Chicago Bears: What Can Matt Barkley Do With Alshon Jeffery Back?

Matt Barkley has been pretty impressive in his first few starts, but with Alshon Jeffery back in the mix, he may be able to elevate his play even higher.

The Chicago Bears are welcoming back Pro Bowl wide receiver Alshon Jeffery this week with open arms. Suspended in November for four games after a PED incident, Jeffery makes his long-awaited return in Week 15 against the Green Bay Packers—and it couldn’t come at a better time. Matt Barkley, the third-string quarterback who has started making people forget who Jay Cutler is, has played decent in his first three starts.

However, Barkley’s receivers have not helped him out at all. After a 10-drop day against the Tennessee Titans in Week 12, the Bears’ receivers had a little better day in Week 13 against the San Francisco 49ers. Sure, there were still some dropped passes, but it wasn’t anything egregious like the Titans game. Progress looked inevitable, but then came the fourth quarter this past Sunday against the Detroit Lions.

On the Bears’ last ditch effort on fourth down, Barkley delivered a great pass over the middle to Josh Bellamy. It looked like it was going to be an easy catch for a first down. Instead, Bellamy (once again) dropped the ball. Instead of kicking a potential game-tying field goal, the Bears dropped their 10th game of the year.

Bellamy is just one of the many players who have had to take on a more significant receiving role in Jeffery’s absence. While Cam Meredith has done a solid job all season long, core special teams players such as Deonte Thompson and Bellamy have struggled. With Jeffery returning, however, their roles figure to be reduced.

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In all honesty, that’s probably great news for Barkley. Having Jeffery’s 6-4 frame and sure hands back in the fold is huge for Barkley. Jeffery should be peppered with targets, as he is the only proven Bears wide receiver still healthy.

It has been hard to judge Barkley in recent weeks because of all of the drops. In his first start against Tennessee, Barkley completed 28-of-54 passes for 316 yards. However, if his receivers had done a better job of hanging on the ball, Barkley’s stats would have looked much better and he might have even led the Bears to a comeback win.

The same can be said in his start against the Lions. His numbers at first glance look pretty good (20-of-32, 212 yards, one touchdown), but if Bellamy catches the fourth down pass and his offensive linemen don’t commit back-to-back holding penalties, Barkley could have again led the Bears to a comeback victory.

No one is saying that Barkley is the team’s next franchise quarterback (though he could be in the mix for a backup job next season). But he could be right now 3-0 as a starter if he had more talent around him. With Jeffery back, the Bears are a better team offensively and Barkley probably is a better quarterback. Now, Jeffery will surely see a ton of double teams in the final three weeks, but his presence alone should make everyone around him slightly better.

Barkley has done a wonderful job given the all of the circumstances, but it is going to be very interesting to see what he can do with a talent like Jeffery on the field. Will Barkley lock-on to Jeffery too much, or will he take advantage of all the attention opposing teams are paying to Jeffery and find other receivers wide-open?

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There is a lot on the line for both of these players moving forward—will Jeffery’s play earn him a big free-agent contract, and will Barkley play himself onto a roster spot on the 2017 team? In the final three weeks, these two players need to work together to accomplish all this (and possibly more).

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