Bearly Standing: Colts Capitalize on Bears’ Offensive Struggles
Bears lose winnable game on the Road in week 3
This is not the start Bears fans envisioned. The Bears are 1-2 after suffering a miserable loss to the Colts. Many glaring issues with this team need to improve now or it'll result in a coaching overhaul. The offense just hasn't found their grove while the defense looks to be a top 3 unit.
The Bears traveled to Indianapolis this weekend to face off against Anthony Richardson. The first half was highlighted by the Bears being unable to do much of anything offensively. The run game is horrendous. After giving up roughly 230 per game the first two weeks, the Colts held the Bears to 63 yards on 28 attempts. This seems to be a scheme issue. Offensive Coordinator Shane Waldren has begun to fall under fire after repeated poor play calling and offensive outputs.
The first half was bad for both teams. As Caleb threw an out route late that should have been taken for six but the defender ran out of bounds. This follows Anthony Richardson throwing into triple coverage in the endzone on a pick by Tremaine Edmunds. The Bears had a chance to score. Instead, Shane Waldren on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line called speed option which was tackled for a 12-yard loss. The play call makes no sense when considering the weapons the Bears have to not try and spread the defense out and throw it to one of your playmakers. The First half ended with the Bears trailing 7-0 after a Hail Mary attempt to DJ Moore was caught but fell a yard shy of tying it up.
The Bears defense came out hot in the second half. Picking off Richardson immediately. The Bears kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 4. Following a punt by Indy, Caleb threw a great ball to Rome Odunze which bounced off his hands for another Interception. The Colts capitalized leaning on Jonathon Taylor, who ended the day with 110 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Bears had one final chance, after forcing a punt they had the ball down 14-9 in the 4th. After a failed block by the Tight end and Tackle, Caleb was stripped from behind icing the game for the Colts.
There are some positives Bears fans can take away from this. Caleb has improved every week it seems finally settling in. The Offensive line at times looked to be able to protect him and he started to connect with his weapons. Caleb threw for 363 and 2 touchdowns while turning it over 3 times. Rome Odunze had 6 for 112 and a touchdown, DJ Moore had 8 catches for 78 yards, and TE Cole Kmet had 10 catches for 97 yards and a score. The second-half playcalling was much better, it allowed Caleb to make throws to open receivers and got him moving out of the pocket.
The negatives, however, continue to outweigh the positives. This is the second straight week where it seemed Eberflus got outcoached. You can not expect to win games with a rookie when the Head coach is not performing. The run game is miserable. The problem is the scheme and the offensive line. The two combined give you the worst run game in the NFL.
The Bears get the Rams at home next week who are very banged up offensively. They just pulled out a nailbiter against divisional rival San Fransico but could be in for a tough one again. If the Bears defense continues to dominate opposing offenses this could be a win for the Bears. The playcalling has to improve, Caleb is making large strides week to week and needs to continue. Overall, he's not a bust, he hasn't been great, but it's 3 weeks into his hopefully very long NFL career.
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