Windy City Gridiron
With December football in full effect, the Chicago Bears find themselves in a spot that they haven’t been in for five years: Meaningful games. Going into the season, most Bears fans would have taken a winning record with clear improvements across the board. Sprinkle in the feeling of being “In The Hunt”, and I’m not sure many fans would have complained. Somehow, despite their (0-2) start to the season, this team walked into Lambeau Field not only in first place and winners of nine of their last 10, but as the NFC’s No. 1 seed. In many ways, this has been a dream season that not many saw coming. Even if we’re mostly along for the ride (regardless of the outcome), hopes have turned from potential playoff contender to winning the NFC North for the first time in seven years.
Riding high off an impressive win on Black Friday against the defending Super Bowl champs, the Bears came into Lambeau with a chance for another statement win. Unfortunately, the first 30 minutes of the game did not go as planned. The Packers were the much better team, and it seemed like they were multiple steps ahead of Chicago’s coaching staff. The second half looked completely different, but in the end, the Bears left Lambeau Field with their fourth loss of the season, but with a clear path to the playoffs still ahead of them. Before we turn the page on another stinker in Green Bay, let’s dive into our weekly 10 Bears Takes for Week 14.
1. The First-Half Offensive Struggles, Especially In The Passing Game, Are Becoming Extremely Concerning.
From the opening whistle until halftime, the Bears were thoroughly dominated on both sides of the ball, despite getting an early takeaway and the benefit of multiple calls going their way. The offense struggled to move the ball, and quarterback Caleb Williams was just 6-of-14 for 32 passing yards (2.3-yard average) through the first 30 minutes of the game. As a whole, the offense mustered just 71 total yards and three points.
For the most part, the passing offense has been trending the wrong way for the better part of the second half. Williams’ 4,000-yard pace is well off the mark, as is his completion percentage. For the most part, the offensive line has dominated, but that wasn’t the case on Sunday. I’d be lying if I said I was surprised that head coach Ben Johnson didn’t try harder to establish his dominant run game out of the gate.
The good news is that the offense looked like a completely different unit in the second half. Although the Bears’ night ended on an underthrown pass from Williams that was intercepted in the end zone, the run game helped get their passing attack on track. After scoring just three points in the first half, the offense rebounded for 244 yards and 18 points in the final 30 minutes of play. Williams had numerous impressive throws, and as a whole, the offensive...
