The Chicago Bears are 4-5 after a 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots in week 10 and needless to say – this loss was ugly. Caleb Williams was sacked 9 times, the Bears had just 142 total yards of offense, and it was their 3rd straight loss since their week 7 bye. And since their week 7 bye – they have been outscored 66-27 and they have been out gained by over 100 yards in each of the last 3 games. And they have been out gained by more than 170 yards in two of their last 3 losses. There was a lot of pressure on the Bears entering the year because they had two top 9 draft picks in a loaded draft class, and they selected the best quarterback prospect in the past 3 years. And Caleb Williams was supposed to help turn this franchise around. And there’s certainly been flashes through the first 9 games – but over the last few weeks it’s been more and more concerning. Obviously Caleb hasn’t played his best over the last few games – but after diving into the tape and really breaking it down – this is a very very ugly situation. And in today’s video we’re going to breakdown what’s wrong with the Bears, what they can do to try and fix any of this mess and what the next steps are to becoming a competent organization. And it’s time to have a much needed conversation about the Chicago Bears. Now let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video by discussing a couple of things from the Patriots game in week 10 and why this game was such a disaster. The Bears had 3 first quarter possessions and the possessions started on the Patriots 47 yard line, the Bears 40 yard line, and the Bears 48 yard line and you may be surprised to know that the Bears got a grand total of zero points out of these drives. That’s unacceptable to begin with, but when you break it down and actually look at what was happening within each drive – the frustration I have for Bears fans at this point is immeasurable. The first drive started a 3 yard run to D’Andre Swift which set them up for a 2nd and 7 on the Patriots 44 yard line. On the 2nd and 7 the Bears had 7 men in pass protection and there were 3 receivers going out for a pass. Technically Cole Kmet also went out late in the play – but when Caleb gets to the top of his drop – truly where is he supposed to go with this football? There is nobody open and the only somewhat viable answer would be to throw the ball to D’Andre Swift and hope that he can break a tackle as he is catching the football and to gain a few yards. There’s no separation, there’s nobody open, and Caleb takes the first of 9 sacks on the day to move it back to 3rd and 10.
And unfortunately that’s not exaggerated. Caleb was sacked 9 times in this game. There was very little separation on the 3rd and 10 but Caleb found Rome Odunze on a timing route and Rome dropped it. I don’t think Odunze would have had the first down, but that drive set the tone for the how the Bears day would go. And honestly – that drive is a culmination of the past two games for the Chicago Bears. We are now in the middle of the month of November and we are two full games into the month of November for the Bears – and they have a combined 12 points – and they have zero offensive touchdowns. And with the Packers coming off of a bye week next week – and with how good their defense is – I don’t have a any confidence the Bears are going to be able to score a touchdown against this team in week 11. And forget winning the game – because we are far from that right now.
The Bears have been outscored 48-12 over the last two games and have amassed just 383 yards of offense in the last two games. Not only that – but the end of the Cardinals game in particular was atrocious and it was a friable offense from Matt Eberflus alone. The Bears were down 29-9 with 2:15 to play and they started their final drive with the ball on their own 19 yard line. Everyone – well everyone I guess Eberflus knew this game was out of reach and on the second to last play of the game – the left tackle was immediately beat which forced Caleb to go into hero ball mode and he eventually gained two yards before being tackled and grimacing in pain after the play. He also took another hit on the final play of the game in Arizona when the game was out of reach.
I don’t want this to spiral into let’s protect Caleb like a new born and coddle him like he can’t face any adversity and let’s just blame Matt Eberflus. Caleb is definitely not perfect – but truly – truly – how incompetent can you be in that situation to keep your number one overall pick in a game where you are down 20 points with two minutes left to play. If there has ever been a time where a coach is playing with fire – this is as close to lighting the entire house on fire as you can possibly get.
What also concerns me for the Bears and one thing nobody knows at this moment is how much damage is already done to Caleb Williams? Because I have a lot of concerns at the moment and the offensive line is obviously a big one. And going back to the Cardinals game – the Bears have had 12 second half possessions over the last two games and they have a grand total of zero points within these 12 second half possessions and here’s how each one has faired: Punt, turnover on downs, punt, safety, turnover on downs, end of game – and like we said earlier – they almost got Caleb hurt in a game down 20 points, punt punt, punt, punt, turnover on downs, turnover on downs. We are getting the point where the pressure is so much in Caleb’s face as soon as he gets to the top of the drop back that he is hesitant and that’s a problem because that can create bad habits rather easily.
And one of the most frustrating things in the New England game aside from the lack of execution – obviously – was how many times the Bears had good field position to start. We discussed the 3 first quarter possession in which the worst starting field position was their own 40 yard line – and they got zero points out of those drives. But one of the second half drives started on their own 34 yard line and Shane Waldron called a rollout to the short side of the field – which already cuts off half the field and even if the players on the other side of the field were open – there’s no way Caleb could stop and make a 55 yard throw across the field for a gain of 5 yards while under pressure – which he was for most of the day. So when Caleb gets to the point where he’s supposed to throw the ball – there is literally nowhere to go. DJ Moore isn’t open and Rome Odunze isn’t either – so truly where is Caleb supposed to go in this situation? And when you set yourself up for a 2nd 16 hole down double digits in the 4th quarter – you’re not going to win in many of those situations.
The score was 16-3 at the time and obviously the comeback was unlikely especially with how the offensive line was playing for most of the day – but when Caleb gets to where he needs to be – there’s 3 Patriots ready to bring him down with nobody open. And the play calling at times is downright atrocious and they are truly hanging him out to dry. Caleb only attempted 4 passes in this game 10 or more yards from the line of scrimmage and it’s due in large part to not feeling comfortable, and not having time to be able throw the ball and to be able to process what’s going on post snap. There was a clip on the broadcast where a Pats defender was helping Caleb up after another sack and to me – that’s the epitome of the 2024 Bears. A couple of Patriots defenders were also asked post game about how they did so well against the Bears despite allowing 20 or more points in each of the last 4 games – and they flat out said they knew their tendencies and how well their coaches do in preparing them for upcoming games.
I know the obvious takeaway is to be upset with Shane Waldron for letting this happen – but I also ask the question of – how many times have you heard a Bears player speak in this positive light about Matt Eberflus? And this was also after a couple of weeks of the Patriots having their own problems internally that they have since figured out. Their main problem at the moment is simply not having enough talent on the roster to compete with the best teams in the NFL. But to confidently go into another teams stadium – and a non conference team at that – you know – a team you only play once every few years – and to be able to hold them to 142 yards of offense, sack the quarterback 9 times, and thoroughly embarrass them in the process shows where the Bears franchise currently is. And it is truly nothing short of a disaster from what was expected heading into he season just 10 weeks ago.
I hope you enjoyed today’s article and I really hope the Bears figure this out over the next few months. Shane Waldron was fired in the middle of this video / article being released and I think that is a step in the right direction. I hope they hire an offensive minded coach this offseason and that Caleb has a chance in 2025.
