Windy City Gridiron
Full disclosure: I thought this game would look a lot more like the Cowboys matchup, soft defense against a young offense ready to flex. But I didn’t account for three things: 1) the natural ebb and flow of the NFL season and its “any given week” chaos, 2) Maxx Crosby’s sheer ability to erase an offense from existence, and, 3) Growth is very often nonlinear.
For about three quarters, Crosby was operating on a completely different level. He turned the field into his personal playground and made the Bears, specifically Caleb Williams, look like prey caught in the wrong habitat. It was relentless, it was suffocating, and it was the kind of performance that can flip a game script by itself.
Credit to the Bears, though. With some key adjustments up front, like benching Braxton Jones for Theo Benedet at left tackle and sliding rookie Ozzy Trapilo into the right tackle spot, they managed to blunt Crosby’s impact just enough. The offense, stagnant early, finally found its footing with two second-half touchdowns, capped by Williams orchestrating a game-winning drive. And fittingly, it was Josh Blackwell, who earned a NFC Special Teams Player of the Week nod, sealing the 25–24 win with a blocked field goal off the edge.
Yes, it’s fair to call this a step back for the offense overall. But there’s still plenty of silver lining. This team showed it can climb out of an early hole, something last year’s squad rarely managed. Caleb’s on-target throw rate keeps climbing, and while the first half was a safari where Crosby was the cheetah and Williams the unlucky gazelle (where have I heard that comparison before..), the second half was a reminder that this young quarterback can adapt, adjust, and deliver when it matters, and that maybe, the times are changing in Chicago with Ben Johnson at the helm.
So, let’s take a look at what we learned from week 4!
(Season Averages in Italics)
C/A: 19.7/31 (63.5%) | 22/37 (59.5%)
Yards: 238.3 | 212
aDOT: 8.8 | 7.6
Touchdowns: 2.3 | 1
Turnovers: 0.3 | 1
QB at Fault Sacks: 1 | 0
Passer Rating: 107.6| 73.3
True Passer Rating: 142.4 | 104.1
Time to Throw: 3.04s | 3.03s
Time to Pressure: 2.62s | 2.61s
Pressure Rate: 30.77% | 31.82%
On-Target Rate: 62.5% | 63.4%
Poor Play Rate / Big Play Rate: 14.5% PPR / 8.9% BPR | 6.5% PPR / 4.2% BRP
The full grading sheet for each play can be found here.
