Keys To Victory: Are Chicago Bears Ready to Win At Home?

4. Win on Third Down

In week one, the Bears converted on just 41 percent of third downs, going 7 for 17. While this is a pretty good number, due to some questionable playcalls, it’s fair to wonder whether or not the Bears conversion on third downs would likely have been higher.

Winning on third down will be crucial to the Bears success in this game as it will show that the offense has improved. On Monday, after the week one loss to the Packers, head coach Matt Nagy held himself accountable.  

In third and short situations last week, instead of running the ball with stud running back Jordan Howard, the Bears opted to call a pass play. The logic behind why the Bears opted to run a pass play was simple. Usually, defenses can anticipate the ball being run in a third and short situation, so the ball is a way of trying to catch the defense off guard, which is exactly what the Bears tried to do.

Because the Bears have a powerful downhill runner in Jordan Howard, it’s crucial that they run the ball in third and short situations. Even if Jordan Howard does not get the ball on third and short, then other options like Tarik Cohen also make sense for this team.