Windy City Gridiron
After the Chicago Bears went down 17-0 against the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday, featuring Pat Mahomes doing Pat Mahomes things, a fumble on the first play of the Bears’ offensive possession, and the new look defensive front got almost no pressure on the pocket, you could be forgiven for thinking: here we go again. Sure, the Bears looked like world beaters against the Buffalo Bills’ backups, but once they had to face the Chiefs’ starters, they melted like a snowman in the midsummer sun.
I’m not going to say that the first quarter didn’t happen and there isn’t cause for concern. But I do think we need to pump the brakes a bit on drawing too strong a conclusion from one quarter of preseason football play. So let’s provide some much-needed context to that preseason result as we get ready for cut-down day.
I know, I know. Every time a team loses, the fans point at the refs and cry foul. And the refs certainly aren’t the full story behind the Bears looking like they were going to get routed in the 1st quarter. Nashon Wright had some truly bad plays in coverage, as well as twice losing contain on big gashers in the run game. You weren’t imagining it; the Bears did not get much pressure on the Chiefs. And their run fits overall looked decidedly mediocre.
But come on, man.
Let’s start with that 30-yard penalty – the refs called pass interference and a face mask on a play where Wright barely made contact with the wide receiver. Literally one bump (pretty close to within the five-yard zone), and he might have touched the facemask at the top of the stem – two calls for thirty yards on one play – and neither should have been called.
And then there are the no-calls against the Chiefs. How this was not roughing the passer, in a league where 90 percent of the roughing the passer calls are ridiculous, is beyond me:
There is the no-call for failing to line up correctly by the tackle (supposedly a point of emphasis for the league), and then another no-call on this block in the back:
EDITOR: The NFL doesn’t flag blocks like this on the offensive linemen when blocking from tackle to tackle. Life in the trenches is tough.
On the play where Pat Mahomes slips out of the pocket and pulls his magic trick to complete a pass on 3rd and 10, both Dexter and Sweat were clearly held – and both of those holds are why Mahomes was able to escape.
One or two of these, and you just shrug. But these were multiple, field-flipping, game-changing plays – and they all went against the Bears.
Yes, it was mostly starters vs starters in this preseason game – but the Bears had a number of players out who are going to be playing in the regular season,...
