Buzz Kill: Bears Coaching Failure in Week 2

Bears coach Matt Eberflus showed he could be a real killjoy by benching his starters for preseason Week 2 after the opener generated so much excitement.

The last preseason game always came with the denotation "meaningless," but the Bears found a way to fix this term on the second preseason game.

Using only backups in Week 2 against the Colts either gave new meaning to the final preseason game or simply rendered the whole process that much less important. They've made the road to 18 regular-season games and two preseason games that much more inviting with what they did against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Bears lost 24-17 to the Colts because their third- and fourth-string defensive players couldn't stop Sam Ehlinger from running for 60 yards or passing a few times but mainly because the coaching staff took a peculiar approach toward Week 2 of preseason.

It's not even a blip on the 2023 radar, but it did give them a brief pause to consider the skills of their undrafted rookie quarterback, Tyson Bagent, and if they might need to keep him on the 53-man roster as a third behind Justin Fields and P.J. Walker.

Walker had another weak but abbreviated effort behind backup linemen and left before Bagent got his chance.

Ultimately it would be surprising to see the Bears dump their backup QB, who has played 15 times in games that actually count in standings, started seven times and won four of them with a mediocre franchise in Carolina.

At least they're finding out they can detect talent in young players, and maybe Bagent eventually develops into a good backup. But doing what he did for one drive when there is no real game-planning for an opponent does little more than indicate potential for potential.

Grading this second preseason game is a little like grading kindergarteners. 

How do you fix a letter grade to taking naps and sippy cups? Bears who actually will determine the course of the 2023 season were few and far between on the field in Indianapolis.

Here's a stab at judging neophytes and the efforts of a coaching staff that knows how to kill a city's buzz.

Passing: B-

They threw the ball fine and in most cases receivers like former Colt Daurice Fountain or Isaiah Ford came down with tough catches. Bagent's sharp decision making and short bullets into the zone coverage said a good deal about how he can play. And no one could say their third-string QB from last year, Nathan Peterman, played poorly. He actually directed more scoring drives than Bagent, got them a 10-point lead and threw a perfectly placed TD to Fountain. They also saw more proof Roschon Johnson could work in the passing game as he turned a screen into an 11-yard gain. However, despite the effective blocking they had on the screen to Johnson and a few other throws downfield, the backups' pass blocking sporadically broke down. They got their three QBs sacked four times after Tennessee had managed only two sacks in the preseason opener. The shame in all of this from the standpoint of their receivers was Tyler Scott and Velus Jones Jr. could have used the play reps in game conditions and neither was available due to injuries. So the QBs were throwing largely to practice squad players or Dante Pettis, who may or may not make the roster.

Running: B

Much better blocking from the backup line in this one than in the opener, when it bogged down to 2 1/2 yards an attempt. Aviante Collins, Alex Leatherwood, Doug Kramer, Ja'Tyre Carter and Larry Borom gave Johnson his pick of holes in the first half and it showed with 32 yards on seven attempts. As a team, they averaged a rock-solid 4.5 yards a carry. D'Onta Foreman looked like the downhill truck he has been with a few carries and 12 yards. They even blocked an end-around well for a change. The Bears also found Robert Burns, a fullback now but a college running back, could carry it in an emergency as he had eight runs for 40 yards. However, he also lost a critical fumble at game's end. They needed to count on a fullback as a tailback because Trestan Ebner was injured. This game would have been ideal for Ebner to show what he can do after he showed little in the first preseason game.

Pass Defense: D+

Probably one play best summed up their pass defense. Gardner Minshew had too much time to throw. He had so much time he started getting uncomfortable and moved around in the pocket. With no one pressuring him he threw an awful pass right above cornerback Tyrique Stevenson's head and through his hands. It wound up in Juwann Winfrey's hands for a TD. Missing the interception was one thing but Stevenson didn't even deflect an easily prevented play. Stevenson was one of only two starters playing for the Bears, the other being linebacker Jack Sanborn. Stevenson can't afford plays like that, or his second unsportsmanklike conduct penalty in as many weeks. It might be time to take another look at Terell Smith splitting time at cornerback this week in practice, if he's healthy enough finally. So as not to pick on Stevenson, second-year cornerback Jaylon Jones deserves criticism for allowing a 42-yard completion by Ehlinger to James Washington, a receiver who had been with the Colts for a couple of days. On the positive side, Terrell Lewis again came up with a strip-sack but other Bears on the field snoozed through the recovery process. Backup defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Jr. enjoyed a more consistent second game than in his debut and linemate Zacch Pickens again was evident but no one else did much. The two Colts QBs completed 22 of 29 for 231 yards with a TD and 110 passer rating, which is more than enough to get any team a win, preseason or otherwise.

Run Defense: C

The worst thing about their run defense was their inability to stop the quarterback. Their linebackers had trouble coming up in time once Ehlinger started to scramble, and they combined with third-team defensive ends D'Anthony Jones and Jalen Harris to make the zone-read runs by Ehlinger into big Colts gainers. This probably should have been expected because they're playing a few linebackers with almost no experience in their defense, like Barrington Wade and Davion Taylor. Harris later committed an unpardonable unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taking a swing at a blocker and got ejected from a preseason game. The only positive was holding any rusher besides Ehlinger to less than 3.7 yards per carry.

Special Teams: B+

Cairo Santos hit a 50-yard field goal, so all the complaints that he can't make long kicks should subside for now. While rookie safety Kendall Williamson had previously done little to show he deserves a roster spot with pass coverage, he did show up well on special teams in this one. He had a special teams tackle and a good contain on another one for a teammate to make the tackle. He also had a tackle for loss, so he made strides.

Coaching: D-

Give Matt Eberflus blame for taking the momentum right out of the Bears building by not playing Justin Fields and starters at all. After Week 1, the energy was churning at a high level even though Fields never threw a pass beyond the line of scrimmage. Now it's back to Square One. Also, they needed to be a little less rigid with their offensive personnel plans, particularly at QB. Giving Bagent only the two series was silly even if the plan going into the preseason game was giving Peterman the second half. Bagent didn't have sufficient time to do anything with his second possession and should have been given a chance to start the second half before Peterman played. Someone should have called an in-game audible on that plan. Also, in general terms, the use of  QBs is abysmal. Eberflus already knows what they have in Peterman, yet through two preseason games he has had 52 plays. That's about twice as many as Walker and Bagent, and far more than Fields. If they're not using Fields, they should be giving all the plays to Walker, who seems to be struggling, or to Bagent because he has never played pro ball. Peterman getting a few snaps and making a couple handoffs should be sufficent work and if he even gets off the bench in the final preseason game the Bears should refund the money to all Soldier Field patrons. Nothing against Peterman, but they don't need to see him and need to see the others. One other Eberflus failure is this entire idea of practicing against another team being better than preseason games, so he sits the starters. About all those practices accomplish is letting players fight with each other or do dirty things to the other team's starting QB. The game at least has controlled play by officials, except when they're taking a swing at someone and getting ejected.

Overall: C-

When practice squad receiver Nsimba Webster was the player who had by far the most number of plays in the game—56 for 81% of offensive plays plus two special teams plays—then you know what the Bears got out of this game.

Snap Count

Bears QBs in Preseason

Nathan Peterman 52

Tyson Bagent 37

P.J. Walker 27

Justin Fields 7

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