Chicago Bears Gameday: 3 Keys to victory over the Washington Commanders

The Chicago Bears need to get more skill position players involved in the offense

In the words of 2023 Hall of Fame inductee Demarcus Ware, "there aren't any moral victories" in football, but the Bears offense walked away from their week four loss with the most promising performance in quite some time.

The offense, and specifically Fields, had as productive of an outing as ever, although their performance was deflated by two late-game turnovers. Still, the offense showed life, although going forward, there needs to be a higher focus on getting more skill-positioned players involved. Through four weeks, only two players (D.J. Moore and Khalil Herbert) have recorded over 200 all-purpose yards, and only two players (Moore and Cole Kmet), have scored more than one offensive touchdown, the latter of which scored twice versus the Broncos for his first touchdowns of the season.

The offense has come a long way since their first game, but there are still a lot of questions surrounding both the playcalling and personnel. Late in last week's games, key playcalling, especially on a late red zone fourth down attempt while tied at 28, left a lot to be desired, but the offense has seemingly transitioned more into catering towards the strengths of the Bears' best offensive players. However, the roster is still experiencing somewhat of a shakeup at the receiver position, as the Bears have asked receiver Chase Claypool to sit out his second consecutive game, presumably related at least in part to his comments with the media before the matchup versus the Broncos.

With playing time at receiver up for grabs, wide receiver Equinameous St. Brown will likely see some more time playing on the boundaries, while rookie Tyler Scott could be brought into the starting lineup more and more throughout his first season. As the team continues to establish its identity on the ground following its best-rushing performance of the season, another rookie, Texas product Roschon Johnson, should also see an uptick in usage as the year progresses.

Getting younger players more involved with the offense could help bring energy to the unit and provide different looks for the opposing defense. Versus a quicker back like Herbert, the defense will naturally have to adjust when a heavier rusher like Johnson enters the game, and the defensive backs may be forced to change personnel if the offense subs St. Brown out for Scott. Getting different players involved will complicate things greatly for the defense, and would help take some of the pressure, both literally and metaphorically, off of Justin Fields, who should be allowed to get the ball to his playmakers in space throughout the game.