The Chicago Bears aren’t winning many games this season, which was expected heading into the regular season. Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus were taking over as general manager and head coach, respectively, so it would take some time to clean up the mess left behind by Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy.
The most important thing this season was the development of the younger players on the team, specifically quarterback Justin Fields. The Bears had done virtually nothing to help him in his development, as they lacked established weapons around him. At the start of the season, it was evident that would be a detriment, but in the last six weeks, the offense has gotten going.
Fields is looking more and more comfortable every week as Eberflus and the coaching staff are playing to his strengths. Learning his second offense in as many seasons is tough, but he is picking things up now and it is showing in the production on the field.
While the passing game has made strides, it is still a work in progress. Despite that, the Bears are finding more success on the ground than any other team in the NFL. They currently lead the league with 2,017 rushing yards in 10 games, a total nearly half the league likely won’t approach for the entire season.
That, in turn, has made the Bears one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL in recent weeks. In their last four games, they are averaging 31 points per game. While the offense is ascending, the defense is struggling, which isn’t too surprising.
Chicago traded away veteran pass rusher Robert Quinn and star linebacker Roquan Smith ahead of the trade deadline. That has left an already shaky defense void of excellent talent and it has cost them on the field and put them into the record books.
Chicago is currently on a three-game losing streak, falling to the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions after picking up an impressive victory over the New England Patriots on the road for Monday Night Football. The Bears have scored at least 29 points in all three of those losses, making them the first team in NFL history to score that many points in consecutive games without a win.
That is certainly not a designation that any franchise wants to have, but deep down, that has to make the new regime feel good. It means that what they are doing with Fields and the offense is working and that was a major question mark coming into the season.
While the wins aren’t piling up now, the Bears have to be happy with the development of Fields leading this offense. He looks like a franchise quarterback and now the front office can focus on upgrading the roster around him, putting the right pieces in place for them to continue ascending on both sides of the ball.
