4 Chicago Bears stats that every fan must know from their Week 8 loss

The Chicago Bears suffered their most demoralizing loss of the year this past Sunday when the Washington Commanders scored a walk-off Hail Mary to drop the visiting team to 4-3 following their week seven bye.

While the sky may seem to be falling in Chicago, the Bears proved they can remain competitive with the top teams in the NFL, although converting these narrow losses to wins has been an ongoing issue in recent seasons. To truly understand how close the Bears were to pulling off the road upset and where they can look to improve from here, it remains vital to look at the numbers and read the story that they tell:

7.2

The Bears offense struggled throughout most of Sunday's game, but D'Andre Swift served as the unit's main catalyst in the second half, ultimately finishing with an impressive 7.2 yards per carry.

Influenced greatly by a 56-yard third-quarter touchdown run that got the Bears on the board, Swift's productive night was the most dependable part of Chicago's offense. Despite his 129 rushing yards on 18 carries, Swift was notably absent from the team's passing attack, failing to record a single reception. A dangerous player with the ball in his hand, Swift's abilities on the ground can help alleviate the aggressive pass rushes that defenses seem to be sending Caleb Williams' way, and getting the former Georgia Bulldog involved early and often should help the offense find their footing earlier than they did on Sunday.

-1

While the offense was propelled by Swift's rushing, an untimely fumble on a crucial goalline run was a nearly back-breaking mistake for the Bears, who finished with a -1 turnover margin.

With an opportunity to take the lead with about six minutes left, the Bears got into a familiar formation with backup center Doug Kramer lining up as the team's fullback. While the ball could have gone to Roschon Johnson, who could have run behind Kramer, the play was instead to the offensive lineman, who could not control the handoff from Williams. In a stunning turn of events, the Bears went from knocking on the doorstep to back to square zero, thanks in large part to questionable play calling. Trick plays, especially to linemen, have been all the stir in the NFL lately, but for a Bears offense that struggled to find their footing to that point, getting fancy with the play call in the most critical moment of the game was probably not the wisest idea.

11

Sunday featured a disappointing performance from the Bears offense, but the defense showed out from the opening kick, keeping the Commanders out of the end zone for their first 11 drives.

The Commanders had no problem moving the ball up and down the field, finishing the game with three trips to the red zone and 481 yards of total offense. However, the Bears' "bend don't break" mentality was on full display, and the defense kept their opposition to five field goal attempts, four of which were made. The defense carries much of the responsibility for the loss, but their efforts ultimately kept this a competitive contest far longer than it could have been. Notably, this was the Bears' 13th consecutive game allowing 21 points or less. As the offense continues to iron out their expected problems, the defense remains a vital asset that will buy Williams more time and opportunities to make plays.

12.79

The game ultimately came to a tragic end when the Commanders converted a game-winning Hail Mary, where quarterback Jayden Daniels had the ball for 12.79 seconds from snap to throw.

Allowing a passer this much time to get receivers down the field and step up to make a throw is an inexcusable error for the Bears' defense, and the absurd amount of time ultimately points back to questionable personnel decisions on the game's final play. The Bears' premier edge rushers Montez Sweat, Darrell Taylor, and Austin Booker were all sidelined, and with the coaches electing to rush just three players, Daniels had pretty much as long as he wanted to make his throw. Still, there were some debatable no-calls on holds and blocks in the backs that could have negated the game-winning touchdown, but it is hard to expect such a crucial play to come down to a yellow flag.