The Chicago Bears needed a win in the worst way, and they got it with a blowout over the Washington Commanders. Washington may not be good, but it was a statement win nonetheless and may have shown this team to how to put games away, an issue they had just the week prior.
The Bears put a team away after struggling to do so, but there were other factors that changed for the team to win. What happened?
5. The Chicago Bears dialed up more designed runs
This had been one of the most confusing factors of the first four weeks. We knew that Justin Fields needed to improve as a passer, but first, the Bears had to get his legs going to open the passing lanes. It is always about maximizing his ability.
However, through four weeks, he hardly had his name called. Fields had 29 rushing attempts through four games. Of them, 15 were designed runs. That is 3.75 per game. Last year, the number was at six per game, and in the second half of the season, that shot up to seven per game.
It was perplexing why the Bears would go back to not calling designed runs, but on Thursday, they finally got back to it. Ten of the 11 times Fields rushed the ball, it was by design. Some of this has to do with Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson, and Travis Homer all leaving with injuries.
Still, from the start, they were using Fields and his legs by design. It was not 2022 Fields, but he moved the chains and had a solid night rushing. More than that, he did it with his passing first. The combination can be lethal, and we finally saw both work together.
4. The Chicago Bears got heavier in their offensive personnel
Without Chase Claypool, the Chicago Bears wide receiver was starting to get thin again. We know that Velus Jones is a lost cause, and Tyler Scott is still coming along slowly as a rookie. Darnell Mooney is coming back from injury, and this group is not ready to step up.
So, the Chicago leaned into a heavier package. Robert Tonyan started the game, and despite 10 yards, he was third in receiving behind Cole Kmet and, of course, D.J. Moore. Tonyan played a season-high 21 snaps, and his 40 snaps with Claypool out in two weeks is more than the 30 snaps he played in three games while Claypool was active.
Khari Blasingame saw a season-high 26 snaps, 40.6% of the teams offensive snaps. He played 41 snaps the past two weeks after just 17 in the three games prior. That may have been because of the running back injuries as well, but even Marcedes Lewis was in on it.
Lewis played 22 snaps this week, 34.4% of the snaps. He played 43 snaps the past two weeks after 22 in the first three games. It is clear that we are seeing a shift. Is going from Claypool to Lewis, and Blasingame a worthy move for the Chicago Bears?
3. The Chicago Bears blitzed the Washington Commanders
The Chicago Bears entered the game with one of the lowest blitz rates in the NFL. However, they also were not getting any pressure, so the decision-making made no sense. They entered the game with 26 blitz attempts all season. Against the Commanders, they blitzed 19 times. It worked, too. They went from a 20% average blitz rate on the year to 39.1% against Washington.
Sam Howell averaged 9.5 yards per attempt when he was not facing a blitz. He was averaging 3.6 yards per attempt against the blitz. The Chicago Bears finally got some sacks as well. The defensive front got some late, but even TJ Edwards and Greg Stroman had timely blitzes that led to sacks.
This could be because Sam Howell simply is not processing fast enough to see the blitz. It could be a one-game thing because of the opponent. However, the Chicago Bears need to realize that they cannot generate enough pressure, and they have to blitz more often to bring more heat and create a few more sacks. It worked this week and needs to keep coming.
2. The Chicago Bears are moving their defensive lineman around more often
The Chicago Bears needed to get more out of their defensive line. It helped that they blitzed more, but they also shuffled their lineman around a bit more. In the past two weeks, they have started to give Yannick Ngakoue easier matchups. He has played against left tackles most often.
However, against Denver, Mike McGlinchey is worse than Garrett Bolles, and against Washington, their weak spot was Andrew Wylie at right tackle. The Bears lined up Ngakoue on the right tackle 36 times in the first three weeks, which was just 25% of the time.
However, they lined him up on the right tackle 31 times in the past two weeks, a 31% rate. He was more successful and made the line have to think more. Beyond that, they finally got DeMarcus Walker inside, which had been one of the best parts of his game. No wonder he had his best game with the Bears. Walker had 12 snaps against interior linemen this week after just 21 in the first four games. That is a big change.
Lastly, we saw more Gervon Dexter. After playing 33 snaps in week two, he only played 26 snaps in week three, and then 10 snaps in week four. We saw a heavy dose, with 33 snaps this week. It was the best game of his career as well.
The Bears need to move these guys around, get the best matchups, and keep them fresh. That is why they added depth over talent. Now, we are seeing the depth shine.
1. The Chicago Bears played a heavier defensive look in the first half
The Chicago Bears have been dealing with the loss of Kyler Gordon in their secondary for a while. They have leaned on Greg Stroman a lot more, but in the past two weeks, they also leaned on Jack Sanborn.
Sanborn played more than any other game this season against Denver. It made sense because Denver likes their heavy personnel, but Sanborn was out there a lot in the first half against the Commanders as well.
He only finished with 18 snaps, but that is mainly because Washington came out slinging it when they were down 27-3. In the first half, the Bears even matched base to the Commanders 11-personnel, which stuck Sanborn on a slot receiver. Sanborn had 29 coverage snaps in three games to start the year, but the last two games saw him in coverage 25 times.
Still, it was an effort to stop the run and also blitz Sam Howell. They wanted to be heavier upfront to dare Howell to pass, and it worked. Will the Chicago Bears play Sanborn this often against more pass-heavy teams? We will find out.