This key could unlock the Chicago Bears potential on offense
By Ryan Olson
Through three games the Chicago Bears are sitting at 2-1, despite most people thinking they would start with one win at best through the first three games. However, not all things have trended upwards in Chicago, despite the surprisingly good start to the season.
And the elephant in the room is Justin Fields’ rough start to the season, after playing in hurricane-like conditions in Week 1, and a stout Packers defense in week 2, he was set to break out in week 3 vs the Texans who might be the worst team in the NFL. However, that was far from the actual outcome. Fields had a game to forget in Week 3, to put it lightly. He simply looks incredibly uncomfortable, possibly even more uncomfortable than last year.
However, I think the Chicago Bears have a good base to work with on offense, the run game is fantastic which is certainly something to build off of. And during Week 3 there was some big-play potential off of play action that was missed out on, which was what we were all waiting for.
What could be the final key to finally unlocking this Chicago Bears offense?
Rhythm passing and the “short game” is the bane of this offense right now, Justin Fields needs to get set up early in the game to allow him to settle in and start on the right foot.
Right now, rhythm wise the Chicago Bears have absolutely nothing going for them. If it isn’t an offensive lineman getting beat clean off the line, or a terrible snap from center Sam Mustipher, it’s either a bad pass or a drop on the wide receivers’ end. We are three weeks deep into the season and I don’t think the Bears have had a successful screen pass all season, despite their efforts. It’s the same story as last year for the Bears if not worse — not a ton of YAC, and being in too tough of situations on third down.
I don’t recall many RPOs run by the Bears through three weeks which could be a good thing to add for a young QB who is struggling and ran them to perfection in college. If you don’t recall an uptempo offense was Ohio State’s bread and butter during Justin Fields’ time in college. They’re simple and they work. Just look at how the Eagles use them with a QB with a similar skillset to Fields, they have done a great job making Jalen Hurts have as easy of a job as it gets.
I think if the Bears can find a happy medium to their run game and their downfield play action shots they could turn it around and finally play to their potential. And who knows, with the way Eddie Jackson and the defense are playing, maybe this season won’t be as miserable as we all thought.