The Chicago Bears came into the season with high hopes. Thanks to the king’s ransom they got from the Carolina Panthers, they were able to land Caleb Williams and one of the top receivers in the class, Rome Odunze. Their defense ended the second half of the season on a dominant run. GM Ryan Poles filled in some holes with savvy veterans. The season has been a little bit of a roller coaster. They have improved but also have some fatal flaws. Here are three numbers to know for the Bears at the midseason mark.
29: Sacks given up through eight games
Sacks are one of the worst plays that can happen to an offense, especially on first and second down. Penalties are usually loss of yards but not loss of down. Sacks are a double-whammy. It is difficult for offenses to get into a rhythm when there is constant pressure. The Bears give up over three sacks per game. In most games, teams get somewhere between 7-10 drives. If three of those are killed by sacks, it puts pressure on the other ones to be perfect. While the offense shows promise, the line cannot block long enough for Caleb Williams to find a rhythm.
To be fair, there have been many injuries on the line for the Chicago Bears. Offensive line play is all about communication. Units that are familiar with each other have an advantage. A rotating cast of characters often means blown assignments and mistakes. However, some of it is on the rookie quarterback. He had a habit in college of holding the ball too long. At USC, he could scramble around and make something out of nothing. That doesn’t work in the NFL in the same way. If Williams is the long-term solution, he needs to figure out how to do his part to mitigate sacks.
4: Number of games Caleb Williams has failed to reach 200 yards passing
The Chicago Bears and their fans are used to seeing low passing numbers. They are the only franchise who has not had a 4,000 yard passer in a season. Many thought Williams would shatter this in his rookie year. As of this moment, his average puts him about 500 yards short of the 4,000 yard mark. (3,500 yards would still be a quality rookie season). However, the inconsistency is an issue.
He has had two games over 300 yards, with his season-high being 363 in a loss to the Colts. In the four games, he hasn’t eclipsed 200; two of them were below 150, a pitiful amount in today’s NFL. To give you an idea of how bad this is, Williams ranks 23rd in the league in passing yards per game (208.1). Daniel Jones is ahead of him (208.9). The season probably won’t end that way, but many fans do not think that Daniel Jones will beat the Bears quarterback in anything going into week 10.
729: Rushing and receiving yards by D’Andre Swift
It isn’t all bad news for the Chicago Bears. D’Andre Swift was one of the big free-agent signings for the Chicago Bears this offseason, signing a three-year, $24 million contract. Through the first three games, it looked like a massive mistake. Here are the stat lines for the first three games.
Week 1: 10 rushes, 30 yards, 3.0 yards per rush, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Week 2: 14 rushes, 18 yards, 1.3 yards per rush, four receptions, 24 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Week 3: 13 rushes, 20 yards, 1.5 yards per rush, two receptions, 22 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Those struggles are completely behind him. Swift has been one of the best backs in the league from week 4 on. He has averaged 4.9 yards per rush over the past five weeks (their bye week was in there) and has found the endzone in every game but one. He has also averaged 3.8 receptions and 35.6 receiving yards per game in that span. There have been many struggles, but Swift has been a constant for the past month on this offense.
Final Thoughts
The Chicago Bears should feel good about where this season is at. There are issues that have been well-documented over the past few weeks. However, they are a Hail Mary away from having a winning record. Williams, with all his flaws, can still make jaw-dropping plays. This year was all about building a foundation, and that is definitely there. They are also by no means out of the playoff race. If they can go on a run late in the season, they could sneak into the playoffs. It will be difficult, given their division, but this team isn’t the laughingstock it was over the past two seasons.
