Chicago Bears: QB Matt Barkley’s Ceiling yet to be Determined
By Gau Bodepudi
San Francisco 49ers Performance
That comfort and improved play translated to an impressive performance against the San Francisco 49ers, in his second start in week 12.
The week 12 matchup was in snowy and slushy conditions, making it much more difficult to throw the ball.
Similar to the Titans game in which he made improvements as the game wore on, he made adjustments to the slushy weather. He said, “it took me a quarter or so to get used to throwing the ball with those conditions. Really had to adjust my arm angle and almost push the ball out instead of flinging it, because your thumb will slip out.”
His adjustments again led to noticeable results. At the end of the second quarter, he led the Bears on a touchdown drive to close the half, in which Barkley was 4 for 5 on pass attempts, for 64 yards.
That provided a spark and motivation for the team. He said, “I think that really spurred both sides of the ball, just to be motivated to finish the game strong. I can tell that we were playing for each other at that point. Guys were striving for every yard. They were winning on routes, I had great protection. I think across the board I think that’s when we started really to gain momentum and we carried that thru the second half, especially that opening drive which I think helped the rest of the game.”
At the start of the second half, Barkley continued the momentum. He led the Bears to two consecutive scoring drives to open up the half.
On the day, he was 11 for 18 and threw for 192 yards in tough conditions.
Notably, he was able to make NFL-caliber throws. He was able to hit his receivers in stride, and 158 of those 192 yards were for deep passes, despite the difficult conditions.
Further, he didn’t throw any interceptions. As opposed to the two interceptions against the Titans, Barkley didn’t force the ball and didn’t make any bad decisions.