The Chicago Bears are heading into the bye week on a high note. After starting the season 0-4, they are 4-4 in their last eight games. That includes 2-2 with Montez Sweat and 1-1 with Justin Fields back in the lineup. They had their best game of the season in a loss to the Lions in week 11 and then won in week 12 to enter the bye on a high note.
Which players on the Bears are trending in the right direction as they get this time off?
5. The Chicago Bears are getting the best out of Justin Fields
Things are finally starting to come together for Justin Fields. The question about whether the bad offensive line and skill players were holding him back is slowly being answered. As the line has gotten healthier and the skill players improved, so has Fields. The last two weeks maybe some of the better play we have seen from him.
He is completing 71% of his passes, his sack rate is way down. He would be on pace for 42 in 17 games at his current rate. Last year, he had 55 sacks in 15 games.
He is averaging 6.77 adjusted yards per attempt and has a passer rating of 94.2. He also is averaging 81.5 rushing yards per game. For his career, Fields is a 61% passer with 6.4 adjusted yards per attempt and a passer rating of 83.1. Last year, his passer rating was 92.3. He also averages 56 rushing yards per game in his career and 76 per game last year. So, the rate he is playing over the last two weeks would be the best we have seen him play.
The pieces are here, and he is healthy. Justin Fields just has to keep this up. His play is already trending that way.
4. D.J. Moore is at his best when the Chicago Bears start Justin Fields
This is going to be a career year for D.J. Moore. Still, he did hit a low mark in the middle, although it does not appear to be his fault. His low point is directly correlated with the Bears starting Tyson Bagent.
When D.J. Moore has Justin Fields, he is not just on pace for a career year; he is on pace to be one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. It is only seven games, but when Justin Fields starts and finishes the game, Moore averages 6.4 catches per game for 105.9 yards. This is a solid outcome over 17 games that would come out to 109 catches for 1,799 yards.
Moore went through four games when he averaged just five catches for 52.8 yards with Bagent. His production nearly doubles with the improved quarterback. Some of that his aided by the big game against Washington, but Moore has taken off in the last two games. He went from that stretch of 52.8 yards per game to 105 yards per game in the last two weeks. He is on pace for 153 catches and 1,785 yards if you just isolate the two weeks since Fields returns. D.J. Moore is excellent and will only get better with Justin Fields.
3. The Chicago Bears defensive line is improving
The Chicago Bears defensive line has been a lot better since they traded for Montez Sweat. The team has seven sacks in the last three weeks. They had just ten sacks in the nine weeks prior to that. They also have seven interceptions in the past two weeks after six in ten games prior to that.
This correlates pretty easily with the Bears getting more pressure, mainly because of Sweat. Sweat had a 10% pass rush win rate with Washington, and that is up to 16% in the four games since the Bears acquired him. What is impressive is that he has had four tough right tackles to start his campaign.
DeMarcus Walker has been a big winner of the Sweat trade. He lsot playing time overall, but is being used more effectively. His pass rush win rate is up from 9% to 16% since the Sweat addition and he has nine pressures in the last two weeks.
Gervon Dexter may be a chain reaction to Sweat, it also may just be the rookie getting better. Either way, his win rate is also up in recent weeks from 8.1% to 15%. Dexter had nine pressures before Sweat and has had eight in the past four weeks.
Getting the most out of these three has gone a long way.
2. The Chicago Bears offensive line is trending up
One of the biggest reasons Justin Fields is playing so well is that his offensive line is a lot better right now than it was during the Bears 0-4 start. Guys like Cody Whitehair, Larry Borom, and Ja’Tyre Carter have hit the bench, and Nate Davis, Teven Jenkins, and Braxton Jones have all been healthy.
Braxton Jones is coming off one of the best games of his season now that he is finally healthy. The same can be said of Nate Davis, who just returned to play the last two weeks. In week 11 he got rid of the rust, but in week 12, Davis and Jones played well.
Now, both get the bye week to gel with the other lineman. The Bears' offensive line should be better than ever when they head into week 13.
1. The Chicago Bears are getting the best from TJ Edwards now
Early on in the 2023 season, it looked like TJ Edwards was a dud of a signing. However, he has really stepped up his game in recent weeks. First, the Bears started to ask him to do more things downhill. He started to have success in run defense, and as a blitzer first, butt eh Bears were still getting torched by running backs in coverage.
They have not been tested as much since Alvin Kamara and the Saints, but the Bears defense in this area has improved, mainly from Edwards. Edwards is averaging 6.5 yards per target allowed in the last four weeks. In the first eight weeks, it was 9.4 yards er target.
His yards after the catch is down from 8.8 yards per catch to 6.5. It is clear that he is now improved in coverage. So, Edwards is sound as a blitzer and a run defender, and he is improving in coverage. It sounds like he is an all-around good player now.