Having A Bye Week After Is Vital

All eyes will be on Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor as he takes over play-calling duties against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night. The Bears’ offense will come into Monday Night’s game as the third worse offense in football, and the team as a whole will look to break a three-game losing streak. The decision to move to Lazor matters more now than if the Bears made the switch during their bye week.

Former Eagles QB coach Bill Lazor will now be calling plays for Nick Foles and the Bears

Lazor was with Chip Kelly for Nick’s 27 TDs, 2 INTs season pic.twitter.com/pSL6IPiTc2

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) November 13, 2020

Lazor will be given one game not just to improve the Bears offense before their bye, but more importantly, see what works and what doesn’t work before going into the week off. Regardless of how the offense performs against the Vikings, they will have vital game film to study for two weeks before they take on the Packers in two weeks.

Against the Vikings, Lazor will most likely have a generic game plan in place to compliment his players’ strengths. With a bye week to follow, he will have two weeks to get the offense accustomed to the types of plays he ran in both Miami and Cincinnati, where he served as offensive coordinator. If it’s making running back Lamar Miller more of a threat in the passing game or designing better pass plays for quarterback Nick Foles, Lazor will have one game’s worth of film to build off heading into the bye week.

Matt Nagy handed over playcalling duties to Bill Lazor yesterday. When Lazor was OC of the Dolphins in 2014 and 2015, his leading rusher both years was…

Lamar Miller
(1374 total yds, 9 TDs in 2014; 1269, 10 in 2015)

I'm sure this is just a coincidence

— Nando Di Fino (@nandodifino) November 14, 2020

Whether the Bears win or lose on Monday, Lazor should have the offense in a better place when they take the field in Lambeau on November 29th. There is a massive difference in having him calling plays for a second game rather than his first game. The situation will be easier for Lazor to help get the Bears offense going against a Vikings defense that is 25th overall and 30th in pass defense.

After a Week 9 win against Detroit
2020 Vikings Rank:

Total yards offense: 12th (392/ypg)
Pass yards: 25th (221/ypg)
Rush Yards: 3rd (160/ypg)

Total yards defense: 30th (422/ypg)
Passing defense: 30th (287/ypg)
Rushing defense: 20th (125/ypg)

— Walters (@zach_walters4) November 10, 2020

If the Bears offense has success against the Vikings, that will carry over in their game against the Packers, especially with a bye week before. A more confident Bears’ offense is key going up against a Packers defense that is near the top 10 in most defensive categories. Furthermore, if the Bears’ offense can play better against the Vikings, it could motivate the Bears’ defense that may now feel that their excellent play isn’t going to waste.

Bears’ Upcoming Opponents Have Struggled Defensively

After the Packers, The Bears’ next four games will be against opponents that have struggled defensively. The Lions, Texans, Vikings, and Jaguars all currently defenses that rank in the bottom half of the league in pass defense and have given up a lot of points this season. With Lazor having a game followed by a bye week to work his style of play-calling into the offense, it will make a difference against defenses that have struggled so far this season.

Washington's second-half drives:

11 plays, 82 yards, TD
11 plays, 84 yards, TD

— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) November 15, 2020

Lazor doesn’t need to turn the Bears offense into the best offense in the league, but he needs to have them become productive to compliment the defense. If Chicago’s offense can score more points in the first half and allow their defense to play with a lead, it will increase both sack and interception opportunities. In the last 12 quarters, the Bears’ defense has only played with a lead in just two quarters.

#Bears football.
Wasting defense since 1920.

— Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) November 8, 2020

Bears fans shouldn’t fully judge Lazor on what the offense does against the Vikings, but what they against the Packers in two weeks. The most important thing for a Bears offense to do going forward is to have longer possessions that finish with points. The switch to Lazor matter now as the offense has scored just six touchdowns in their last four games and will have one game with him in charge before heading into a vital bye week.