Chicago Bears: 3 Big takeaways from Preseason Week 2

Penalties again a problem for Bears

One of the biggest problems the Bears had last season was penalties. They committed an average of 7.2 penalties per game (9.0 penalties per game in their last three games). A lot of them resulted in first downs, allowing drives to continue. Also, many of them stalled their own drives. The same happened against the Broncos.

In the first quarter, the Bears had a nice drive going. Mitch Trubisky completed some nice passes. Jordan Howard made some nice, tough runs. The offense was moving and looking solid. Then, a Charles Leno holding penalty erased a 15-yard run by Howard that put the ball inside the Broncos’ 20-yard line. Instead, it was a second-and-20 from the Broncos’ 44-yard line. The Bears failed to get a first down, and Cody Parkey ended up missing a 52-yard field goal attempt.

In the second quarter, on a third-and-six play, Doran Grant committed a pass interference. It gave the Broncos 45 yards. On the next play, they ended up with a four-yard touchdown.

In the third quarter, Deiondre’ Hall made a dumb mistake. On a punt, the Broncos returner made a fair catch. Hall continued, though, and blasted him. Instead of putting the ball on the Broncos’ 17-yard line, they got it on their 32.

These are penalties that really hurt a team. It wasn’t just on one side of the ball, it affected all aspects — offense, defense, and special teams. If they want to make a jump up and just get out of the NFC North, let alone compete for a playoff spot, these penalties need to be reduced.