Chicago Bears: 5 Thoughts on Week 4 victory over Detroit Lions
The Chicago Bears turned things around from their embarrassing loss in Week 3 to beat the Detroit Lions in Week 4. Here are five thoughts on the game.
That sound you heard on Sunday was the sigh of relief from all of the Chicago Bears fans after they beat the Detroit Lions 24-14. The week leading up to the game was extraordinarily tense. The fans, knowing the McCaskey family’s penchant for not firing coaches during the season, yelled their desire for them to fire head coach Matt Nagy as soon as possible.
The Bears looked completely lost in their game against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3. It seemed as if there was no game plan prepared by Nagy. Whatever plan he did have he didn’t adjust once it appeared as if it was failing. He left rookie quarterback Justin Fields, making his first career start, out on the field to take a beating.
In lieu of firing Nagy, the fans wanted him to stop calling plays. They wanted anything that wasn’t Nagy-related.
With the win, things got smoothed over, at least a little. Yes, the fans still want Nagy fired, but a win tends to soothe the soul. We all know that as soon as the Bears lose a game the calls will again get loud.
For now, here are five thoughts from the Bears’ Week 4 victory over the Detroit Lions.
5. The Bears need to improve their bend-don’t-break defense
The Chicago Bears defense only gave up 14 points in the game. Despite that, they were on the edge for most of the game. The Lions moved the ball up and down the field too easily. In the second half, the secondary got scorched by Jared Goff. After going 6-of-13 for 89 yards in the first half, Goff went off in the second half. He went 18-of-25 for 210 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bears’ secondary had communication troubles in the game. On more than one occasion, there were two players next to each other defending no one while a Lions receiver was left wide open.
What really helped the defense was the pass rush. The Bears sacked Goff four times and pressured him on a number of other occasions. They especially came through inside the red zone. The Lions reached inside the Bears’ 10-yard line five times. Of those times, they forced two turnovers and two turnover-on-downs. The Lions scored just one touchdown.
The pass rush is covering up for a weak secondary. The Bears now have 15 sacks this season, good for second in the NFL (New England leads with 16). They’re on pace to record 63 sacks for the season. I’m not sure if they reach that number, however. If they don’t, the secondary needs to step up. If the unit doesn’t, it will be a long season. Even if the quarterback situation is settled, the Bears don’t have the offense to get into a shootout.