Bear Digest

Bears Report Card: They Almost Had to Try to Lose This One

The Bears did everything wrong on all levels with a win they didn't really deserve already in their pockets and they managed to squander it.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams manages to get off a throw just before being sacked in Sunday's 18-15 loss to Washington.
Caleb Williams manages to get off a throw just before being sacked in Sunday's 18-15 loss to Washington. / Peter Casey-Imagn Images
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The Bears have been defined.

Throughout the early part of the season, offensive players talked about finding an identity.

Matt Nagy used to talk about this type of thing incessantly but did it every year even with the same offensive system and usually the same personnel.

These Bears really did not know who they were on offense because they had a new offensive system, a new offensive coordinator, a new quarterback and five new starters, depending upon whether they were in three-receiver sets. Otherwise, just four new starters.

It was a legitimate expression to say they weren't sure of their identities.

The Bears now have now set their identity.

They are an offense capable of scoring later in games, figuring it out late and moving the ball but they are only capable of beating weaker teams.  They’ve had their chances to beat Houston, Indianapolis and Washington on the road and couldn’t when they had the chance.

They couldn’t beat a Washington team with a new coaching staff and a rookie quarterback because they didn’t pay attention on defense to the most important details during one play and because their own offense is only playing half a game and because their coaching staff has a knack for incomplete games when not facing overmatched teams.

TYRIQUE STEVENSON APOLOGIZES TO EVERYONE FOR FINAL PLAY DISASTER

CALEB WILLIAMS AND OFFENSE FAIL TO OVERCOME SLOW START AGAIN

EVEN WILE E. COYTE COULDN'T FIND A WAY TO DO WHAT BEARS DID

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: COMMANDERS BEAT BEARS ON HAIL MARY PASS

They have established themselves as a team capable of being anywhere from 6-10 to 8-9, depending on the competition for the day.

Many suspected as much but it truly is where they are.

This is their identity.

Here are their grades for  Week 8 against the Washington Commanders, easily the worst finish to any Bears game since Cody Parkey double-doinked the ball off Soldier Field's north goal post on Jan. 6, 2019.

Passing Game: F

Caleb Williams was erratic throughout the first three quarters, even looked jumpy playing in his hometown against a defense giving him different looks and blitzes. He made poor, wild throws and after the game a comment coach Matt Eberflus made was very telling. Eberflus said he thought they should have thrown more in the game to their tight ends and backs because of the way the Commanders were playing. He’s never going to give out information like that criticizing his coaches. He always protects them. So it’s obvious he thinks Williams wasn’t looking to dial it down enough when wide receivers were not open. Then Williams spent the whole postgame press conference eating or chewing on something in a way that was disrespectful to the assembled media while trying to answer their questions. Chew or eat whatever it was and then sit there and answer questions properly. Williams directed a few late drives after reviving the passing attack but still needed a penalty to get into the end zone. Their pass blocking was poor throughout the first 2 1/2 quarters but pulled it together in time to give them a chance at a win.

Running Game: C+

They used D’Andre Swift to jump-start the offense. Actually, his 56-yard TD run was more like using a defibrillator more than a jump start.  The offense was entirely dead before the line blocked that wide run well enough to get them back in the game. Swift is what he is at this point, just like their team. He’s going to break some runs, he’s going to stand and watch for a hole to open too long at some points and other times he’ll run into the traffic instead of away from it. The brilliance makes the poor decisions worthwhile and definitely did Sunday. The run blocking was above average considering how many different linemen they shuttled in because of injuries to Teven Jenkins, Bill Murray and Braxton Jones. The other major problem with their running game was the goal-line fumble. As bad as the play call was, the execution was just as bad. Doug Kramer didn’t execute putting away the handoff, a most basic thing. No one should expect more than what he did because he’s a lineman. Someone needed to communicate this to Shane Waldron.

Pass Defense: F

Even without the Hail Mary debacle, they gave up 274 yards passing to Jayden Daniels and got to him for just two sacks. Tyrique Stevenson allowed a 61-yard completion early in the game to set up a field goal and waste good field position set up by Tory Taylor’s punt. Part of the reason they reached Daniels only twice for sacks was Montez Sweat only played half (37) of the defensive snaps, presumably because of the shin injury he had. Normally he’s around 75 to 80% of snaps. The Commanders had only two dependable receivers in Zach Ertz and Terry McLaurin, but the pass defense gave up 125 yards and five catches to McLaurin and seven catches for 77 yards to Ertz, a tight end who turns 34 in a few days.  Finally, the Hail Mary was a disaster from the start.  Stevenson was too involved with taunting fans to be in position to start the play, then arrived late to the party. The coverage had the look of confusion and they were because they left Noah Brown wide open behind the group of receivers and DBs at the 3-yard line. Stevenson then tipped it backward himself, the worst thing a DB can do on the play because the throw came up 3 yards short of the goal line, and the only way they score on the play is if the ball somehow gets to the goal line. There were too many defenders in the area to complete a pass and then have the receiver run into the end zone. A completely botched play on the part of players as well as the coaching staff. Bottom line: Daniels threw for 195 more yards than Williams did.

Run Defense: F

The total yards were bad enough at 168 but they knew they had to contain a special runner/passer in Daniels and failed. If not for Sweat’s ability to track down Daniels with his great speed, they had no way of stopping the Commanders QB as a ball carrier. Sweat faked out T.J. Edwards on one open-field run for a first down, but that type of thing was to be expected once he broke their lack of containment. Even taking Daniels’ running out of the equation, they gave up 4.6 yards a rush to backs and receivers and that’s a problem most games. Losing Gervon Dexter a large portion of the game to injury didn’t help their cause.

Special Teams: B

Taylor had another special day with five punts inside the 20, including one coffin-corner type. Because of his efforts, Washington needed every bit of its 481 net yards to get its 18 points. Kick coverage units played one of their better games but the punt coverage team allowed a 21-yard return by Olamide Zaccheaus.

Coaching: F

Start with the Hail Mary. It was apparent they were not ready for that play. They had timeouts. Why didn’t Matt Eberflus use one to set up his defense and make them all aware of their roles on the final play? They key to the score was how they let McLaurin catch it and get out of bounds. Eberflus’ scheme with six seconds left should have been to let the receiver catch it but tackle him in bounds at all costs. Then they have no way to complete  a Hail Mary in the end zone because the throw would have had trouble reaching the 10. It barely got to the 3 with the completion to McLaurin. Eberflus’ explanation that they were defending the whole field makes absolutely no sense. They could let that pass get caught anywhere on the field except at the sideline because it meant the end of the game if it doesn’t get out of bounds. There wasn’t enough time to catch it and get the entire team lined up to ground the ball and get off a last-second field goal because only six seconds remained when they started the play and Washington was out of timeouts. Shane Waldron’s use of a center to fumble the ball at the goal line was inexcusable. They already had one disaster during the season in this situation and now it’s two. Just giving it to Roschon Johnson later resulted in a touchdown. Why not give it to him instead of Doug Kramer? The poor starts to games on offense have become a pattern, and many are caused by undisciplined presnap mistakes. This type of thing is the result of poor coaching. The Bears were badly outcoached in this one and remember, this game plan came after they had an extra week to think about it.

Overall: F

That's "F," as in farce. That's what they are.

They’ll face another quarterback with mobility on the road in Kyler Murray this week. No one should consider them favorites. They’ve stamped themselves as road underdogs all year unless facing a very poor opponent. No one can ever get serious about them making a playoff run when they have problems putting away games they've already vwon.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.