Following an embarrassing 38-20 season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers, the 2023 Chicago Bears season felt like it was already over before it had begun. Players complained about being booed, took shots at Jordan Love’s performance for no reason, a wider receiver eviscerated by his poor efforts, and a head coach defensive after being asked about his team’s overall efforts after the game.
Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suddenly became a must-win game. If the Bears can’t beat Tampa Bay, this season feels like it is over already. On top of it, both defensive coordinator Alan Williams and guard Nate Davis did not make the trip due to personal reasons though we learned that Davis was dealing with a family death on Friday morning, and that’s the reason why he missed OTAs, training camps, and last week’s game. Meanwhile, Matt Eberflus had to call plays on defense in the absence of Williams.
Unfortunately, the Bears suffered a crushing 27-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as both offense and defense continued to sputter.
Chicago Bears fans are already losing faith and patience
And next week, they head to Kansas City to play the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. And they are already a double-digit underdog. The Bears have now 12 straight games dating back to last year. And fair or not, the clock is now officially ticking on Matt Eberflus’ tenure with the Bears.
Here are my six thoughts following the Bears' 27-17 loss to the Buccaneers.
1. A lackluster performance by Justin Fields raises serious questions.
The Bears started off well after the Bucs took a 3-0 lead. Justin Fields connected with wide receiver DJ Moore twice for long gains on the opening drive, matching his catch total from last week. Then Fields scored a touchdown on a bootleg rollout. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy came up with a great script and the Bears offense responded nicely.
Unfortunately, things went downhill after a promising start. Fields started to look timid and held on to the ball too long once again. Once again, people took to social media and roasted his deficiencies.
This happened when the Bears were trailing 10-7, but they were driving and had the ball at Tampa Bay 24 near the end of the first half. The next three plays were what got people up and arms over Fields:
1st and 10-Fields held onto the ball and sacked for a 3-yard loss.
2nd and 13-Fields incomplete pass to Khalil Herbert. It was a low throw.
3rd and 13-Fields holds onto the ball and sacked for a 7-yard loss.
The Bears were forced to settle for a 52-yard field goal.
What’s disturbing was the offensive line gave him decent protection, but he held onto the ball too long. And DJ Moore threw his hand up in the air to let him know he was open near the first down marker. And Roschon Johnson was wide open on the seam, which would have been a touchdown had Fields thrown the ball.
While I am still a huge Fields guy, what I saw Sunday was very concerning. And it had to be jarring for others who are big Fields supporters. Still, a touchdown pass he threw to Chase Claypool late in the ball game to bring the team to within a field goal is what many hope he will eventually figure out.
https://twitter.com/TJenkinsElite/status/1703894398805877220
So why is he struggling so badly in his third year? This brings us to my next observation.
2. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has been disastrous at his job
After a strong opening drive getting DJ Moore two catches, both 33 and 31 yards, which ended with Justin Fields’ touchdown run, Luke Getsy and the Bears got off to a great start.
Unfortunately, the offense sputtered the rest of the way as Fields struggled to hit open receivers, the interior offensive line could not contain their defensive tackle, Vita Vea, and receivers ran the same routes in the same area on more than one occasion.
While Fields’ performance deserves criticism, we can also criticize Luke Getsy for not only hurting his development but also hindering Fields by not utilizing his strength.
After the Green Bay game where he was heavily criticized for calling screen passes that went nowhere, he sounded defensive and bristled during his weekly press conference, and even stated people would pat him on the back had it worked out.
Even more disturbing was his admission that the decision to sit out players like Equanimeous St. Brown, who is the best blocker on the team, but was made inactive against Green Bay this past week, was made by both Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus. Does an offensive coordinator like him have no input in the weekly roster decision? Is there a trust issue between the coaching staff?
Then late in the fourth quarter, with the Bears deep in their own territory, and still having a chance to win the ball game, Getsy inexplicably called three consecutive screenplays.
https://twitter.com/T3Jab/status/1703793533763678685
The first attempt resulted in an offside penalty by Tampa Bay. The second attempt resulted in a first-down by running back Khalil Herbert, but it was negated because of OPI by Chase Claypool.
The Bears’ third and final attempt was recognized by linebacker Shaq Barrett as he sat back in coverage, intercepted the ball, and was pushed into the endzone by his teammates for a game-clinching touchdown.
As you can expect, many are eviscerating his decision to heavily rely on screen passes. Tampa Bay seems to have noticed his tendencies too.
You can bet the reporters will be asking about consecutive screen passes that ended the comeback hopes and how he felt about Tampa Bay mocking his predictable play-calling postgame. Will he blow up this time?
And then, the bombshell news conference yesterday when Justin Fields met with reporters and explained that coaching has contributed him to playing “robotic” against the Buccaneers and that he’s going to be more himself moving forward, which he later took the initiative to clarify when it was perceived as taking shots at the coaching staff, particularly Getsy.
Getsy’s ego has been bruised by Fields and the opposition. They both know whatever he’s trying to accomplish is not working. With Williams out of the picture, Getsy is the top scapegoat candidate for Eberflus. As Fields takes control of his career, the leash on Getsy has gotten shorter now.
3. Matt Ebeflus is now going to sink or swing with his defense.
Defensive coordinator Alan Williams has been heavily criticized since joining the Bears for his conservative play-calling. In his defense, there was no talent on his side of the ball, and it got even worse after the Bears traded both linebacker Roquan Smith and defense end Robert Quinn during last year’s trading deadline.
This off-season, the Bears added two proven linebackers in DJ Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds, run stopper Andrew Billings, drafted cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Zaach Pickens, and added proven edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue. The talent has been upgraded significantly.
The Bears' defense was embarrassed by Jordan Love in the season-opener, and Williams abruptly took a leave of absence this past week. Matt Eberflus took over defensive play-calling duties, which made perfect sense. He was a defensive coordinator before and he knows the system inside and out.
While Eberflus attempted more blitzing, they had zero sacks in the game. Zero. They came close on several occasions, including Ngakoue, who whiffed twice to bring down pesky Baker Mayfield, who passed for 317 yards, and he was 10/11 on third down conversion at one point. As the offense sputtered, the defense came back and stayed on the field because of a lack of turnovers and sacks.
The secondary, which was already missing nickel back Kyler Gordon on IR, got destroyed by Mike Evans with 171 receiving yards. Rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson had a very rough game getting beaten by Evans.
https://twitter.com/Buccaneers/status/1703482959498486043?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1703482959498486043%7Ctwgr%5E216c008f0805937dd2443e3e5e131d889ae2bd66%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com%2F4872280%2F2023%2F09%2F18%2Fbears-defense-buccaneers%2F
Then yesterday, Williams abruptly resigned citing health and family reasons amidst rumors of his house and the Halas Hall being raided by FBI, and former Bears legend turned FBI agent Charles Tillman. While the story of the FBI raid turned out to be a hoax, I feel this is not the last time we hear about Williams.
So, the tenure of Alan Williams ended unceremoniously. Eberflus will be asked why he even hired Williams in the first place as the defensive coordinator, and whether he could have taken over as the defensive coordinator much sooner.
Let me end the abrupt departure of Alan Williams with the following thoughts: 1. We all wish him and his family the best in whatever they are dealing with.
2. He was not good at his job and was probably going to be replaced soon. It needed to happen. They found a convenient excuse without hurting his pride.
4. The offensive line continued to struggle and got the worst news possible.
So far, the investment made by Ryan Poles on offensive line has not panned out. We all know by now about the personal stuff that Nate Davis had been dealing with off the field. We can all hope that Davis finds peace and he is mentally and physically ready to play soon.
Meanwhile, the center position has been a constant problem even after parting ways with Sam Mustipher. Instead, Poles decided to stick with holdovers Cody Whitehair and Lucas Patrick while adding veteran center/guard Dan Feeney before the start of the season. Feeney’s first snap exchange with Justin Fields in the Tampa Bay game was a fumble. Poles could have drafted a young center like John Michael Schmitz and solidified the position. Instead, the decision to stick with veterans made this unit even worse as they gave up six sacks in Tampa Bay, and a total of ten sacks in two games already.
Meanwhile, both tackles struggled mightily through the first two games. Left tackle Braxton Jones committed 4 penalties (2 false starts and holdings each) against the Packers and 2 penalties (false starts and holdings consecutively). He has already committed half of his total penalties from last season in just two games.
https://twitter.com/SwiftyNetwork/status/1703479928145031439
As for rookie Darnell Wright he has held his own through his first two games though he has admitted he has made his share of rookie mistakes.
https://bearstalk.com/bears-rookie-darnell-wright-offers-honest-assessment-of-his-first-two-games/
And then, somehow the news of Braxton Jones going on IR with a neck injury the same day Alan Williams abruptly resigned got overshadowed. This news though, is much more significant because this injury not only hurts his development, but the Bears will likely have to invest one of their first-round picks in a left tackle in the 2024 NFL Draft rather than selecting mid to late-round tackles like Jamarcus Webb, Charles Leno, and Jones.
5. Matt Eberflus probably does not have much time left as the Bears head coach.
Let’s be honest. Matt Eberflus is officially on the hot seat. The Bears have never fired a head coach middle of the season, but he could become the first ever coach to be fired mid-season. It has been that bad.
The Bears have now lost twelve straight games dating back to last year. It has been almost a year since their last victory. We are entering Week 3, but it already feels like Week 15 or 16 from last year.
After the Kansas City game, the Bears will return home to play the Denver Broncos and head to Washington for Thursday Night Football. If the Bears lose all three games, they will be 0-5 and would have lost 15 straight games.
The Bears made changes offensively after the loss against the same Washington team on Thursday Night Football by utilizing Justin Fields’ running skills. That brought excitement and hope that they will be more competitive in 2023.
Will Eberflus be given the opportunity to redeem what is left of this season? Will Getsy pull off another offensive miracle almost a year after the Washington disaster, or will he either demote or fire him to calm the angry fans and ownership?
Eberflus has so much on his plate now. He must make sure the locker room does not fall apart while now pulling double duty as a head coach and defensive coordinator in the wake of Williams's resignation.
He knows this defense inside and out. If he’s going to take the fall like we all expect him to, he might as well do it his way.
No sweat, right?
6. The preview of Bears vs. Kansas City Chiefs
On paper, this is a total mismatch. However, the Chiefs have not looked through their first two games, getting stunned by the Detroit Lions in the season-opener, and barely got past Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Chiefs have only scored four touchdowns in their first two games, but playing the Bears, who are struggling both on and off the field at home in Arrowhead could help jump start the defending Super Bowl champions.
I know lots of Bears fans are traveling to Kansas City to attend this game. I moved to the Kansas City area earlier this year and had this game on my calendar for quite some time. But given what has transpired this week, one can only hope that the Bears do not get blown out by half time on national television.
On offense, I am very interested to see how much Justin Fields will ball out after a press conference this past week, where he stated he wants to play more loosely and use his skills. He is ready to take his career into his own hands, and going against superstar Patrick Mahomes will hopefully invigorate him and keep the Bears in the game as long as possible. To do so, the pass protection must hold up facing George Karlaftis and Chris Jones, who ended his holdout just recently and is still playing himself into form.
Defensively, Eberflus will have his work cut out going up against Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid. Tight End Travis Kelce, who missed the season opener with an injury, could go off against the Bears if the Bears can’t find ways to generate pressure against Mahomes.
You will likely see ex-Bears head coach Matt Nagy, who has returned to Kansas City and is now an offensive coordinator, making multiple appearances on television tomorrow. Perhaps he will make baffling decisions calling plays, allowing the Bears to stay in the game.
But overall, their talent on both sides of the ball will likely overpower the Bears late in the ball game.
Prediction: Chiefs 38-24