After three games, the Bears are winning a lot more games than people expected. However, these wins aren’t coming in the fashion that Bears fans want them to come in.
Justin Fields has struggled to create any sort of explosive offense through the air. Instead, the Bears are averaging 186.6 yards per game rushing the football, and have 5 defensive takeaways within the first 3 games of the season. So the question has to be asked, how long is this sustainable, and how far can this style take them?
The Bears went against 2 of the top defenses in the NFL in the first 2 weeks, the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers. They then took on the lackluster Houston Texans, but they have about an average defense. The Bears put up more points on the Texans than the Colts or Broncos did in Houston’s first couple of games. I’d say this start on the ground is legit, and they’re 2-1. Fans and analysts will talk about the weather conditions of the week 1 game against San Francisco, but I think the Bears win that game regardless of what the conditions were.
The Bears defense has also been really good at forcing takeaways. 3 interceptions (2 by Eddie Jackson and 1 by Roquan Smith) and 2 fumbles recovered. Winning the turnover battle is a big part of winning a football game. Defensively though, the Bears have to get better at stopping the run, and they also need rookie Cornerback Kyler Gordon to play a lot better, as he’s given up more receiving yards than any other Cornerback in the NFL. The safeties Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker have been fantastic. You couldn’t ask for any more from those guys. Jackson is back to his ball hawking self and Jaquan Brisker has been elite in coverage and a very strong tackler in the open field.
So what can the Bears actually do with this formula? The truth is, not much. This won’t win playoff games in the NFL in 2022 or moving forward.
The Bears can only go as far as Justin Fields will take them and so far this year, he hasn’t been productive. A lot of what Fields has going on is mental, but it could be a very complicated fix. Fields said Wednesday that he doesn’t feel hesitant to make throws, even though the film clearly shows he doesn’t trust his WRs, his protection, or at this point, even himself. Mental blocks at the Quarterback position can be just as hard to overcome as physical limitations.
The thing the Bears have going for them is the upcoming QBs on their schedule are Daniel Jones, Kirk Cousins, Carson Wentz, Brian Hoyer, and Cooper Rush. So quite easily, they can ride this current style to wins against poor Quarterbacks, but in the meantime, Justin Fields has to figure out how to get his play to a level that can help take the Bears to wins, not hold them back.
