When the Chicago Bears were down 21-3 to the Minnesota Vikings at one point, many would have guessed that the Bears would simply pack it in.
Somehow they didn’t, and when they started to pass the ball, instead of forcefully sticking to the run game, they showed that they might have something. Again, the 29-22 loss doesn’t count for anything, but maybe, just maybe, there is a small glimmer of hope.
Hope is not lost for the Chicago Bears after most recent loss
Here’s the deal. The expectations and bar are so low that anything positive would be enough to cause a celebration down Lincoln Avenue. Plus, by choosing to be a bit more open-eyed, we see just how competent the Bears actually looked in the second half of the game.
Justin Fields finished with over 200 passing yards, the most this season, and didn’t look all that bad. Granted, the bar is pretty low, but there were times, including the bogus call that wiped out his big touchdown run, that Fields looked poised, so he deserves some credit.
As for the rest of the Bears’ offense, it certainly begs questions of why Lucas Patrick isn’t playing center and is being stubbornly placed at guard. Sam Mustipher, on the other hand, has done more blocking on Twitter than in the game. That’s not a slight; that’s just what you see on the field.
The Bears‘ defense, on the other hand? Can anyone ask why Justin Jefferson was allowed to run wild early on? Sure, he cooled off, but still. This unit is going nowhere unless they get some more talent. On the bright side, rookie Jaquan Brisker and free agent signing Justin Jones look like players who should be here for the long haul.
The Chicago Bears will never take a moral victory against the Minnesota Vikings, but they did show some life in a loss.
The offense needs so much work, and that includes Justin Fields. That said, the Chicago Bears may have been right when they said that Fields is starting to show some improvement. Again, it’s 4,000 yards passing this season, or there will be questions. Reaching that number will take a wild improvement over the remaining 12 games.
As for the running game, that’s nice, but this is a passing league. The Bears need to establish a threat of throwing the football, opening up more running lanes. Ultimately, they need to be good enough offensively to keep the opposing offenses away from the field, which means guys like Kirk Cousins won’t drop 296 passing yards on them, and Jefferson won’t go for 154 yards on them as well.
A loss is a loss, but this loss does not deserve heavy criticism. It was still a rough game, but at least here, there was something that you could look at and say that there is still a chance. It is what it is, and Chicago has got Washington next. Hopefully, there can be more improvement on both sides of the ball.