The Chicago Bears were victorious on Sunday as they defeated the Detroit Lions 24-14 at home. Chicago’s offense led the charge as the Bears scored three touchdowns in a game for the first this season, while rookie quarterback Justin Fields was only sacked once. Following the game, Bears’ head coach Matt Nagy confirmed that offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was responsible for the play-calling on offense and should be the play-caller moving forward, which will bold well for the upcoming games.
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy just said that Bill Lazor was calling the offensive plays today.
(Via Bears FB Live)
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) October 3, 2021
Lazor Has A Proven Track Record as a Play-Caller And An Ability To Implement A Scheme
Lazor is in his second season as the Bears offensive coordinator, with Chicago being the third NFL team he has been an offensive coordinator before. The current Bears’ play-caller served as the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins for the 2014 and 2015 seasons, and then later served as the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive coordinator for two seasons starting in 2016. although Lazor didn’t oversee top five offenses in Miami and Cincinnati, he did see efficient offenses that enable both teams to be competitive and have some form of success.
During the 2014 season with Miami, Lazor saw running back Lamar Miller rush for over 1,000 yards with quarterback Ryan Tannehill passing for over 4,000 yards. The Dolphins offense ranked 11th in points scored that season as they scored 39 touchdowns. In 2015, despite only winming six games, Tannehill again passed for over 4,000 yards, with receiver Jarvis Landry recording a 1,000-yard receiving season.
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The next year, Lazor would find himself in Cincinnati with current Bears’ quarterback Andy Dalton as the offensive success continued. Dalton was named to the Pro Bowl following the 2016 season as he passed for over 4,000 yards and posted a quarterback rating of 91.8. The Bengals would also have two of their wide receivers post 800 yard receiving seasons in 2016 with A.J. Green and Brandon LaFell. In 2017, Dalton passed for 25 touchdowns, while Green would be named to the Pro Bowl.
From @NFLMatchup — #Bengals OC Bill Lazor can scheme up shot plays for QB Andy Dalton…Here’s a deep seam route to AJ Green vs. Cover 6. Get the inside matchup from a slot alignment. pic.twitter.com/7DebyAhLrm
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) October 7, 2018
In his first season with the Bears last year, Lazor took over play-calling duties from Nagy before the team’s week 12 game against the Packers. Before the game against the Packers, Chicago’s offense struggled significantly as the Bears only scored four touchdowns in their previous four games. In Chicago’s final six games of the 2020 season with Lazor calling plays, the Bears’ offense scored three touchdowns in five of the six games. Most impressive during the six-game span was the play of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who passed for nine touchdowns. Running back David Montgomery rushed for 598 yards in the final six games.
Let's give credit where credit is due. Mitchell Trubisky looks WAY better with Bill Lazor calling plays than he did with Matt Nagy.
Lazor is able to play to Mitch's strengths, and Mitch has looked a lot more confident under center because of it. Kudos to the two of them.
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) December 20, 2020
The Switch To Lazor Provides Plenty of Optimism For The Bears’ Offense Moving Forward
On Sunday, The most significant change from the Bears’ loss last week to the Cleveland Browns to their win over the Detroit Lions was the performance of their offensive line. Against the Browns, Chicago’s offensive line allowed Fields to be sacked nine times as the offense as a whole had a historically bad day. Against the Lions, Chicago’s rookie quarterback was only sacked once, while the offense was able to rush for over 188 yards and three scores. Furthermore, the Bears’ offense recorded five passes of 20 yards or longer, where they only had one in their previous three games.
In 2019 and 2020 combined, the #Bears explosive pass play rate was 6%.
Today with Justin Fields it was 22%.
— Bill Zimmerman (@ZimmermanSXM) October 3, 2021
Heading into the game against the Lions, Lazor spoke early in the week about needing to provide Fields with better protection and adjusting the play-calling. Chicago’s offense took more deep pass attempts in Sunday’s game than in their previous three games combined. Lazor made it a point to provide Fields with better protection schemes and utilized the Bears’ running game to set up the deep passing attempts.
JUSTIN FIELDS AND DARNELL MOONEY CAN’T BE STOPPED
pic.twitter.com/kVx8gncTke— PFF (@PFF) October 3, 2021
Chicago’s next three games will be daunting as they will play the Las Vegas Raiders, Green Bay Packers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the games against the Raiders and Buccaneers on the road. It is also likely that Dalton will return as the Bears’ starting quarterback next week against the Raiders as Nagy stated that the veteran quarterback would start when healthy. Even with Fields’ performance against the Lions, the Bears appear likely to go back to Dalton due to his familiarity with Lazor.
The Bears offense has the supporting cast to enable Dalton to have success if he returns as the starter next week against the Raiders. Second-year receiver Darnell Mooney recorded the first 100 yard receiving game of his career against the Lions, while Allen Robinson caught two passes for 24 yards or longer. Despite the Bears’ offense generating close 400 total yards, the tight ends have yet to be featured in the Bears’ offense. On Sunday, tight end Cole Kmet caught only one pass for six yards, while tight end Jimmy Graham still only has one catch on the season.
Once the Bears’ passing game can incorporate all of their receivers and tight ends, the offense as a whole will become more successful. Against the Lions, Lazor used Chicago’s best offensive weapon in Montgomery to help protect Fields and to set up the passing game. Heading into next week’s game against the Raiders, it will be interesting to see the potential game plan Chicago’s new play-caller can design.
And that TD run by David Montgomery is EXACTLY what the Bears needed to conclude this first series on offense.
It’s clear Bill Lazor is calling the plays. The offense is in a rhythm early. Justin Fields looks comfortable.
Bears up 7-0 after one possession.
— Erik Duerrwaechter (@EDuerrwaechter) October 3, 2021
Following the loss to the Browns last week, optimism surrounding the Bears was at an all-time low as the team was criticized heavily by the media. With the win over the Lions, it appears that there is some renewed optimism for the Bears’ offense moving forward. Chicago’s offense didn’t break records against the Lions, but they moved the ball consistently and protected their quarterback, something Nagy struggled to do as the Bears’ play-caller during the first three weeks of the season.
