After a quick three-and-out by the Bears offense on the opening series of the game Sunday, there were already undercurrents of dread.
A bad throw by Caleb Williams, a run for negative yards by D’Andre Swift, and a dump off on third down that netted the offense negative yards to start the game made Bears fans feel like they were stuck in perpetual purgatory.
Pile on to that offensive misery a poor run defense that allowed gains of 7 yards and 22 yards on consecutive plays by Cowboys running back Javonte Williams, and all our fears of failure started flowing through Soldier Field.
Fortunately, Tyrique Stevenson had other plans.
At the end of that 22-yard run by Williams, Stevenson ripped the ball clean out of the back’s hands and secured possession before stepping out of bounds.
The Bears scored five plays later and took a lead that they would never relinquish and would only build upon on their way to a 31-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
The victory was the first of the season for the Bears, and the first ever for head coach Ben Johnson.
How many times have we heard from both NFL players and coaches alike that it’s hard to win in the NFL? A ton. And sometimes it feels like a cliche, but it’s also true.
With that adage in mind, I’m willing to give the Bears some leeway as we analyze how they performed against the Cowboys on Sunday.
Yes, Cowboys stud wide receiver CeeDee Lamb left the game early with an ankle injury and could not return.
Yes, the Cowboys defense, led by former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, is one of the worst units in the NFL as they deal with injuries and the lack of a pass rush — thanks to the trade of Micah Parsons, who is now with the Packers.
Yes, the Bears defense, despite giving up only 14 points, still looks awful against the run.
These are all observations that should be concerning as the Bears move forward and try to string together a number of victories. They won’t be able to put together these kinds of drives — such as the 19-play, almost 10-minute touchdown drive late in the third quarter — against good defenses in the future.
But this is the present. And the Bears have to play who is on their schedule. My hope is that when they face tougher defenses down the line, they will have continued to improve the offensive operation to the point it can be relied upon for steady production.
My hope for the defense also lies with the fact that they’re missing several key pieces. And hopefully those players — minus, probably, Jaylon Johnson — will be back soon and can provide some much-needed reinforcement.
For now, though, we take the lumps.
Javonte Williams rushed for 76 yards on 10 carries — a whopping 7.6 yard per carry average. Miles Sanders added 41 yards on 9 attempts, another alarming average of 4.6 yards per carry. The Cowboys backfield was able to dance a jig behind the line of scrimmage before picking a hole and exploiting it. The Bears need more pressure up front if this team hopes to go anywhere this year.
Along the offensive line, things looked a little better — again, absent a pass rush. Caleb did not take a single sack all game, a first for him with the Bears and an obviously refreshing breath of air.
I’m still discouraged by the progress of the rookie class, though. Colston Loveland caught a single, 31-yard pass early on before leaving with a hip injury. Luther Burden, of course, had that 65-yard flea flicker touchdown reception, but had only two other catches. Ozzy Trapilo was inactive and Shemar Turner was active but hardly noticeable. Kyle Monangai had six carries and one reception and was largely ineffective.
Most Bears fans want to blame general manager Ryan Poles for this draft class, because he’s everybody’s favorite punching bag. And he deserves his fair share of blame for the rest of the roster build.
But Ben Johnson has his fingerprints all over this draft class as well. Poles has final say, but if you think he didn’t yield to Johnson’s requests, you’re nuts.
The fact that this rookie class hasn’t made a huge splash yet is directly tied to Johnson.
But, I digress. It’s still early. We’re only three games into this season and rookies have to earn their stripes.
The Bears will head to Las Vegas this week for a shot at Johnson’s first road victory as coach and an opportunity to pull even at 2-2 on the season.
A 2-2 record is invaluably better than 1-3 heading into the Week 5 bye. And riding into the bye with a .500 record and with two weeks to prepare for a huge rematch with the Commanders could be just the spark and turning point this team needs.