Chicago Bears: 3 Takeaways from Sunday’s win over the Carolina Panthers

No. 1: The Chicago Bears need to continue winning the field position battle

The Chicago Bears have basically held true to their bend-but-don’t-break philosophy. They’ve been susceptible to giving up long drives, however, they have often forced teams to trade six-point touchdowns for three-point field goals.

On Sunday, they got the evident benefit of winning the field position battle. One has to think that it definitely helped an already shaky Chicago Bears offense generate some confidence. The FOX broadcast made note of it, but here’s a look where each team began their respective offensive drives, as the Bears built a 20-6 lead:

Chicago:
— Carolina’s 7-yard line
— own 25-yard line
— own 39-yard line
— own 25-yard line
— Carolina’s 22-yard line
— own 44-yard line

Carolina:
— own 10-yard-line
— own 20-yard line
— own 11-yard line
— own 25-yard line
— own 21-yard line
— own 3-yard line
— own 9-yard line

By this point in the game, the Chicago Bears had already uncovered a 20-6 lead and scored their first points in the third quarter this season. On average, Chicago only needed to go 54.3 yards for a touchdown, whereas the Panthers had to go an average 82.1 yards per drive if they wanted a touchdown. They had five of their eleven drives begin inside their own 20-yard line.

Thinking about the type of team the Bears are, this was an excellent development. The Bears are the type of team that allows the dink-and-dunk approach, patiently awaiting the mistake.

At some point, Khalil Mack and that front line are going to get back there and force pressure. We got to see a prime example of it on a third-and-four with the Panthers deep in their own territory, where the Bears employed a package with him and Robert Quinn on the same side. This group sets up one another for success well.

Normally, they rely on the benefit of Cordarrelle Patterson’s return acumen. But the fact that the Bears forcing punts and winning that battle is huge. It serves as no coincidence that the best teams in the NFL are winners of the field position battle.

In 2020, the top five teams have been the Titans, Seahawks, Ravens, Colts, and Steelers. Those teams have a combined record of 24-3 this year. Women lie, and men lie. Field position numbers don’t.