The Chicago Bears lost a tough one Thursday night
The Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders continued the streak of dismal offense for the NFL’s Thursday night game. The Bears’ offense moved the ball several times into the red zone before failing to convert on three major opportunities.
It was a disappointing display for quarterback Justin Fields and his wide receivers. Both he and his wide receivers made bad plays, but Fields made enough plays to get a win. His receivers didn’t do their job, especially toward the end of the game when they dropped several game-winners. Special teams continue to be an issue for the Bears as well.
There were a few good things that happened for the Bears. But honestly, there are not many positives for the team to dwell on before the Bears go to New England on October 24th. Here’s a recap of three studs the Bears had Thursday night and three duds.
Studs
Khalil Herbert
Khalil Herbert finished with 75 yards rushing on seven attempts. Most of that came on a remarkable 64-yard run that set up the Bears with a red zone opportunity. Unfortunately, the Chicago Bears offense couldn’t convert the play into an eventual score. That was the theme throughout the night. But his explosive play showed the Bears they need to feed him the ball more.
Chicago Bears fans who stayed through the game
Chicago Bears fans who stayed until the end of the game at Soldier Field deserve a shout-out. They had to watch another frustrating offensive performance in a prime-time game. The game looked more like a joint team practice in training camp than an NFL regular season contest, as both franchises appear to be looking forward to the future. Bears fans made it known they’re unhappy with ownership.
“Sell the team” chants
Those could be for either team tonight pic.twitter.com/3DtXtDOyPo
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 14, 2022
The Chicago Bears’ pass defense
The Bears struggle in the passing game. But at least the Bears’ defense found a way to make their opponent look much worse airing it out. The Bears kept a banged-up Carson Wentz to just 99 yards passing. Four passes were defended by the defense, including one by rookie Kyler Gordon. That was a good showing by the secondary, who got burned in Week 5.
Duds
Velus Jones Jr.
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles received a lot of criticism for picking Velus Jones Jr. in the third round this year. Those complaints aren’t going away any time soon. Jones looks like a poor man’s version of Packers bust Amari Rodgers. After missing the first few games of the season with an injury, Jones has managed to fumble the ball twice on returns in three games.
Darnell Mooney
Darnell Mooney has talked about wanting to get respect as a top wide receiver in the NFL. Mooney has received positive headlines for his work ethic–especially how often he hits the jugs machine. That jugs practice didn’t help Thursday as Mooney missed a chance to win the game with a ball that hit his hands. Mooney couldn’t hold on and was ruled short of the end zone when he did come up with a bobbled reception. That’s not what the Bears need out of a number-one wide receiver.
Helmets
Not the orange helmets. Those looked surprisingly better on TV than they did in promotional advertisements. But the orange helmet did help bring to fruition the apocalypse to the Chicago Bears’ hopes for a postseason.
A new shade of Chi Town pic.twitter.com/5vKnThpujZ
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 13, 2022
Jones fumbled a punt return off his helmet, setting up the Commanders with their winning score. The Bears’ defense might have won the game without the miscue. Another helmet caused a turnover for the Bears when Fields’ low throw in the red zone bounced off a Commanders’ helmet and into the waiting arms of defensive tackle Jonathan Allen.
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