The operation of the offense for the Chicago Bears in their 26-14 win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 7 was not nearly where it needed to be at this point in the season.
There were several incidents and examples of what happened to make it smooth. It all starts with the quarterback Caleb Williams, who completed under 60% of his passes with more off-target throws than fans would like to see. Williams even threw a bad interception on an out route that was covered tight enough for the Saints' corner to jump out in front.
Another odd part of the offense was the struggles that Williams and center Drew Dalman had with getting the snap correct between the two. It happened three different times, which created a ton of frustration with the fan base and their head coach, Ben Johnson.
After the win, while Johnson was overly complimentary of the play of the defense, he knows the offense has a lot of work to do.
"I was hopeful that Game 6, we'd play cleaner football than that... We're not complimenting our defense on a regular basis. With the number of turnovers we've had over the last four games, we should be able to turn those into more points."
There's still plenty good from the Bears' offense to lean on
What has helped erase some of the mistakes of the Bears' struggles on offense has been the running game. How about a second straight game where the team hit a season-high in rushing yards?
The Bears rushed for 222 yards as a team, led by D'Andre Swift and rookie seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai. Swift had 19 carries for 124 yards and one touchdown. His backup, Monanagi, had 13 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown.
What's great about this Bears' offense compared to last year's unit is that when one side fails, the other picks it up. Williams had carried an offense that struggled to run the ball through the first four games. Now, it's Swift and company carrying Williams over the last two games.
Read more: Ben Johnson's six-word response to how Bears defeated Saints in Week 7
The Bears are still in good shape with a 4-2 record to start the season and a favorable schedule over the next four games that should elevate them to levels they never reached in 2024. Johnson will get the offense fixed and get them ready for an epic run.