Final Score: Patriots 19 Bears 3
The Bears fell to the lowly Patriots 19-3 this week in pathetic fashion, similar to last week’s showing in Arizona. New England sat at 2-7 heading into Soldier Field, but was able to leave Chicago with a dominant victory under its belt. Chicago only threatened to score once in a drive that resulted in a 33-yard field goal. Caleb Williams played poorly for the third game in a row and the offense was never able to find any sort of rhythm. This game will almost certainly mark the end of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s short run in Chicago. There is no excuse for an offense with this much talent to go 23 straight drives (and counting) without a touchdown. The offensive line is pathetic, but Waldron has failed to come up with any answers for weeks on end. He has to go.
Glaring Issues
The Offense Can’t Do Anything
The most glaring issue is clearly the offense’s inability to find any sort of success. It’s not even consistency that it is struggling with; it can’t even find small spurts of productivity anymore. After a few great weeks against low-tier defenses, the Bears have managed one touchdown in their past three games. The blame can be passed in several different directions.
To Waldron’s defense, the offensive line has been playing very poorly lately. After a slow start to the season, the unit was beginning to gel around week 4. Unfortunately, it was then hit with the injury bug- something it could not afford due to its lack of depth. With LT Braxton Jones, LG Tevin Jenkins, RT Darnell Wright, and RG Nate Davis all missing time with injuries this season, the group has found major difficulty protecting Caleb Williams. Center Coleman Shelton is the only week 1 starter that hasn’t missed a game thus far. This unsteadiness has led the Bears ranking dead-last in sack percentage at 11.4%. Williams has also taken the second-most sacks in the NFL (38).
When trying to decipher the issues plaguing this offense, many will point straight to the quarterback. After steadily improving over the first 6 games of his career, Williams has looked bad in weeks 8-10. He’s taken a whopping 18 sacks in that time span. While the offensive line is the root cause of the majority of these, Caleb also has tended to hold onto the ball for too long and take some unnecessary sacks. In the past 3 games, he has accounted for 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. It’s rare to see rookie quarterback slump that isn’t headlined by a high interception count. To me, this shows that Williams is being (or at least feels like he’s being) hamstrung by the offensive system and coaching.
All throughout his career, Williams has been known for creating plays off-script. Coming into the season, many criticized him by claiming that his wild nature wouldn’t translate to the NFL. Up to this point, he has been the exact opposite. His lack of interceptions almost worries me more than if he had been throwing many of them. I expected a high interception count this season, as I wanted him to take risks, test his limits, and learn what flies in the NFL. However, it feels like his creative nature that made him so good in college is being coached out of him. This is why Shane Waldron’s time in Chicago is over.
Bright Spots
Secondary Continues to Shut Down Opposing Wide Receivers
Through everything, the secondary has played very well all year long. Specifically, it has done a fantastic job of limiting wide receivers. Going back to last week, Arizona’s two leading receivers were both tight ends. Marvins Harrison Jr. led Cardinals wide receivers in receiving yards with just 34. Even still without safety JaQuan Brisker, this week was no different. New England’s leading receiver was a tight end (Austin Hooper) with 64 yards. DeMario Douglas was the Patriots’ leading wide receiver, with only 50 receiving yards.
Standout Performers
There Were Actually None
Key Drive of the Game
I would argue that the key drive of this game was Chicago’s third possession. TJ Edwards picked off Patriots QB Drake Maye on the prior drive, handing the ball over to the offense with fantastic field position. Sat on the 48-yard-line, the Bears only needed one first down to at least get into field goal range. Unsurprisingly, it managed only 5 yards on a quick 3-and-out. Getting zero points out of this situation was deflating to both the offense and the defense and set the tone for the rest of the game.