Week 5 keys to victory: Chicago Bears @ Indianapolis Colts

The keys to a Chicago Bears victory against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5.

It finally happened, the Chicago Bears secured their first win of the season last week against the Detroit Lions. Now the name of the game is momentum, and the Bears have an excellent opportunity to start a win streak against a beat up Colts team. Before we get started let’s look at how the Bears did on their keys to victory last week

1. Get Howard rolling early- After three weeks of offensive ineptitude, the Bears finally committed to the run. Rookie Jordan Howard ran over the Lions for 111 yards off of 23 carries. An interesting stat to note was that Howard’s longest rush was 17 yards. Howard’s yardage wasn’t the result of one or two plays, but the result of many consistent and powerful carries. Howard and the Bears simply wore down the Lions.  Sure, Chicago only scored 17 points, but they won the time of possession for the first time all year. Chicago certainly got this key to the game.
2. Force two turnovers- The Bears did exactly that, they forced two interceptions which halted Lions’ drives that were poised to score. Glenn’s interception at the end of the first half may have been the single most important play for the Bears in terms of keeping points of the board for the Lions and keeping the momentum in Chicago’s favor heading into the locker room. This key belongs to the Monsters of the Midway as well.
3. Add offensive variety- Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains called a significantly better game than in the first three weeks of the year. His reliance on the run game allowed for his calls in the passing game to be far less predictable. He focused on earning first downs instead of home run plays which helped the Bears win in time of possession. Of course, scoring 17 points in today’s NFL is generally unacceptable, so there is still room to improve here. However, Bears still succeeded in this key as well.

Week 4 keys: 3/3