The Chicago Bears have started to turn their season around with a two-game winning streak. More than just the wins, what is impressive is the way that the team has done it. They were in control for the majority of these games.
Who are four players that have been a huge part of the turnaround?
4. D’Andre Swift
To say that D’Andre Swift got off to a slow start to his Bears career would be an understatement. He was essentially unplayable through three weeks. Swift had 37 rushing attempts for 58 yards, and even worse than that, he had six catches for 46 yards.
The switch has flipped in the past two weeks and he has found his game. Swift now has 37 rushes for 166 yards with two touchdowns on the ground. He is also responsible for nine catches and 119 yards through the air. The difference is night and day, and it has changed how the Bears offense looks. Adding him into the passing game has made life easier for Caleb Williams, and has forced the defense to stay on their short assignments, opening up the deep passing game.
This is exactly what the Bears were envisioning when they signed Swift this offseason. Now, we will see if this was just a hot run, or if this is how he will look in this offense moving forward.
3. D.J. Moore
The D.J. Moore drama has been overblown in Chicago. He was a Justin Fields supporter until the very end, so some fans are still clinging to that. He also started the year with 11 catches for 89 yards in two games and showed frustrated emotion in the Houston Texans loss. Still, he has slowly gained momentum with Caleb Williams since then.
Moore had eight catches for 79 yards against the Colts, but a lot of that was a hail mary. He caught his first touchdown against the Rams but only had three catches. Now, in week five, it all came together. Five catches, 105 yards, and two touchdowns later, it almost seems foolish that this was discussed as an issue for a month.
Moore has clearly shown he is the top threat in this passing attack and as Williams improved, you are going to see this kind of stat line consistently for him. It felt like these two got over a hump this week with the connection on a few big plays and now they can start humming together for more production.
2. Is Coleman Shelton
One of the biggest issues to come away from week one was how much Coleman Shelton struggled. Nate Davis was an issue next to him as well, and the interior was not getting any push, leading to Swift playing so poorly, and Williams running for his life.
Nate Davis did not improve, but he has left the lineup, and the addition of Matt Pryor has at least added stability. Speaking of stability, Coleman Shelton is starting to show that he may have some of that as the center moving forward. He did change teams this offseason and he has a rookie quarterback. His right guard has shifted since his arrival, and he was not even slotted to start at center when the offseason started. It is fair to give him a few games to figure things out.
So far, he has rewarded the patient Bears. Sunday was the best game of his career with the Bears. He looked strong in pass protection and was a lead blocked deep down the field on a big Swift screen play. Shelton is starting to get on the same page as Williams which is key to this offense progressing.
1. Jaquan Brisker
Year two of Jaquan Brisker was not anything quite like year one. To be fair, it seemed as though he was playing through an injury all season. He missed a little time but also left multiple games with minor issues, and overall, his season was not as good.
Now, it looks like Brisker is back to playing strong football. The addition of Kevin Byard has allowed him to be more versatile in the back end, but he is still well-known for his physical presence.
Brisker laid the boom on Tommy Tremble, forcing a fumble. It was the first of the season, but the fourth of his career. It looks like Brisker is going to have a strong 2024 season as long as he stays healthy. Week five was a culmination of what he has been doing in the past few weeks, and he was rewarded with a big play.