Week 2 of the NFL season is here, and the Chicago Bears (0-1) have a chance to go on the road and avenge Monday night's loss by spoiling the Detroit Lions' (0-1) season home opener.
Sunday's game is the newest chapter in the storied rivalry between the Bears and Lions, who each started their season with disappointing intra-divisional losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers, respectively. Both teams will walk onto Ford Field with a lot at stake, but if the Bears want to avoid falling to 0-2 for just the third time since 2017, they will have to accomplish the four following keys to success:
1) Establish the Rushing Attack Early
The Bears' offense left a lot to be desired after an up and down performance in week one, and while the lion's share (no pun intended) of the blame was directed at second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, the real ire should be directed towards the group's rushing attack.
Outside of Williams, who's 58 rushing yards actually led the team, the Bears managed just 61 yards on the ground. Much of that came from D'Andre Swift, who averaged just 3.1 yards per carry on 17 attempts, with D.J. Moore adding eight yards on three rushes. No other player even attempted a carry, and the Bears were unable to find much in terms of consistent ground production, especially in the second half.
Granted, some of these numbers are skewed by the fact that they were losing throughout the fourth quarter, but heading into Detroit, the Bears must do better to establish an imposing ground attack early. If the Bears, who should be getting Roschon Johnson back from his foot injury, can force Detroit to respect the run, Williams and company will find it easier to tear off big chunks in the pass game with fewer secondary players on the field. The Lions' defense played well against the Packers' rushers in week one, allowing just 78 yards and a touchdown on 25 total carries.
2) Push the Ball Downfield
While the rushing woes were perhaps the most glaring weakness from the Bears' season opener, the downfield passing game was not far behind. Williams put together another fairly efficient and turnover-free outing, which should not be taken for granted, but the group still has a ways to go in terms of connecting on big plays.
Twitter screenshots of open receivers aside, the Bears did not even look to target the deep portions of the field consistently until late in the fourth quarter. Down by two scores, going deep often becomes the only option, and Williams continues to look capable of making big plays even if he doesn't connect on every attempt.
Still, the passer threw just four attempts 20 or more yards down field, which netted two completions. Stretching the defense vertically will allow the short game to open up, but the defense will continue to crowd the line of scrimmage and shallow passing lanes if the Bears as a group cannot prove that they are capable of punishing you deep. As the ground game improves, so will the play-action attempts, which creates confusion up front and on the back-end of defenses, allowing Williams more time in the pocket to find his guys down the field. Simply put, this offense needs to be more explosive, both on the ground and through the air.
3) Generate Pressure up the Middle
The Bears' defense showed a lot of promise on Monday night despite ultimately allowing 21 points in the fourth quarter. With several key defenders sidelined, the Vikings were held to three-and-outs on each of their first two drives and just 80 yards in the first half.
Much of this early success can be credited to the defensive line, especially the defensive tackle rotation. Between Gervon Dexter Sr., Andrew Billings, and Grady Jarrett (who is questionable for Week 2 with a knee injury), the DTs combined for seven total tackles and one sack, but were truly even more disruptive. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy was rarely able to work from a clean pocket, and the group helped create three additional sacks from the edge position, an impressive feat considering the Vikings, like the Bears, overhauled their interior offensive line with two free agent signings and a high draft pick.
This week, the Bears' tackle rotation will face a less heralded group in the Lions' interior offensive line. Center Graham Glasgow, a 2016 third round pick for the Lions, rejoined the team this offseason after a stint with the Denver Broncos, and the guards, Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratledge, enter this game wiith three combined starts under their belts. This trio struggled against Green Bay in week one, and with a not-particularly-athletic quarterback like Jared Goff behind center, the Bears would do well to welcome these young guards to the NFL with a long afternoon of constant pressure.
4) Show Progress in the Kicking Game
Much has been made over the past week of the Bears' special team woes on Monday night. From missing a fourth quarter, 50-yard field goal that would have put them up 14 points to a botched kickoff attempt that cost the Bears the advantage of the two-minute warning, kicker Cairo Santos finds himself on the hot seat entering week two, illustrated best by the team's swift action to add kicker Jake Moody to their practice squad following his release from the San Francisco 49ers.
In the NFL, the margin of error can be razor-thin for any game, but especially so for a road divisional showdown like the Bears face on Sunday. Having clean execution and being able to utilize special teams situations to your advantage should be as important as how the offense and defense perform throughout, and the Bears so far seem to be near the bottom of the league in that regard.
Read more: Ben Johnson showed some flashes of greatness (and struggles) in Bears debut
Santos should be motivated enough to perform well and keep Moody at bay (for now). However, if he continues to struggle, Ben Johnson and his staff will likely not hesitate to make the move and keep trying new kickers until they find one who performs consistently on the field. If the Bears want to win a potentially close game on the road in Johnson's return to Detroit, Santos may play a significant role in that effort.