The Chicago Bears are headed into Week 7 at 4-2 on their bye week. There has been a lot to be happy with over the first six games of the year, especially the last three weeks. The defense has played well all year long, the run game has gotten going, and Caleb Williams seems to be hitting his stride. Having these things continue to remain true throughout the season will be pivotal to the Bears' success.
Although the Bears have started to play some good football, it is worth noting that there are some things to clean up. For instance, staying out of third-and-long, cleaning up penalties, and finding and sustaining consistency on the offensive end. All of these things can be fixed and hopefully, the upcoming bye will help the Bears find a way to improve in these categories.
The Chicago Bears need faster starts.
It is important to address all the issues previously mentioned, but I believe the most crucial message to convey during the bye week is the need for a strong start. The Chicago Bears have struggled with their initial performance in games this season. On multiple occasions, they have failed to make an impact in the early stages of the game, with four out of six games resulting in no points scored in the first quarter. While this may not have had a significant impact so far, it's a pattern they should aim to avoid.
The Bears are about to get into a stretch of tough games within a few weeks and it will be very important to come out of the gates swinging. The last thing you want to do is fall behind a good team and have to play catchup the whole game. The Bears have recently started adding a game script to the play calling and hopefully, this is something they can work on in the bye week and start putting up some early points to start games.
If the Bears can clean up a few things, find ways to get things going early, and get healthy during their Week 7 bye, then we could see some success before heading into division play.