Week 14 game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Will the team’s play improve with coaches in new positions?

The Chicago Bears will go into this game with multiple coaches with different responsibilities. Brown now has to look over the entire operation. he has the players’ respect when he was running the offense. He is tough with them and communicates clearly with them. That is something players want.

While he will still call plays during the game, Brown said that Chris Beatty, who was the wide receivers coach, will now be the offensive coordinator. Beatty will try to come up with different ways to get his wide receivers, with whom he has worked closely with, more involved in the offense.

Eric Washington will continue as the Chicago Bears defensive coordinator. However, he will be more hands on with the unit. Eberflus was a defensive coordinator before becoming head coach so he was leading the defense with rotations and play calls. Now Washington will be more of an influence on the defense.

It will be interesting to see how these coaches do with their new roles.

Can the defense start playing the run better?

One of the most disappointing aspects of the Chicago Bears defense this season has been their run defense. After leading the NFL against the run last season, the Bears rank 25th this season.

Opponents have been able to gash the middle of the Chicago Bears defensive line. It did not help that they also lost a key, underrated defensive lineman, Andrew Billings, for the season. Billings was able to plug up the middle and take on double teams, which freed up other players. His replacements have not been able to match him.

This could be a week the Bears could stop the run. The Niners are starting Isaac Guerendo, their third string running back. Christian McCaffrey, one of the best running backs in the league, has only played four games this season due to injury. Just this week, his backup, Jordan Mason, joined joined him on injured reserve.

Guerendo was the Niners’ fourth-round pick in this year’s draft. He has 246 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. This will be his first career start.

The Chicago Bears have to make an impact against the run. They need to make the 49ers a one-dimensional team. If they allow a rookie making his first start to tear them up then there are more serious problems with the run defense than we realized.

The defense needs to pressure Purdy

If the Chicago Bears are able to neutralize the run, they need to pressure quarterback Brock Purdy. Purdy has also dealt with injury this season so he has been up and down. Additionally, he does not have a key weapon in Brandon Aiyuk (injured reserve) and protection with Trent Williams (ankle, personal) and Jon Feliciano (injured reserve) out.

The Chicago Bears need to put the pressure on Purdy. They need to make him throw before he wants to. If they do that, they can force mistakes. The secondary can then take advantage of those mistakes. The Bears rank sixth in turnovers forced so they have an opportunistic defense.

The Chicago Bears have been good against the pass. They rank third in passing touchdowns allowed so it is difficult to score that way against them.

Can Williams continue to thrive with the new changes?

The 2024 season has been one of streaks for Caleb Williams. He got off to a rocky start in the first three games. He completed 59.3 percent of his passes for 630 yards (363 in one game). He had two touchdowns and four interceptions. The Bears went 1-2 in those games.

Then Williams heated up. In the next three games he completed 74.1 percent of his passes for 687 yards and 7 touchdowns. He threw just one interception. The Bears won all three of those games.

Then, coming out of the bye week, Williams struggled for the next three games. He completed 50.5 percent of his passes for 468 yards. He threw no interceptions but he had no touchdowns either. The Bears lost all three of those games.

Since Brown took over, however, Williams has looked a lot better. He has completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 827 yards and 5 touchdowns. Again, he did not throw any interceptions. The Bears lost all three games, but Williams did his best to put the team in position to win all three games.

In his last six games, Williams has set the NFL rookie record for most consecutive passes thrown without an interception at 212. He has cut down his errors and has more confidence in the pocket.

The plan now is to have Williams become more consistent. He does not have to be a star for 17 games a season. He just needs to not get into too many periods of struggles. Williams knows he can’t be perfect all the time. He feels it is a battle to work through the bad times and prevent them from taking control.

Human nature, we’re not necessarily meant to be consistent for 365 days. So that is the battle to fight for myself, for my teammates and coaches and everybody. I will say it’s not easy to keep going and roll with the punches and keep fighting and things like that, but you have to do it.

Now the hope is that Williams goes to even higher depths in his development. Yes, wins and losses are a concern. However, at this point of the season, with the Chicago Bears at 4-8, the priority is to help Williams as much as possible, then reset the roster in the offseason. Hopefully the team gets him more protection.

The hope is that Brown and Beatty can continue to get the best out of Williams. He has an opportunity to have a big game. In addition to the San Francisco offense suffering through injuries, the defense has its own. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety George Odum are out. Nick Bosa, one of the best pass rushers in the league, is doubtful to play. Another top linebacker, Fred Warner, is playing through a fractured ankle.

With all the injuries the 49ers are dealing with, this could be a great time for Williams to have a huge game and perhaps end the Chicago Bears’ losing streak.

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