The Chicago Bears had a banner day offensively in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers, scoring 59 points with 552 yards on an ideally balanced (291 rushing; 261 passing) offense. Caleb Williams' 21 completions went to seven different receivers, led surprisingly by Kalif Raymond's eight catches.
Absent from the box score, beyond two targets, was tight end Colston Loveland. If it sounds familiar for a notable Bears' skill position player to go catchless during a massive day for the offense, it should.
In Week 9 last season against the Cincinnati Bengals, as the Bears scored 47 points with 576 yards of similarly balanced offense, wide receiver Rome Odunze did not have a catch on three targets. But in a stroke of luck, he was mic'd up for the game, and the Bears' social media team had his back to show how he still contributed notably to the big offensive effort.
With so many mouths to feed in the Bears' offense, and defensive attention or a tough individual matchup possible for any given player in any given week, someone could be left out on days like Week 1.
It's also fair to say, after allowing the eighth-most yards to opposing tight ends last season, the Panthers were keenly aware of Loveland wherever he went.
Colston Loveland will have his day(s) in the sun moving forward
Fantasy football managers who wanted a piece of the Bears' offense this year could have made a strong case for Loveland as being the most stable pass catcher week-to-week and the one to target in drafts, over Luther Burden and Rome Odunze.
Even Odunze had a fairly quiet day on Sunday, with a Randy Moss-esque highlight-reel grab among his two catches for 52 yards on three targets. Burden was more consistently noticeable, with five catches for 63 yards and a lost fumble.
The "No block, no rock" mantra tends to be focused on the wide receivers in a Ben Johnson offense, but it applies to everyone. Pro Football Focus grades aren't everything, but Loveland posted a solid 67.8 run-blocking grade over 27 run-blocking snaps. He helped the Bears average 7.5 yards per rush, and 6.1 yards per carry if you remove Kyle Monangai's 61-yard touchdown run.
Read more: Bears' defensive struggles in Week 1 win only exposes Ryan Poles' offseason whiff
Per PFF, Loveland also ran a team-high 35 routes against the Panthers. That 5.7 percent targets-per-route run rate is likely to stand as his season low, apart from the doughnut in the catch column, as further evidence that there are only better days ahead.
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