CHICAGO (WGN) — After Sunday’s deflating loss to the Arizona Cardinals, it’s clear the Chicago Bears have no identity, and the “cultural” staff and players who continue to brag in front of the microphones don’t will not be enough to keep them afloat.
Football teams stationed at Soldier Field have long played a defensive role and run the football, but those principles were nowhere to be seen Sunday as the Bears floundered scoreless in their second straight prime-time game.
Last week: Chicago’s quarterback curse is still alive and well
Let’s take a look back at how we got to this moment when it comes to Chicago’s NFL team, shall we?
The hype surrounding the Bears heading into the 2024 regular season was relentless, reaching new heights with every move made by general manager Ryan Poles last offseason.
First, it was about how Chicago managed to dodge the Carolina Panthers for last year’s No. 1 pick and how that trade sparked a frenzy of expectations that preludes another wave of movements.
The Panthers got Bryce Young, but the Bears walked away with what turned out to be DJ Moore, Caleb Williams, Darnell Wright, Tyrique Stevenson, Tory Taylor and a 2025 second-round pick.
After parting ways with Luke Getsy as offensive coordinator, Chicago brought in Shane Waldron to replace him, who was praised for his work helping revive journeyman quarterback Geno Smith’s career with the Seattle Seahawks.
Add in the Keenan Allen trade and the free agency acquisitions of D’Andre Swift and Gerald Everett — plus the return of a defense that includes Jaylon Johnson, Montez Sweat, TJ Edwards and more — and all wit Reasonable football looked to the Bears as a palace of promise that oozed talent on both sides of the ball.
Hard Knocks even came along and put the team in the national spotlight when they chose the Bears as the team to cover during training camp.
All they had to do was formulate a plan that cultivated the abilities of their young talents while galvanizing the overall team into one large, cohesive unit that plays complementary football from top to bottom.
Easier said than done, I suppose.
The culmination of what was once thought to be an embarrassment of riches on offense feels more like a slow descent into a chaotic midlife crisis – the sudden collection of new high-tech toys that Waldron has no idea how to use correctly – what a brilliant transformation into a modern NFL offense over the past two weeks.
After averaging 31.7 points per game in Weeks 4-7, Waldron and Chicago’s offense ended up with back-to-back misses in marquee matchups against teams that feature powerful offenses, but also pedestrian defenses or even atrocious ones.
Game Recap: Cardinals running game gash Bears en route to Chicago’s most lopsided loss of the season
“Full responsibility. Full responsibility for that,” Eberflus said when asked about responsibility for their lack of performance on offense. “We’ll work with the offensive staff tomorrow morning while we watch this tape tonight and find answers – find answers to running the ball first, making sure [we] do that, and sort everything out from there.
On Monday, the Cardinals defense ranked 26th in the NFL in rushing yards (140.9) and passing yards (235.6) allowed per game, 27th in total yards (376.5) and opponent completion percentage allowed (69.1%), 30th in rushing yards allowed. per attempt (5.1) and 31st for third in opponent’s down conversion percentage (48.18%).
On Sunday, the Bears ran the ball 23 times for 69 yards (3.0 YPC) while Williams completed 22 of 41 passes (53.7%) for 172 passing yards. They had 241 total yards and converted 3 of 14 third down attempts (21.4%).
Arizona also recorded six sacks, compared to Chicago’s three. Before the game, the Cardinals had 15 sacks in eight games and six total sacks in their last five.
“The pressure was there,” Eberflus said. “We have to make sure we’re good at knocking those things down and our protection is clean as well, because when you protect your quarterback – and our quarterback is a good quarterback – he can throw the ball down the field and do a good job there.
The inconsistent offense and pressure also took their toll as the game progressed, but if there was one situation worthy of throwing out the injury card on Sunday, it was the state of the team’s offensive line. Bears.
Interior offensive lineman Ryan Bates did not see the field as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury that has knocked him out since Week 1, while Chicago was also behind his two best left tackles, Braxton Jones (knee) and Kiran Amegadjie (calf). , before entering the game.
They also lost their starting right tackle, Darnell Wright (knee), to injury in the fourth quarter.
The end result? According to ESPN Next Generation Stats16 different Arizona defenders were pressured against the Bears on Sunday, which was the most individual players to be pressured for a defense since 2018.
That included the final play of the game, where Williams was left in play and came up limp after being rolled by the Cardinals’ Julian Okwara following an incomplete pass intended for Allen.
Williams said he was fine during his post-match press conference, but it wasn’t up to him to decide whether or not he would stay in a match that was over long before the final buzzer sounded to zero.
“You fight until the end of the game if you’re in the game,” Williams said. “Otherwise the coach makes a decision like that, you have to face it and figure out the next steps, but [it was] not my decision.
Even though Chicago looked lost on offense, the defense also took a step in the wrong direction.
Arizona took a page from the Bears’ playbook and established the run, hammering a unit that was the NFL’s No. 1 run defense just a year ago.
The Cardinals racked up 213 rushing yards behind 15 carries and 107 yards from fullback James Conner, but their rushing performance was inflated thanks to two massive miscues late in the first half.
Gervon Dexter Sr., who leads Chicago in sacks (4.0) while playing all three techs during his sophomore season, was flagged for attempting to use the snapper for leverage just under four minutes into the game. END.
The penalty erased a 32-yard field goal for Arizona and gave them another series of downs inside the 10-yard line, which turned into a Trey Benson TD run of 1 yard three games later, dropping the score from 10-6 to 14-6.
After Cairo Santos scored his third field goal of the first half, the Bears defense was gashed for a 53-yard touchdown run by Emari Demercado with four seconds left in the second quarter, all but sealing Chicago’s fate on Sunday .
Eberflus then took responsibility for the play call at that point, saying “it’s my fault” because he called for a pass pressure when the Cardinals ended up running the ball.
“I can make a better call there. It’s my fault,” Eberflus said. “I believe our run defense needs to be strengthened…again, when you have a big run like that, obviously the numbers go up. but again, we know how to do it. We have done this in the past. It’s important to consolidate that and make sure we do a better job, starting with the coaches and then the players.
The Bears head coach also emphasized the message that the season is essentially broken down into two smaller seasons, where they need to focus on themselves and “circle the wagons” before next weekend’s game against the New England Patriots.
Williams said the team was receptive to Eberflus’ message after the game, with several team leaders stepping in to reinforce his message, but if he and Waldron don’t work to reestablish the team’s identity on offense, no matter what the team culture impacts their performance in the future.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For breaking news, weather, sports and streaming video, visit WGN-TV.
