There have been some encouraging signs from the Chicago Bears in the first 5 games, but there is one major area of concern. The Bears have been guilty of too many penalties and the bye week is coming at the right time.
The Chicago Bears are averaging around three more penalties in 2019 compared to 2018. Furthermore, the Bears are only one of nine other teams that have had 50 or more flags thrown against them in the first five games of the 2019 season. Penalties have happened when the team has had the ball and when they have been on defense.
On opening night, the Bears had a couple of big offensive plays that were called back due to penalties. Without them, the Bears may have beat their arch-nemesis the Green Bay Packers. More recently, the Bears took a penalty that hurt their chances to beat the Oakland Raiders late in regulation.
The Bears were penalized five yards for running into the kicker on 4th and 6. This gave the Raiders a manageable 4th and 1 play instead. The Raiders went for it on 4th down by running a fake punt despite being in their own territory.
The Raiders sensed that the Bears defense was tired and the defense had too many missed tackles. In 2018, the Bears were penalized for holding 13 times. Through five games in 2019, they have been called for holding 12 times, with 11 games still remaining.
One player on the Bears has been guilty of holding more than others. Left tackle Charles Leno Jr. has had his number 72 called four times. “One (the official said) I’m wrapping and I’m not wrapping, I’m getting my head across,” Leno said. “It’s just — I don’t know. I don’t know what they’re looking at. Whatever. It is what it is. I gotta do better.”
Bottom line is that the Bears offense hasn’t performed well enough to withstand offensive penalties and the penalties have made their drives much more difficult to manage. Another penalty the Bears took was after a touchdown when Anthony Miller was called for taunting when the Bears took the lead.
The momentum that was growing was halted even as the Bears overcame a 17-0 deficit because the kickoff was pushed back 15 yards in their own territory. The kickoff then led to a 52-yard return. Miller had another penalty for offsides on the kickoff as well. Unfortunately, the yellow flags just keep piling up and up for the undisciplined Chicago Bears.
The division is up for grabs, but if the Chicago Bears miss the playoffs by one game, they can look back to the two losses they have suffered thus far. The Bears should be concerned about the overall offense, but if they can improve on penalties, they may have a better shot as some tougher games lie ahead.