The Chicago Bears must improve in this area to become Super Bowl contenders

The Chicago Bears must improve in this area or they will fail in the playoffs

When you look at the current standings around the NFL, many find it hard to believe the Chicago Bears are 5-1. Many view the team as pretenders and not contenders. The thing is, this team is looking very similar to the team we saw in 2018 — a sporadic offense that cannot put up enough points and is constantly saved by the defense. We already saw how that season played out.

I know, but if Cody Parkey made that kick, the Chicago Bears would have advanced beyond the Wild Card round. You are right, but can you honestly tell me you thought that team was going to win the Super Bowl? Anything can happen, but the offense would have had to drastically improve that year to make a real push.

When it comes to the offense, we constantly hear that they have yet to find their identity. Well, let’s be honest, they cannot find an identity because they lack difference-makers on the offensive line. This has been the case for a few seasons now. With the loss of James Daniels, this season could wind up looking even worse.

Right now, the Chicago Bears offensive line looks better than some might think. According to Football Outsiders, the offensive line is ranked 13th overall in the run game and 10th overall in pass blocking. This could be due to how quickly Nick Foles has been releasing the football, but the focus here is on running the football. This is where the Chicago Bears must improve if the team wants to become true Super Bowl contenders.

If we look at the rankings alone, it does not tell the whole story. The Bears are 27th in the NFL in yards per carry with a 3.7 yards-per-carry average. On the surface, this looks bad and everyone wants to blame either the running back (specifically David Montgomery), the offensive line or Matt Nagy’s play-calling.

Honestly, all three come into play at times, but I do not care what the “stats” say, the eye test says the offensive line has not been productive enough. One stat that proves this is the fact David Montgomery is only generating 1.2 yards before contact. In comparison, he saw 2.0 yards before contact in 2019 and even that was bad.

Unless the team signs a guy like Quinton Spain (visiting with the Bengals) or makes a trade for another lineman, Nagy and Juan Castillo will need to get creative. As the Bears face off against Aaron Donald and the Rams tonight, the team will need to play some heavy tight-end sets and help chip the outside defenders. This will help in the passing game, but not sure it will be all that helpful in generating more rushing yards.

Until the run game starts to look more like it did in the first two games, the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl chances will continue to dwindle. Hell, even at 5-1 on the year we could see this team have a historic collapse if the offense cannot start helping out the defense. If no moves are made during the season, the Bears better look to overhaul the offensive line during the offseason.