The Good, Bad and ‘Other’ from Bears’ Week 2 loss

To be optimistic, I want to force myself to look for more good than bad in every Chicago Bears game. Three steps forward and two steps back is still movement in the right direction. Every week, I’m going to look at how the Bears performed in their previous game, and look for three good areas and two that need improving. And then, just to finish the countdown, I want to look at something else that happened in the NFL over the weekend. Either some important news that I can add my voice to or something that may have flown under the radar.

Let’s start the countdown.

Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK

3: The Good

Bears running game

We saw on Sunday that offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s plan was to run the ball. To shove it down the Packers’ throat. He wanted to take advantage of Green Bay’s run defense, and he did. You can disagree with the plan to rush the ball 27 times while only attempting 11 passes (I do), but that doesn’t mean the running backs aren’t putting in the work.

Chicago’s two running backs put on a show, with David Montgomery rushing for 122 yards on 15 attempts, while Khalil Herbert put up 38 yards on four rushes. They had powerful averages of 8.1 and 9.5 YPC, respectively. After an abysmal 2.7 YPC for the team last week, this uptick might be a sign that the Bears’ offense, at least for the time being, will run through their running backs.

This is reassuring for Montgomery fans, as it was rumored during the offseason that Bears’ coaches didn’t think Montgomery could fit into their offensive scheme. A good run game can help open up the passing game, some help that Justin Fields will surely need throughout the season.

Justin Field’s athletic ability

Speaking of Justin Fields, he certainly did not have the day anyone wanted. He completed seven passes (albeit on only 11 attempts) for 70 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT. He was sacked three times.

He did, however, have some impressive plays with his legs against the Packers. He avoided three defenders for a rushing touchdown at the end of the first quarter, the only one of the day for the Bears. He ran for a nice first down late in the game when a comeback still felt in reach. On the same drive, he kept the play alive in the red zone to make it fourth and goal from the one-yard line instead of taking a sack and it being fourth and goal from the 13. The next play, he almost had a second touchdown run after being held short at the one-yard line (from a few angles, it looked like the ball had crossed the goal line, but I will leave that up to the refs).

Fields has a long way to go before he becomes the elite NFL quarterback I hope he can be, but while he figures out how to better use his arm, it’s fun to see him make plays with his legs.

Bears pass rush

The interior defensive line has underperformed, but I think the pass rushers have played better than many expected.

Trevis Gipson and Robert Quinn sacked Aaron Rodgers three times on Sunday and hit him on four other attempts. Through two games, the Bears’ defense has combined for a total of 27 QB Pressures. After seeing a career resurgence last year, Robert Quinn is not on track to match his franchise record 18.5 sacks, but such a powerful player can still be effective without racking up stats. Forcing offensive lines to double or triple team Quinn can open up more room for Gipson and Dominique Robinson, who shined against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.

This trio of players can become a formidable rotation on the defensive line, and it looks like they are taking the right steps in that direction.

2: The Bad

Tackling

The Packers were able to take full advantage of unusually bad tackling on Sunday night, as Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon put up 193 yards on 33 carries. Considering the emphasis on the H.I.T.S. philosophy this offseason and how this has to influence the end of plays, Bears players already know that they’re going to be hearing about this performance.

“We’ve got to tackle better. We didn’t tackle particularly good, whether it was one tackle or even some of the gang tackles, they were slipping out of them. We’ve got to do a better job of that,” linebacker Nicholas Morrow said after the game.

Eddie Jackson had some insight on the tackling woes as well. “It’s definitely a fundamental thing, just taking the right steps, being in the right leverage, taking the right angles, running our feet. We’ve got to finish and take them down to the ground,” he said.

After struggling on run defense for two straight weeks in a row, it’ll be on coach Matt Eberflus to get his defense figured out.

Playmakers’ performance

This is my biggest concern about the offense. I believe the offensive line will start to mesh, and Justin Fields will develop more confidence with the ball. But even without those things, he can still target Cole Kmet and Darnell Mooney. The top two receiving options were targeted just three times on Sunday for a combined one catch for -4 yards.

Kmet is supposed to be a breakout player this year, and fans have seen what Mooney can do. The fact that they are not seeing the ball more is concerning. Is this part of Getsy’s game plan, or are they being covered so well that Fields can’t throw to them? It’s not a bad thing to spread the ball out on the offense, especially when Mooney and Kmet haven’t hit star-level yet. But they need to be targeted more in order to make plays.

The “Other”

Detroit Lions

I haven’t come up with a good pun for the last section, but I want to talk briefly about the Detroit Lions. Every year, a couple of media figures predict the Lions are going to shock the football world with a mediocre team instead of the usual bad one. And every year, we get the same old Lions team. But is something changing this year?

Even though it’s only Week 2, and the Lions have played back-to-back NFC East teams (arguably the worst division in the NFL), they’ve been fun to watch. At times they look like a competent football team, especially on offense.

Over the first two weeks, they have put up 35.5 PPG. In Week 1 they lost a close game to the Eagles, where, D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams put up 172 yards and 3 touchdowns. Against the Commanders, Jared Goff threw for 256 yards and 4 touchdowns, and Amon-Ra St. Brown, brother of former Packer and now Bear Equanimeous St. Brown, hauled in 9 catches for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns. Their two opponents certainly blasted their defense, but it’s not a terrible group.

Detroit’s defense has six sacks, eight TFLs, and an interception through two games. Lions coach Dan Campbell was hired to change the culture of this team, and we might be seeing that culture change happening after only one year.

If Detroit continues to improve and play this way, the Bears will be in an even more challenging spot in an already tough division.

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