Caleb grows, but the O’s woes show in loss to Colts
Following Week 1’s struggles, I was willing to give the Bears’ offense some leeway given that there was a new scheme installed with a rookie quarterback at the helm.
After their continued issues in Week 2, I still offered some grace to the entire operation since they endured a tough road loss to a very good Houston Texans team.
But now, after a third-straight flop from the offense, leading to a 21-16 loss to a very beatable Colts team, I’m starting to see an alarming trend that leaves me petrified for the rest of the season, particularly when division play kicks in on the back half of the schedule.
I will throw some kudos to the rook, Caleb Williams, for tossing 363 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss. That’s not nothing. But, he needs to be better as well. He had two interceptions and a lost fumble, and for two of those turnovers I’m placing the majority of blame on his teammates.
On Williams’ fumble, he just got strip-sacked from behind after Cole Kmet was badly beaten on his blocking assignment. And on one of his interceptions, he threw a ball that hit Rome Odunze in the chest and the defender made a great play. And yet I also hold Odunze responsible for not having stronger hands and arms on that pass to corral it and come down with it.
But Williams’ other interception was just a bad — and late — throw.
I think the one thing that Bears fans have to be encouraged about is that Williams has undeniably improved from Week 1 to Week 3. Yes, he has five turnovers in three games. Part of that is on him, and part of that is on his teammates. But after an overall assessment of his three games, you have to feel better about where he is now than where he was following Week 1’s performance.
As for the rest of the offense, there has been little, if any, improvement through the first three games of the season.
The offensive line still looks like an unmitigated disaster. The team tried to run the ball more, finishing with 28 rushing attempts. And they finally — FINALLY — incorporated Roschon Johnson, the best between-the-tackles runner they’ve got, into the game plan. But for their 28 rushing attempts, they managed to gain only 63 yards.
D.J. Moore has looked less explosive this season than he did last, and that’s not really on him. When he gets the ball, if he has any semblance of space in front of him, he gets positive yards. But the offense just isn’t funneling the ball enough to him and when he does get it at or behind the line of scrimmage, there are usually two or three defenders right at the line of scrimmage waiting for him.
Rome Odunze finally had his breakout game, catching 6 balls for 112 yards and a score. He had 11 targets in the game. If he can continue to get the 8-10 targets per game that would make him an explosive threat on any given Sunday, the investment at Pick 9 will have been well worth it.
Kmet had a career game with 10 catches for 97 yards and a score.
I can’t really fault the defense too much. You’d like your defense to hold the opponent under 20 points, but when the offense kept giving the ball away and putting the defense on a short field, they were bound to cave at some point.
I do have some concerns about the run defense, though. This was the second out of three weeks that they allowed over 140 rushing yards. They’ve got to be better at defending the run otherwise it won’t amount to a hill of beans if their secondary is really good at defending the pass — as they certainly are.
My big picture assessment after three games is that I still have faith in Caleb Williams to be the long-awaited franchise quarterback this organization has sorely been missing. I also believe they’ve gotten themselves a stud franchise receiver in Rome Odunze, who will pair with D.J. More for the next half-decade to form a lethal receiving combo.
But I also fear my preseason projections have been changed. From a record perspective, the Bears are not woefully off track from where many had projected them to be through three weeks. I had them at 2-1 at this point. And, in fact, many others had them at 1-2, exactly where they are. But I don’t think anyone projected their offense — specifically the line — to be this bad.
Don’t get me wrong — I think a majority of Bears fans and analysts had concerns that the line wasn’t complete yet. But this bad? I think that is what has been so surprising.
One of the other concerns is that the division might be even more competitive than originally anticipated. The Packers and Lions were always expected to be good, but now the Vikings are 3-0 and even took it to the same Texans team that abused the Bears last week.
So, when the Bears get to the second half of their schedule and they begin divisional play, they could be in for a world of hurt. If the Bears are not 5-4 or 6-3 before that Week 11 matchup with the Packers — and bear in mind: they already have 2 losses — then I’m not so sure we can even talk playoffs at that point.
For now, we have to continue to make this season all about Williams. We have to continue to see an upward trajectory in his growth and development. Because if he’s not the answer at the position, this whole rebuild will seem a helluva lot worse come season’s end.