Chicago Bears: 3 Losers from Week 2 vs the Bengals

Chicago Bears Loser No. 2: The offensive Line

After having a surprisingly solid game against the Los Angeles Rams, the Chicago Bears offensive line came back down to earth with a lackluster performance versus the Bengals.

Three sacks were allowed and there was consistent pressure on both quarterbacks all day long. The line will have to be better, especially in pass protection, if Justin Fields is going to be at the helm. The last thing a rookie quarterback needs is constant pressure in his face.

In terms of run blocking, the line was mediocre at best. David Montgomery only averaged 3.1 yards per carry after averaging 6.8 against the Rams. The run game is going to be super important with Fields playing quarterback to balance out the offense. It will make the game a lot easier if the defenses have to honor the run. 3.1 yards per carry is a big negative that should be addressed going into next week against Cleveland.

The Bears had Jason Peters at left tackle, Cody Whitehair at left guard, Sam Mustipher at center, James Daniels at right guard, and Germain Ifedi at right tackle. This seems like the lineup that will be the main unit going forward. Thankfully, there were no big injuries like last week.

The offensive line will have to keep the pocket clean in order for Justin Fields to develop as a passer. We saw how many times Fields felt the need to run instead of looking for a throwing option yesterday. Part of that is on Fields’ inexperience, but a lot of that pertains to how bad the line looked in pass protection yesterday against an okay defensive line.