3 reasons Davis Mills could burn Chicago Bears secondary

When the Chicago Bears take on the Houston Texans, it will be a big day for Davis Mills. The Bears obviously took Justin Fields over him, but after a strong rookie season, Mills has had a bad start to his second year.

There is a question as to whether or not defenses have figured him out. While the Chicago Bears could be a good defense on paper, they also present a matchup that may be set up for Davis Mills to have success.

3. Chicago Bears zone heavy looks

Davis Mills has been better against the zone looks than man looks historically. Last season his yards per attempt dropped from 7.1 to 6.4 when going from zone to man. This season, teams are running man 41.5% against Mills after he saw it just 30.5% last season. So far, his yards per attempt is four against man, and seven against the zone.

The Chicago Bears run zone at a 70% rate, one of the highest in the NFL. We knew that the team was going to be zone-heavy because that is what Matt Eberflus and Alan Williams ran with the Indianapolis Colts.

One issue with that is that Eberflus runs a variation of the same scheme that Lovie Smith runs, and of course, Smith will be coaching on the other side. With Smith in the building both years that Mills has played it could be the reason that Mills has been so much better at zone than he has when throwing against man coverage.

It could also be that his receivers need the space because they are not talented enough to be man-beaters. Still, if the Bears do play zone then they have to be ready to see Mills at his best. If they switch to man we may see the same Mills that has the Texans winless.