We’re at the point where the Chicago Bears are just playing out the string. John Fox and the coaching staff is on its way out at the end of the year, and nothing that would happen in December would change that fact.
At this point, the remaining goals for the season are to get rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky valuable reps and see him continue to make improvements on things that are scheme / offense independent, while at the same time keeping the remaining core of the team healthy. The last thing this team needs is to suffer another major injury to a starter that would affect next season.
The banged up Bears went on the road to Paul Brown Stadium and took on a banged up Cincinnati Bengals team on Sunday, and health was my major concern before the game, even with the Bengals missing the notorious Vontaze Burfict.
As mentioned in the Tweet above, Cincinnati’s pass rush was still extremely fierce and still had Geno Atkins going up against a depleted Bears interior of the offensive line.
Though Trubisky did get hit hard near the end of the first half, he escaped Cincinnati without injury. And the Bears, surprisingly, dominated the Bengals from the opening snap on Sunday. What a performance on the road from a team who looked so thoroughly defeated after many awful losses, the latest being last Sunday at Soldier Field to the woeful San Francisco 49ers.
Here are my thoughts and observations on this game:
1) It’s amazing what some unpredictability on offense can do. The Bears started with two straight passes, including a roll-out from Mitch Trubisky to Josh Bellamy. That opened up the running game, with an outside run by Tarik Cohen and inside run by Jordan Howard for a touchdown on their opening drive. This too after the Bears started with great field position on their own 49 yard line. Good to see a promising drive not go to waste, for once.
2) Mike Nugent missed his first attempt with the Bears, the ensuing extra point on Jordan Howard’s touchdown run. Obviously Nugent isn’t the future, but it’s incredible how much the Bears’ kicking game has suffered since cutting Robbie Gould. Cairo Santos was supposed to be auditioning for the future role, and he’s certainly a promising kicker. But with him on IR, he’s not guaranteed anything. It’ll be interesting to see how the Bears address this position in the offseason. What’s the harm in taking a look at Andy Phillips for an extended look, the kid they brought in during training camp?
3) Dropped interceptions continue to plague this team. Prince Amukamara broke on an Andy Dalton slant pass to AJ Green, was fully in front of it, and instead of catching it, tipped it up and Green caught it for a positive gain. Chicago needs to improve their ball-skill drills with their defensive backs in the offseason. It’s been an epidemic.
4) Poor Tarik Cohen. How many big plays has he had called back this season due to penalties? Tom Compton’s illegal block in the back took away Cohen’s touchdown on a quick out pass from Trubisky early in the second quarter. The Bears ended up settling for a field goal. Below is a stat for you … pretty unreal, right? It’s yet another sign of bad coaching.
By the way, any more questions about whether Cohen can contribute to this offense? He was deployed in creative ways all day today, and I loved the direct snap to him in the fourth quarter that gained 29 yards. I brought this point up during the Saints-Falcons TNF game earlier this week. Cohen can have an Alvin Kamara type impact on a game if deployed properly. Good to see it happen for once.
5) Adam Shaheen finally found himself on the field in the second quarter. After a great catch on a crossing route to get the Bears out from the shadow of their own end zone, he disappeared for a bit before re-appearing on a fourth down beyond midfield. He moved the chains, and then stayed on for the subsequent play, which also went to him. It’s about time the coaching staff gave him a look. He’s deserved one for a while.
6) Good for John Fox to go for it on the aforementioned fourth down, but then he had another chance to do so on fourth-and-one from the red zone, and chose to kick the field goal. The Bears were 3-9 coming into this game, facing a 5-7 team that was on the fringiest of fringes of playoff contention. With literally nothing to lose, most head coaches would go for it. Fox didn’t. His tendency to resort to conservatism at the most crucial times is what has ailed him his entire career.
7) Penalties are an epidemic for this team. My goodness. As of the Bears’ first drive of the third quarter, they already had eight penalties. Eight! Such stupidity deserves to lose, and it has most of the year. Today, they were good enough to overcome them.
8) The Bears’ second drive of the third quarter may have been their best of the season. A great series of plays called by Dowell Loggains, and wonderfully executed by all of the players. Trubisky, Kendall Wright, Jordan Howard, and the offensive line came up huge on that drive. That begs the question, where the hell has this been all year?
9) Eddie Jackson, the ballhawk, returns! Finally, a break on defense goes the Bears’ way, and Jackson picked it off. Good to see them take advantage, for once. Jackson has continued to prove that he should be a fixture for Chicago’s secondary going forward. He’s had a solid rookie season.
10) Congratulations to Jordan Howard on eclipsing 1,000 yards in back-to-back season, including the first two to start his career! How many times has that happened for a Bears running back before today? Zero times.
He was a monster today, and has been a monster all year. Incredible player, and an incredible find by Ryan Pace.
11) What a game for Kyle Fuller today. He had the unenviable task of going up against AJ Green today, and he more than held his ground. Sure, he was beaten on a few plays, but Green will beat everybody from time to time. This was probably his biggest remaining test prior to free agency. He certainly deserves to return to the Bears. He just needs to work on his catching skills.
12) Also, what a game for Kendall Wright too. He caught everything today and surpassed 100 yards receiving midway through the fourth quarter. He was sensational, and he’s certainly developed chemistry with Trubisky. The Bears would be wise to bring him back again next year.
13) For as much grief I gave Fox above on his conservative nature, it was great to see the Bears continue to play aggressive offense and keep scoring. I thought for sure they’d go run-run-pass-punt after going up 19-7, then certainly after going up 26-7. But they didn’t. Good teams put their opponents out of their misery. I’m not saying the Bears are a good team, but they played like one today for the most part.
14) And finally, how about Mitch Trubisky today? He had the best game of his career today, on the road, against the Bengals. He looked confident in the pocket and was very decisive with his reads today. The offensive line did a good job giving him time, allowing him to make throws with his feet set. He was accurate and made good decisions all game. He looked fantastic. It also helps that the handcuffs were finally taken off. He was so much fun to watch today, and certainly looked like a player worthy of the second overall pick. This is the kind of progress I’m excited to see carry over, hopefully, for the Bears’ remaining three games.
