Windy City Gridiron
Facing a three-win Cleveland Browns team might not score many “style points,” but in the end, the Chicago Bears’ 31-3 blowout victory was more than enough to get them to 10 wins and keep them right in the mix for the NFC North crown. Although I’m not sure I would consider this a “complete” performance from all three phases, Sunday’s win was about as close as we’ve seen this season. The defense was elite, the offense put up 31 points, and the special teams consistently put them in plus field position on the back of Devin Duvernay’s big performance in the return game.
With just three games remaining in the regular season, the Bears are ever-so-close to heading back to the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. The job isn’t quite done yet, and it will require at least one more win, but this was precisely the type of bounce-back game you’d like to see after a heartbreaking seven-point loss in Green Bay last weekend. For more on our 10 Bears Takes, let’s dive into a fun and non-anxiety-inducing win.
1. It Feels Like I Say This Each Week, But The Bears’ Offense Is So Close To Taking The Next Step. Cleaning Up Small Mistakes Is The Key.
Following a rough first series in excellent field position, the Bears’ offense followed up with back-to-back touchdown drives. Despite taking a commanding 14-point lead in the first quarter, it felt like there was plenty more to come. After a drive stalled and Cairo Santos missed a relatively easy field goal, the offense felt like it went into hibernation.
That’s been something Bears fans are all too familiar with this season. Start hot and fade away into oblivion until the fourth quarter. Some of that comes down to simple things like drive-killing penalties. Santos’ missed kick didn’t help matters either. When diving deeper, there are always a multitude of small mistakes that seem to stop the team’s offense in its tracks. Drops from Luther Burden III and Cole Kmet killed drives, too.
The good news is that this offense is still averaging over 26 points per game, which is more than a touchdown better than last year. In total, the offensive turnaround in one season has been nothing short of miraculous. Even so, it’s easy to see how much this offense leaves on the field. Once the rhythm is lost, the confidence and fluidity seem to go with it. Most of that is on the players, but even head coach Ben Johnson shares some blame for the play calling. This is a run-first team that needs to dominate the line of scrimmage to play at its best. Johnson has shown a tendency to get away from the run game, chasing bigger plays in the passing attack.
To a certain extent, there’s only so much progress that can be expected to occur over one season. What makes it more frustrating is that it’s clear they are close to being the league’s most...
