Chicago Bears: 3 Losers from Week 6 vs. Packers
The Chicago Bears fell short of the upset at home against the Green Bay Packers in their Week 6 matchup, and there are many reasons why. The offensive line, bad tackling, and lack of explosive plays all contributed to why the Bears lost. These seem to be common themes over the year so far and must be corrected going forward.
The Chicago Bears need to be better all around, but especially on offense.
Week 6 Loser No. 1: Offensive line
Once again the offensive line gets put on the losers list because they just continue to struggle to keep their quarterback on his feet. The line looks undisciplined and there seems to be terrible communication too often. Justin Fields continues to take too many shots throughout the games and it is getting scary to watch. He does all he can to evade the pressure, but the lack of good protection is killing drives and giving the Bears a tough time trying to score points, even just a field goal.
The strength of the line has been in the run game. Credit goes to Juan Castillo and the guys up front for getting after it during run blocking. Khalil Herbert ran for almost 100 yards as a rookie making his first start with a lot of that due to how well the offensive line created running lanes. They have been consistent in the run game over the last few weeks and it is important they get their credit there.
Unfortunately, being good in the run game does not keep them off of the losers list. Especially on third down, it seems like Fields does not always want to run, but has to because the pocket collapses before the designed play can be made. In order for a rookie quarterback to succeed, he needs to be able to make the throws to complete the play, and the offensive line is getting in the way of that.
Sure, Justin Fields has a tendency to run instead of analyzing his options downfield sometimes, but he will learn with experience. Also, after getting hit so many times, he might be a little quicker to get out of the pocket. The offensive line needs to help him out or things are going to get even uglier for this offense.