The Chicago Bears entered their bye on a high note following a 35-16 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London that gave the team a three-game winning streak. Since the break, the Bears have dropped two straight, including an embarrassing 29-9 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
The Bears offense has been awful since the bye and looks more like the team we saw during the first three games of the season. Despite plenty of chances inside opponents’ territory, the Bears have scored just 24 points in the last two weeks. Waldron has made questionable decisions in recent weeks, including giving OL Doug Kramer the ball at the Washington 1-yard line, which he fumbled.
The Bears rank 19th in the league for total points per game (21.5). They rank 28th in the NFL for total yards per game (294.6). Chicago is only better than the Las Vegas Raiders, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, and New England Patriots. All of those teams have either made coaching or quarterback changes before Week 10.
Chicago Bears players don’t want Shane Waldron calling plays
According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, Bears players appear to have indicated to him that they would welcome a new offensive playcaller for the rest of the season:
“If Eberflus is feeling pressure — and I have to imagine he is — he could be at the point where he’s got to consider a significant change. I generally shy away from “fire the coach” strategies. It’s a last-ditch ploy that most times doesn’t lead to a lot of significant improvement, but the Bears are really struggling here.
There are issues the team is working through on the offensive line — and those aren’t going to suddenly disappear if someone new is calling plays — but Waldron isn’t a dynamic guy in front of the offense in the meeting room and that’s a part of it. The coach has to be able to sell the plan and the vision with energy. The sense I get is the players would welcome a change.”
The pressure is mounting on Matt Eberflus
Biggs named passing game coordinator Thomas Brown and quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph as potential replacements for playcalling duties.
Biggs added that the recent success of several other first-round quarterbacks from the 2024 draft class could add to the pressure that something needs to change for the offense. After all, Caleb Williams is working with a talented receiving corps and tight end Cole Kmet. Kmet and DJ Moore are being seriously underused in the offense.
Week 10 seems to be the right point to make such a move. The New Orleans Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen on Monday morning. The Las Vegas Raiders fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy on Sunday night.
The Bears are 4-4 entering their Week 10 matchup against the New England Patriots. NFC playoff positioning for Chicago and bragging rights between Williams and Drake Maye will be on the line for Sunday’s game at Soldier Field.
A loss to the 2-7 Patriots because of the offense would be catastrophic for the season.
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