Chicago Bears: Did the offense struggle early due to no preseason?Ryan Fedrauon September 14, 2020 at 12:00 pm
The Chicago Bears offense struggled to start the game, but they turned things around when it mattered. Here’s where they struggled and why things will turn around.
It’s no secret the Chicago Bears‘ offense didn’t play well in the first half. They looked terrible on third and fourth downs and they didn’t get the ball moving – or did they? The Bears did get the ball moving. The issue was, they didn’t score a touchdown until the fourth quarter.
In the first half, the Bears ran the ball well. Mitchell Trubisky didn’t play as bad as people said he did. There were two missed defensive-holding calls on Allen Robinson, which could have been two touchdown plays, as Trubisky put the ball in good spots on each of them.
Trubisky did make a few poor throws, but his decision making in the first half wasn’t “bench-worthy.” He threw more good throws than bad, which were dropped or batted away by a defender. The offense stalling isn’t all on the quarterback. There’s a lot more to football than quarterback play.
What is frustrating is analysts missing that in the heat of the moment and calling for Nick Foles to take over in the second half. People have to remember, this team didn’t get a preseason. There are so many new pieces on offense, along with new offensive coaches. It’s hard to put everything together in one half. That is a big reason why they struggled early on.
During the second half, Trubisky started to shake the offensive rust off and put successful drives together. The play that changed the game was that third-down pass down the middle in Anthony Miller in the third quarter. That was their first successful third-down attempt. That’s something that needs to change going into Week 2. It’s hard to put points on the board if a team can’t convert on third down.
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In the fourth quarter, Trubisky showed that he can be a successful quarterback in the NFL. He rushed for 20-yards and threw three touchdowns on three perfect throws. He went 8-for-10 for 89-yards, with a 143.3 passer rating.
The part that should excite fans is the confidence he had, even down 23-6 to do enough to get give his team a chance to win.
The Bears did get a lucky break with D’Andre Swift dropping a game-winning-touchdown, but the Lions shouldn’t have blown a 17-point lead. Give Trubisky the credit he earned, along with the Bears’ defense for making some key stops in big moments.
This team will get better as time goes on. Chicago will have rough drives where they can’t move the ball, but that won’t always be on Trubisky. Instead of calling for Foles every time Trubisky has a bad drive, support your quarterback.
Trubisky won’t ever be perfect, but no quarterback is. It’s Chicago’s best bet for him to be successful and for Matt Nagy and Mitchell Trubisky to stay in Chicago for the long-term. That is if they’re successful. It’s better to have a quarterback and a head coach that can be solid than to be looking for new quarterbacks and coaches every few seasons.
Expect this team to have their full identity after four weeks. If they don’t, that’s when giving Foles a shot is acceptable. Let’s just hope their offense can gain more confidence each week and get moving a lot sooner next week against the Giants.
lesraff
January 17, 2020 at 12:00 am