If anyone reading this column had a bad feeling entering this game, you are not alone. Games that, on paper at least, should favor the Chicago Bears routinely ending in heartache is not something new to us Bears fans. Especially road games of such variety. But yesterday’s performance was… different. Here are my notes.
Offense:
- Ill-timed penalties and persistent pressure allowed were once again themes in this one.
- Speaking of familiar themes, the lack of a run game was prevalent throughout – that is, at least, until it really mattered down the stretch. More on that later.
- Maxx Crosby was a one-man wrecking crew yesterday. All over the field making plays one on one, in stunts, against the run or pass, he was a full-blown menace. While I give credit to 2nd year UDFA Theo Benedet and rookie 2nd rounder Ozzy Trapilo for their valiant efforts against the All-Pro, Crosby nearly single-handedly stole the game from Chicago in this one.
- Though the Bears only let up 1 official sack, Caleb was on the move all game and thrown out of rhythm. Multiple plays were thwarted due to Caleb needing to avoid pressure and thus miss his open receivers or forcing him to escape altogether. It was an escape show worthy of any Vegas venue, but not a fun one to watch as Bears fans.
- I am pretty sure we saw a stumble bum in quarter one. Also a fake flea flicker, which was actually pretty neat and went for a nice gain had there not been a penalty.
- Back to those penalties, we saw another couple tick-tack calls against us, most egregiously, IMO, was the “hold” on Jonah Jackson on the nice run play. Multiple false starts again with the worst part being the perpetrator. Having a guy in his first start = not so bad. Cole Kmet committing two in this one? Unacceptable.
- Speaking of Kmet, he easily had his worst game as a Bear. At least from what I can remember. His drop down in scoring territory crushed a drive and was as easy as they come. His other drop on the sideline after some Caleb heroics was not as bad, but definitely hurt. Big-time players make big-time plays. Kmet is getting paid like a big time TE and he looked anything BUT in Vegas.
- No Rome drops in this one. At least not easy ones. I recall one that he didn’t come down with on a 3rd and long where Caleb threw it too high, but Rome continued his record-breaking season and now stands as the ONLY player league-wide with a TD catch in all 4 games this season.
- Nothing seemed to go our way in the first half and Ben Johnson was pissed. His halftime interview was popcorn-worthy if you have not yet seen it. I doubt that reporter is as bold in her next interview at halftime.
- While Swift and Monangai really struggled in the first half, they all seemed to settle in in the second and both they and the offensive line stepped up. Swift seemed motivated by Monangai’s grit and decisiveness through the hole and looked like a legit RB1 in the 4th quarter. While the Run game needs to improve, it was nice to see.
- Where is Roschon Johnson? I know most of you despise the former Longhorn, but his non-nonsense, north-south style of ball is exactly what our run game needs, IMO. Monangai brought some of that in the 2nd half, but Roschon needs to be more involved in my opinion.
- When Caleb DID have time to throw – he was on point. His 4th quarter drive to take the lead was a thing of beauty and one that we will look back on throughout the season and point to regarding his progression, development and confidence.
- Edit: Almost forgot to touch more on the tackle situation. Ozzy Trapilo was brought in at the end of the 2nd quarter “to provide a spark” (a paraphrased Ben Johnson quote) which moved Benedet to LT and Braxton to the bench. Is it a coincidence that the offense looked better the rest of the game? I think not. I also think it is fair to wonder if they slide Darnell Wright over to the Left Tackle spot to keep Ozzy on the field. Was that the plan all along? Makes you wonder. Especially given Ben’s comments about Wright before training camp when he first took the job and comparing him to Lions All Pro Penei Sewell in reference to him being able to star on both sides. With the Bye week upon us, we may find out sooner than later though it may depend on Wright’s health.
Defense:
- With themes the theme here, guess what? We still cannot stop the run.
- Oh, and this was the Ashton Jeanty breakout game everyone
expectedfeared. Dude is a hoss and if he didn’t remind you folks of Maurice Jones-Drew, then you never got to watch MJD. Arm tackles will never work, and most squared-up tackles won’t work. At least not without help and/or multiple yards given up. - Tyrique Stevenson continued his terrific play and looks every bit of a lockdown CB. His INT to kick off the 2nd half was a massive momentum shifter and nearly as clutch as his forced fumble last week. More of that, please!
- Not to be overlooked, however, is Kevin Byard, who secured two clutch plays of his own in this single game on nearly identical plays where he read the offense and QB Geno Smith for critical turnovers.
- It was nice to see the Bears convert some great field position thanks to a near-perfect punt inside the Raiders’ own 3-yard line with a 3-and-out. I thought Brisker led the charge there, and his stop of Jacobi Myers after a short catch officially ended that possession and got us the ball back.
- A couple young guys stood out to me in this one, albeit for only a few plays. Noah Sewell looks like he belongs in this league and is excellent depth at LB. While I am looking forward to T.J. Edwards’ return, Sewell is putting out some good tape. Dominique Robinson also looks like he belongs and made some strong plays against the run. And Shemar Turner also flashed again in limited action. I will be keeping my eyes on him as the season progresses. We certainly need some juice on the interior.
- Dayo made a couple of plays, and I noticed Sweat some, but neither made as much of an impact as I had hoped in this one. Not even close.
- While Big Bill pushed the pocket and forced some tackles for loss a couple times, the run D got gashed for 240 yards on the ground against the worst rushing offense in the league. Let that sink in. Hopefully, the coaches are too. If there is anyone I would like for us to trade for, it would be Dexter Lawrence.
Special Teams:
- While I might go as far as saying we lost the battle on both offense and defense, we absolutely won the 3rd phase in this one.
- Cairo’s kicking was clutch, including two 50+ yarders. Granted, it wasn’t outside in the Windy City, but clutch no-less. And he showed some power.
- Not to be outdone, however, was Tory Taylor in what I think may have been his best game of his young career. Multiple A+ punts, including one that SHOULD have been downed at the 1 but was missed by the coverage team. His hang time seemed to improve as well, which led to tighter coverage after the catch.
- Did anyone else notice he kicked one off, too? I expected him to boot it through the end zone, but it was a nice placement near the goal line. Too bad the coverage team had their worst play all game and almost put the Raiders in field goal range on the return, but Taylor looked like a Pro Bowl punter here.
- Josh. Blackwell. Or should we call him BLOCKwell. He has turned into the latest special teams Ace for The Beloved and made a game-winning block. Appropriate that he was awarded a game ball for his efforts.
- Oh, and Luther Burden will have at least one TD on a kickoff return this season. I predict he’ll have two.
