Chicago Sports

The Chicago Bears didn’t do enough to win two in a row

The Chicago Bears didn’t take a step forward or backward in losing to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8. If anything, the Bears did the splits as certain parts of the team progressed, and others were exposed for having a serious lack of talent.

The Chicago Bears lost this game because the team doesn’t have enough good players on defense. For most of the game, the defense, in their bright orange uniforms, looked like cracked jack-o’-lanterns smashing in on themselves while rolling down the hill of a pumpkin patch at Cowboys stadium.

What’s left of the ego of Roquan Smith, pictured front right, with shreds all around, promptly deflated after whiffing on Cowboys running back Tony Pollard as he went in for a 54-yard touchdown.

The offense made a few mistakes and errors that were costly but played well enough to get a win against most teams. The offense could have put more points on the board if quarterback Justin Fields, who had a good game, had more playmakers around him. Here are three tricks and treats from the Chicago Bears’ loss on Halloween Weekend.

Tricks

Matt Eberflus

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus is struggling to have his teams prepared in short weeks. The Bears lost an easily winnable game at home on Thursday Night Football to the Washington Commanders. The defense was poised, but the offense lacked situational preparation, costing them points in the red zone. Coming off the “mini-bye,” the Bears had their best performance of the season against the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football.

The short week seemed to throw the Bears’ defense off again in Week 8. The team struggled to defend the bootleg, which is crazy considering it’s Week 8, and every team has shown them that since the New York Giants exposed the problem in Week 4. The Bears should have scouted their opponent.

The Cowboys starting quarterback, Dak Prescott, recently returned from an injury. Their running back, Ezekiel Elliott, was out with an injury. Yet the Bears’ defense continued to bite on the bootleg, and the safety backed off Prescott on each play. The Bears needed to have a defender sell out and hit Prescott on the bootleg just once, and it would have stopped the Cowboys from calling it again. They weren’t going to sacrifice Prescott and their playoff shot for more of those H.I.T.S.

Roquan Smith

Smith had an awful game Sunday against the Cowboys. At least he admitted as much in his post-game press conference. Smith, who was emotional this week after losing teammate Robert Quinn, didn’t seem focused on this game.

It could have been the short week that caused problems for him and the defense. It could have been distractions like the Quinn trade, which showed Bears general manager Ryan Poles has punted on the season, that took the spark away from the group Sunday. (Poles acknowledged this week after the trade that “tweaking the fibers of the team could be an issue.) It also could have been a severe talent disparity between the two teams. Whatever the poison, Smith, and the defense he is a leader of, was terrible.

Smith finished with just five tackles against the Cowboys. None of them were for a loss. He also helped to give up a big play that killed any chance the Bears had of getting back into the game. Not great on a contract year. But his performance hurt the Bears’ chances of squeezing more leverage for a trade by Tuesday’s deadline.

Roquan Smith said Bears defenders tripped, erred on Cowboys RB Tony Pollard’s 54-yd TD.

“Hats off to the guy for executing the run, but it’s embarrassing. We should never let anyone run the ball like that. Just..get better & take this one under the chin.”pic.twitter.com/d38lqZJITV

— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) October 30, 2022

The Bears’ defense looked about as effective as a set of traffic cones they were dressed up to be.

Chicago Bears defensive line

It was hard to choose between the secondary or the defensive line for the third trick. However, the Chicago Bears made a few matchup adjustments in the secondary, which positively impacted the game’s progress. The Bears’ defensive line didn’t get better as the game went on. They didn’t get pressure on Prescott. They didn’t fill in gaps and were a huge reason why the Cowboys ran for 200 yards Sunday.

Treats

Darnell Mooney

Darnell Mooney was one of the best players for the Chicago Bears Sunday. He finished with 70 yards on five catches. He ran a sick route that faked out one of the best cornerbacks in the league, Trevon Diggs. It was a solid day for the wide receiver as he caught all his targets. As quarterback Justin Fields progresses this season, this tandem is starting to show its power.

Darnell Mooney shadow realm 💀💀💀pic.twitter.com/J1HWXjX6vc

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) October 30, 2022

Khalil Herbert

Khalil Herbert continues to show why he should be the Bears’ number one running back. He finished with 99 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown. Herbert’s vision on Sunday was exceptional. He made a great cut in the red zone that put the Chicago Bears within one score of the Cowboys in the second half. Herbert also showed quickness and vision on his 36-yard scamper.

Khalil Herbert showcased his vision and ability to cut as he found the end zone for the fourth time this season. pic.twitter.com/SEgREAbUzt

— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) October 30, 2022

Eddie Jackson

Not all was bad on the defensive side of the ball. The safety tandem of Jaquan Brisker and Eddie Jackson led the team in tackles. That’s not a good sign for a Chicago Bears win if they have to do that, but their effort stood out in the loss. Jackson recorded an interception in the first half, which sparked a brief Bears comeback. I’m not sure that Jackson or Brisker were used effectively in defensive coordinator Allen Williams’ scheme, but they did their job on Sunday.

EDDIE JACKSON REVENGE SEASON pic.twitter.com/i98zzdMyL7

— DOM (@DOM_Frederic) October 30, 2022

 

 

Read More

A 4-3 shootout loss Sunday to the Wild was the Blackhawks’ third consecutive defeat in somewhat heartbreaking fashion. They have blown third-period leads in all three games.

But the overmatched Hawks — now 4-3-2, having built up those four victories by pulling similar comeback tricks on opponents before this skid — again generated plenty of positives despite the final score.

Andreas Athanasiou scored the Hawks’ prettiest goal of the season, undressing Wild defenseman Matt Dumba twice before roofing a backhand past former Hawks goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in the third period. Boris Katchouk delivered the Hawks’ biggest hit of the season, crushing Frederick Gaudreau.

And Philipp Kurashev continued his quietly strong start to the season, picking up his sixth point in nine games — putting him on a 55-point pace — when he assisted on Jonathan Toews’ second-period goal. Kurashev missed the net on a transition shot but chased down the rebound and centered the puck to Toews, who poked it across the line.

”We’ve seen over these last few years the level of skill [Kurashev] has at moments,” Toews said. ”The biggest thing to become a top player, an elite player, when you have that kind of skill [is] . . . consistency.

”He’s really finding that groove for himself. [He’s] also finding that competitive streak where he’s getting in there, he’s digging out pucks, he’s getting physical and the plays develop from there. When he has empty space, he can make plays and is able to finish them off, too.”

Coach Luke Richardson hasn’t shuffled the Hawks’ forward lines much this season. When he has, however, Kurashev has been the common denominator when comparing which line has been most effective each night.

During the Hawks’ winning streak, the third line — with Kurashev skating alongside Jason Dickinson and Sam Lafferty — regularly was dominating shifts and driving their success. And during this losing streak, the second line — with Kurashev skating alongside Toews and Taylor Raddysh — probably has been the Hawks’ best.

Digging deeper into the numbers, the soft-spoken 23-year-old winger seems to be making everyone around him better.

Kurashev’s and Toews’ expected-goals rate during 32 minutes together (at five-on-five) is a stellar 65.4%; Toews’ expected-goals rate when not with Kurashev is 42.2%. Kurashev’s and Dickinson’s rate during 45 minutes together is 58.3%; Dickinson’s rate without Kurashev is 33.5%. Similar trends hold true for Raddysh’s and Lafferty’s rates with and without Kurashev.

”[Kurashev is] pretty much a complete player,” Richardson said. ”He can go in on a more defensive line, like the Dickinson line, and he can go on a Toews line. They’ve created quite a bit the last few games.

”We just want to keep building him up. We’ll show him a few things he can add individually . . . but he’s a smart guy and seems to take it all in and implement it into his game. He seems really confident, which is great to see.”

Richardson also deserves some credit for maintaining such patience with his line combinations. Outside of Tyler Johnson’s injury, which opened the spot on Toews’ line that Kurashev inherited, the combinations hardly have changed since the first week of the season.

”If you can get some kind of rhythm out of a line, if you let it have some time and grow, you can really see some magic happen,” Richardson said Saturday. ”You’ve got to have some patience to let that happen.”

Athanasiou’s goal could have been the game-winner, but Matt Boldy answered with an equalizer for the Wild 17 seconds later. The Wild largely controlled the scoring chances the rest of the way.

Read More

A 4-3 shootout loss Sunday to the Wild was the Blackhawks’ third consecutive defeat in somewhat heartbreaking fashion. They have blown third-period leads in all three games.

But the overmatched Hawks — now 4-3-2, having built up those four victories by pulling similar comeback tricks on opponents before this skid — again generated plenty of positives despite the final score.

Andreas Athanasiou scored the Hawks’ prettiest goal of the season, undressing Wild defenseman Matt Dumba twice before roofing a backhand past former Hawks goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in the third period. Boris Katchouk delivered the Hawks’ biggest hit of the season, crushing Frederick Gaudreau.

And Philipp Kurashev continued his quietly strong start to the season, picking up his sixth point in nine games — putting him on a 55-point pace — when he assisted on Jonathan Toews’ second-period goal. Kurashev missed the net on a transition shot but chased down the rebound and centered the puck to Toews, who poked it across the line.

”We’ve seen over these last few years the level of skill [Kurashev] has at moments,” Toews said. ”The biggest thing to become a top player, an elite player, when you have that kind of skill [is] . . . consistency.

”He’s really finding that groove for himself. [He’s] also finding that competitive streak where he’s getting in there, he’s digging out pucks, he’s getting physical and the plays develop from there. When he has empty space, he can make plays and is able to finish them off, too.”

Coach Luke Richardson hasn’t shuffled the Hawks’ forward lines much this season. When he has, however, Kurashev has been the common denominator when comparing which line has been most effective each night.

During the Hawks’ winning streak, the third line — with Kurashev skating alongside Jason Dickinson and Sam Lafferty — regularly was dominating shifts and driving their success. And during this losing streak, the second line — with Kurashev skating alongside Toews and Taylor Raddysh — probably has been the Hawks’ best.

Digging deeper into the numbers, the soft-spoken 23-year-old winger seems to be making everyone around him better.

Kurashev’s and Toews’ expected-goals rate during 32 minutes together (at five-on-five) is a stellar 65.4%; Toews’ expected-goals rate when not with Kurashev is 42.2%. Kurashev’s and Dickinson’s rate during 45 minutes together is 58.3%; Dickinson’s rate without Kurashev is 33.5%. Similar trends hold true for Raddysh’s and Lafferty’s rates with and without Kurashev.

”[Kurashev is] pretty much a complete player,” Richardson said. ”He can go in on a more defensive line, like the Dickinson line, and he can go on a Toews line. They’ve created quite a bit the last few games.

”We just want to keep building him up. We’ll show him a few things he can add individually . . . but he’s a smart guy and seems to take it all in and implement it into his game. He seems really confident, which is great to see.”

Richardson also deserves some credit for maintaining such patience with his line combinations. Outside of Tyler Johnson’s injury, which opened the spot on Toews’ line that Kurashev inherited, the combinations hardly have changed since the first week of the season.

”If you can get some kind of rhythm out of a line, if you let it have some time and grow, you can really see some magic happen,” Richardson said Saturday. ”You’ve got to have some patience to let that happen.”

Athanasiou’s goal could have been the game-winner, but Matt Boldy answered with an equalizer for the Wild 17 seconds later. The Wild largely controlled the scoring chances the rest of the way.

Read More

The Blackhawks organization announced Sunday that Seth Jones had a right thumb injury that would keep him out for weeks.

The Chicago Blackhawks will be without their top defenseman, Seth Jones, for the foreseeable future.

Jones suffered a right thumb injury and will miss 3-4 weeks, the team announced Sunday.

Head coach Luke Richardson said Jones suffered the injury while blocking a shot in the second period of Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

Jones, 28, has recorded four assists over eight games to start his second season with the Blackhawks. Chicago traded for Jones ahead of the 2021-22 season and signed him to an eight-year, $76 million contract extension.

In 666 career games over parts of 10 seasons with the Nashville Predators (2013-16), Columbus Blue Jackets (2016-21) and Chicago, Jones has 341 points (70 goals, 271 assists) as well as 1,082 blocked shots and 340 takeaways. He was an NHL All-Star in the 2017-18 season.

Entering Sunday, he led the Blackhawks by averaging 25:14 of ice time per game. He also had four assists in eight games.

Losing Seth Jones obviously leaves a major void on the blue line. In his absence, Richardson said the Blackhawks will distribute the minutes evenly among defensemen.

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

Read More

From AT&T Stadium, Patrick Finley and Jason Lieser break down Justin Fields’ growth, the defense’s disappointing showing and what the 49-29 loss means for the rest of the season.

New episodes of “Halas Intrigue” will be published regularly with accompanying stories collected on the podcast’s hub page. You can also listen to “Halas Intrigue” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Luminary, Spotify, and Stitcher.

Read More

From AT&T Stadium, Patrick Finley and Jason Lieser break down Justin Fields’ growth, the defense’s disappointing showing and what the 49-29 loss means for the rest of the season.

New episodes of “Halas Intrigue” will be published regularly with accompanying stories collected on the podcast’s hub page. You can also listen to “Halas Intrigue” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Luminary, Spotify, and Stitcher.

Read More

The Chicago Bears faced a highly talented Dallas Cowboys offense and were absolutely steamrolled giving up 49 points on the road.

Forty-nine points is the most the Bears have given up since 2015 when they allowed 48 points to the Arizona Cardinals.  The Chicago Bears have a huge problem along the front seven of their defense.  The Cowboys scored touchdown on their first four offensive possessions of the game.  They racked up 273 yards of total offense in those first four drives to go up 28-17 at halftime.

After trading away Robert Quinn, rookie Dominique Robinson got his chance to prove himself and played his worst game of the season.  He was absolutely wiped out against the run, but he wasn’t the only one with the Bears’ rotation of defensive tackles also getting run over from the first drive.

In total, the Bears gave up 442 yards of offense on a whopping 7.8 yards per play.  Just an absolute embarrassment of a performance from the defense.  The defense is clearly outmanned and may wind up being the focus of the off-season at this rate.

Unfortunately for the Chicago Bears defense, it doesn’t get any easier over the next six games.  Four of the next six teams on the Bears’ schedule have offenses ranked in the top 15 of DVOA in the NFL.  The Dolphins come into Chicago next week with the sixth-best overall offense in the NFL.

The Chicago Bears will once again be faced with the monumental task of stopping one the best offenses in the league or asking Justin Fields to take an offense that has little talent and carry it on his back to a win.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

Read More

The Bears lose again and fall to 3-5 in the 2022 season

The Chicago Bears dropped a week 8 contest to the Dallas Cowboys 49-29. However, the score doesn’t tell the true story of the game. The Cowboys exploded out of the gate scoring 4 straight touchdowns putting the Bears in a huge hole early on.

The Bears were able to stop the floodgates for the time being and make this game interesting. In the 3rd quarter the Bears were within striking distance of the Cowboys with the score being 35-23 but then Bears running back David Montgomery fumbled and that was essentially it for the Bears comeback bid. Although the Bears gave up the most points they’ve allowed since Aaron Rodgers threw 6 TDs in the first half of a week 10 game in 2014, Bears fans should be very excited about the steps that Fields took in this game.

Justin Fields puts on his best performance against a top 5 defense

Justin Fields finished the game with 151 yards through the air to go along with 2 passing Tds and 60 yards on the ground with another touchdown coming on the ground. In total Justin Fields was responsible for 3 Bears touchdowns and did not turn over the ball once. Fields had a 120.0 passer efficiency rating and was able to lead the Bear’s comeback bid on the road against a ferocious Dallas defense. Fields stats probably should have been even better if it wasn’t for a poor supporting cast. Velus Jones Jr dropped a deep pass from Fields that would have gotten them within 5 yards of the endzone.

Fields is also proving with every week that goes by that he is a surefire threat on the ground. He showcased this by rushing for 60 yards averaging 7.5 YPC and adding a score on the ground. Oh and also, Fields did this with a below average O line and being sacked 4 times. If Fields could just become a more confident passer in the pocket then watch out NFL, Justin Fields is coming for you.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

Read More

ARLINGTON, Texas — With all the concerns swirling around the Bears this season, the one thing they should’ve been able to count on was their defense. Matt Eberflus has a lot to prove in the wide-ranging responsibility of being a head coach, but he built his career on defensive expertise.

Regardless of limited personnel available to him amid the rebuild, defense shouldn’t be the Bears’ biggest problem.

But it was Sunday. The Cowboys scored touchdowns on their first four possessions and cooked the Bears 49-29. They were a touchdown away from hanging more points on the Bears than any opponent in their century-plus of existence.

“We never can allow someone to score that many points on us,” linebacker Roquan Smith said. “That’s embarrassing.”

It’s a recurring problem: Any time the Bears face an offense that knows what it’s doing, it overwhelms them.

They looked fine against the sputtering 49ers in a downpour, the fledgling Texans and the Giants and Patriots as they dealt with quarterback fiascos.

But the Packers? Down 24-7 by halftime.

The Vikings? Kirk Cousins opened with 17 straight completions and led 21-3 halfway through the second quarter

The Cowboys? A parade of touchdowns to go up 28-7 late in the first half.

It’s a shoelace-thin path to victory from that point.

The Bears were a step or two from the opening possession. Quarterback Dak Prescott kept finding easy completions, and running back Tony Pollard took all the yards he wanted.

Prescott made it look effortless as he led the Cowboys on four consecutive touchdown drives, needing an average of just 3:20. His easiest throw Sunday was a 1-yarder in the end zone to backup tight end Jake Ferguson as Smith lagged in coverage.

“I should have made that play every day of the week and twice on Sunday,” Smith said. “That’s inexcusable.”

But that’s how virtually everyone on the defense looked for most of the game.

Prescott completed 21 of 27 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Pollard ran 14 times for 131 yards and three touchdowns. The Cowboys’ tight ends caught nine passes for 90 yards.

The Cowboys’ second touchdown came when Lamb went in motion from right to left, and nobody picked him up. He caught a 21-yard pass as safeties Jaquan Brisker and Eddie Jackson scrambled futilely.

The Bears pulled within 28-23 in the third quarter and still had a shot when Justin Fields’ 10-yard touchdown pass to Cole Kmet cut the Cowboys’ lead to 42-29 with 13:40 left, but Pollard put them away with a 54-yard touchdown run on the ensuing possession.

On third-and-one, when the Bears desperately needed a stop, no one stepped up.

Jackson zipped into the backfield, but couldn’t catch him.

Smith had at least one hand on him for what would’ve been a four-yard loss.

Pollard broke linebacker Nick Morrow’s arm tackle just before the line of scrimmage.

And the last line of defense, Brisker, was blocked out of the play as Pollard accelerated up the left sideline.

“There were a lot of mistakes on that play,” Smith said. “I actually ended up getting tripped up right there, but that’s no excuse. I’ve still got to make that play — a guy of my caliber.

“It’s embarrassing, and we should never let anyone run the ball like that. We’ve just got to get better.”

Can they, though?

This roster was short on talent from the beginning, and the Bears just traded defensive end Robert Quinn. Eberflus has to reckon with the reality that his personnel isn’t good enough to meet his high standards.

“I don’t believe that,” Eberflus said. “I believe that it comes down to guys doing their job, coaches getting them to do it the right way and us playing the way we’re supposed to.”

The Bears’ hope was that he was the guy capable of doing that. But at this point, the puzzle remains largely unsolved.

Read More

ARLINGTON, Texas –Bears quarterback Justin Fields took some figurative small steps forward Sunday, but it was a literal giant leap that helped seal his team’s fate in a 49-29 loss to the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

With the Bears trailing 35-23 with 5:17 left in the third quarter, running back David Montgomery fumbled as he ran towards the Bears sideline on a short pass play on third-and-17. Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons recovered on the turf at the Bears 36-yard line and Fields leaped over Parsons to avoid contact.

If Fields had even clipped Parsons, the play would have been over. Instead, Parsons was a live runner and alertly got up and navigated a sea of startled Bears offensive players for a 36-yard touchdown return that gave the Cowboys a 42-23 lead with 5:00 left in the quarter.

“That’s my fault for just hoppin’ over him. I should have tagged him,” Fields said. “I can’t tell you the last time I made a tackle, so [I] just gotta be aware in that situation, tag him and make sure he’s down.”

Montgomery also lamented not tackling Parsons, but even more so for fumbling in the first place. On third-and-17 from the Bears’ 19, he caught the pass at the 26, dodged a tackle the 29 and was stiff-arming Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch at the 32 when Vander Esch tipped the ball out.

“I thought he was down. I definitely should have chased the ball,” Montgomery said. “I was more disappointed in myself that I dropped the ball. I’ve got to be better for my teammates.

“It’s just not what I do. It was unfortunate that it happed the way it happened. I was out there playing ball and I wasn’t aware of my surroundings. I was trying to do more than I was trying to do It was unfortunate, but I dropped the ball.”

To their credit, the Bears responded with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to cut the deficit to 42-29 with 13:40 left in the fourth quarter. But even for a resilient team that already had cut a 28-7 deficit to 28-23 earlier in the third quarter, Parsons’ touchdown created too big of a hill to climb.

It was a strange play that seemed contrary to the aggressiveness and instinct coach Matt Eberflus is counting on to become a Bears trademark. But it was another reminder that Eberflus’ H.I.T.S. principle is first and foremost a defensive mentality. The offense is still trying to get the hang of it.

“I thought he was down by contact and I thought they were celebrating,” Bears guard Teven Jenkins said. “But once I saw Riley [Reiff] sprinting toward the ball, I knew it was an active play still and that’s what kicked on in my head.”

Reiff, who was not near Parsons’ initial recovery, could only lament not being able to chase down one of the best linebackers in the game.

“You gotta touch him, man,” Reiff said. “I kind of had an angle on it. I tried to make play. Obviously I’m not the most athletic guy in space. But hats off to them. I know David’s hurting over that one, but it is what it is. We don’t point fingers. We just move on and keep fighting.”

Eberflus expects better, and added the Bears sideline could have done more to alert players on the field that Parsons was not down.

“Just touch him down,” Eberflus said. “We’ve showed multiple times during our situations tape that we show every Friday that you’ve got to touch guys down. We know that. It’s part of pro football and we’ve just got to do a better job there.”

Read More