The Chicago Bears travel to take on the Indianapolis Colts. Despite being 1-1, they exhibit the same offensive struggles as always. Here are some things to look for that could get them on track.
The Chicago Bears‘ 2024 season is just entering the third week and already many are sounding the alarms. This was supposed to be a new-look team that would challenge for a playoff spot. General Manager Ryan Poles spent the offseason tweaking a very good defense and overhauling the offense.
So far, however, the Chicago Bears have looked the same as ever. The defense is playing lights out and waiting for a struggling offense to do something, anything to help.
The Chicago Bears lost 19-13 to the Houston Texans in Week 2. They had no business being close to winning in the fourth quarter. Caleb Williams and the offense did absolutely nothing in the second half of the game. The defense held the Texans’ offense fairly easily.
Had the Chicago Bears offense done just one thing in that second half they could have had another unlikely victory. It would have been similar to what happened in Week 1. In that game against the Tennessee Titans, the offense had less than 150 total yards and zero touchdowns.
Fans are already getting restless. They have seen this story and are not interested in seeing it repeated. There were high hopes for this season and they don’t want to see another hopeful season go down the drain.
We are seeing the same old story — the offensive line struggling to block the quarterback running for his life, and the running backs unable to find any holes. We are also seeing the injury bug bite. Wide receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze are dealing with injuries. Allen missed the game against the Texans while Odunze played through the pain. Now Allen will miss at least this week’s game, possibly more, due to a personal reason.
In addition to the struggling offensive line, the unit is dealing with injuries. Teven Jenkins and Ryan Bates have some bumps and bruises already. While Nate Davis is not injured physically, something has not been right with him since the offseason. There were times in the Texans game when he blocked no one as Williams was getting clocked behind him.
The Indianapolis Colts could be what can help cure what ails the Chicago Bears. They come in struggling as well, with a record of 0-2. They have been a bigger mess and the Bears could take advantage of them.
Here are some things to watch for in the Chicago Bears’ Week 3 game vs the Colts.
Contain the Colts’ offense
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The Chicago Bears’ defense has been playing very well in the first two weeks. They have been pressuring the quarterback and forcing mistakes. They rank fourth in total turnovers and eighth in interceptions. They ranked fifth and first, respectively, in those categories last season.
The defense faces some difficulties against the Colts. First, they have to face Jonathan Taylor. Taylor is a dynamic runner who when healthy, can destroy a defense quickly. Last week against the Green Bay Packers, he rushed for 103 yards on only 12 carries. He has been hampered with injuries the last few seasons but he looks healthy and ready for big runs this season.
Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington feels that the defense has to key in on Taylor and prevent him from making big plays. He is the main cog of the offense.
This offense starts with him. He’s one of the most productive runners that we’ve seen in the last couple years. Attempts, yards, all of those things, he’s everything that you look for in a featured back. We’ve got to do a really good job of maintaining our discipline as far as our gaps are concerned and our run fits. We’ve just got to do a good job of working together and making sure that we keep him in front of us with respect to our assignments.
The Chicago Bears’ defense ranked first against the run last season. This season, they gave up 140 rushing yards against the Titans. However, they held the Texans to just 75 yards. They have to keep Taylor in bay so it puts pressure on the quarterback to come up big.
Speaking of quarterback…
Contain Richardson
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Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson can also do damage to a defense. He is big at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds. However, he has many tools. He can beat you with his legs and is difficult to bring down. Also, he can beat you with his strong arm.
So far this season, Richardson has 416 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. He also has 93 yards rushing and a touchdown on 10 carries.
If the Chicago Bears can contain Richardson and pressure him, they can force him into some mistakes. He already has four interceptions, so if the pass rush can put a lot of pressure on Richardson he will, at some point, make a big mistake and turn the ball over.
RUN THE BALL!
The Chicago Bears have not been able to run the ball so far. They rank 28th in the NFL in rushing yards, 29th in yards per carry, and have just one rushing touchdown. New free agent running back D’Andre Swift has not been able to run the ball the way the team expected him to run.
Things have to be different this week. The Bears fave an Indianapolis defense with more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese. The Colts rank last in rushing yards allowed. They have allowed more than 200 yards in both of their games.
This is the moment that the Bears can use to get the running game back on track. Chicago ranked first in the league in rushing in 2022 and second in 2023. They want to be back on top. That has not happened, however.
The Chicago Bears desperately need the rushing game to help Williams. He needs the running game to take some pressure off of him. Without the threat of a running game, defenses will go after Williams at will. When that happens, whatever plans he has could go out the window as he tries to run around to save his life.
If defenses have to put some of their attention on the running game, Williams will have room to operate. We saw in Week 2 that when WIlliams has time he will carve out a defense. He completed almost 70 percent of his passes against the Texans. The problem was that Houston constantly blitzed Williams and the Chicago Bears were not able to protect Williams.
The Chicago Bears’ offensive line has to realize that the season has started
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The Chicago Bears’ offensive line has not played well at all this season. We see how the rushing game has not been able to flourish. The running backs are constantly having to make moves and break tackles just to get back to the line of scrimmage.
In addition to that, the line has had trouble protecting Williams. They allowed nine sacks so far this season. Seven of them came against the Texans. In that game, Williams was constantly harassed. As mentioned earlier, Houston blitzed, blitzed, and blitzed some more. Since the offensive line could not stop it, then why not continue to do it?
The Davis situation is threatening to blow up. Throughout the offseason, he has been a problem. He has not practiced nearly enough. missing practices in OTAs, veteran minicamp, and training camp. You cannot help the team if you are on the sideline and Davis spent most of the offseason practices on the sideline.
That shows so far in the first two weeks. Davis just looks lost on the field. He commits presnap penalties trying to get the step against the defender. Then, when the ball is snapped, he gets badly beaten so he has to hold to prevent a sack.
Davis has not been alone. Darnell Wright has gotten hit with the penalty bug as well. He has had some trouble with false starts, committing two of them already. Also, at center, Coleman Shelton has gotten overwhelmed. He has been thrown around like a rag doll. Defenders are pushing him into Williams.
Injuries have again hurt the unit. Bates is on injured reserve for at least the next three weeks. Jenkins is dealing with a thigh injury that has cost him some practice time. Remember, he has not played a complete season in his career. Whenever he is dealing with an injury many have to hold their breaths.
The Chicago Bears have other players like Kiran Amegadjie and Matt Pryor who could see a rise in snaps if the injuries pile on or the linemen continue to struggle.
The Chicago Bears are already facing adversity very early into the season. They have to fight through this and get to succeed. The Indianapolis Colts should be the antidote for their woes. If things don’t go well again, then some serious conversations have to be had. This is too important of a season to let it get out of control so soon.
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