The Chicago Bears beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in a stupidly wild game that ended on Connor Barth’s field goal in overtime. The win was their second of the season overall — both have been in overtime and against AFC North opponents. The win was also rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s first career win in the NFL.
Chicago did their hardest to give the game away, but in the end, their defense and their quarterback wouldn’t allow it to happen. The Bears return to Soldier Field next Sunday to take on the Carolina Panthers.
The Bears are very much alive in the NFC North race, especially with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers going down with a broken collarbone against the Minnesota Vikings. Chicago is two games out of the division lead, but if the Bears can build on their win against Baltimore, they could be relevant into December. Who would have thought that before this season started?
With that said, let’s reach into this week’s mailbag!
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Are the Bears closer to playoff contention than we think?
— michael (@Rascop_) October 17, 2017
They absolutely are. It’s unlikely they make a serious push this season, but they are one offseason (and Trubisky’s continued development) away from being a serious contender. I said it before the season – this team has talent. Sure, half of it currently resides on IR and that’s another issue. But this team has what it takes to compete with teams on a weekly basis. The defense is playing at an exceptional level, the running game is very strong, and this team is essentially two plays away from being 4-2 instead of 2-4. They’ve beaten the Steelers and Ravens, beating both teams rather handily most of the day before stupid mistakes bought each game closer than necessary. And they arguably should have beaten the Falcons and Vikings.
The assumption by many analysts was this team might start 0-6 with the potential to head into the bye at 0-8. Their play, while navigating a ridiculous list of injuries, has bettered that total. I still think the coaching staff needs to change before they can put it all together – the team is still too conservative, undisciplined and gets in its own way far too often. That’s on the coaching staff. But the talent is there. They’re much closer than most people thought. And now with Aaron Rodgers out for the year, there’s even hope for this year. Keep an eye on this team.
Would you say Gentry's lack of production is because of gameplan or issues getting separation? He is invisible out there.
— Mason West (@MasonMDubbsWest) October 17, 2017
It’s a mix of a few things. First, he’s an undrafted free agent pressed into duty on a team that has absolutely zero respectable healthy receivers outside of maybe Kendall Wright. So he’s already playing in an unfavorable situation. Second, with Trubisky playing, John Fox has mandated a conservative offensive game plan. They ran it over 50 times against the Ravens, and passed it 16 times. A run-pass ratio of over 50-16! Third, I don’t think Dowell Loggains does a good job with scheming his receivers open. There are other teams in the league with less-than-stellar receivers who do get open, and that’s due to play-calling and scheming. I think Loggains can do a better job there. But I think Gentry will come around. He was open on a few routes against the Ravens and Trubisky just missed those throws – throws that he will find and make as he gains experience. So there’s hope.
Do the bears continue with run game more or give Mitch more of a chance to throw the ball? What would be smart against the Panthers
— Johnny Avila (@Lord_Johnny23) October 17, 2017
The ridiculously run-heavy game plan against the Ravens was absolutely John Fox-mandated. Dowell Loggains is historically a pass-happy coordinator who I’m sure is chomping at the bit to unleash Trubisky. But Fox isn’t having it; at least not yet.
With that said, the Bears will absolutely need to open it up to have a chance at beating the Panthers on Sunday and the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans the following Sunday. Those offenses, led by Cam Newton and Drew Brees respectively, are far more potent than the unit Joe Flacco led on Sunday. The Bears will find themselves needing to score often in both games. While I wouldn’t expect a pass-heavy offense next week, I’d expect a much more balanced attack. They’ll have to air it out more to have a chance.
What is the status with Kevin White?
— Raymond Papenfuss (@rpappy67) October 17, 2017
Kevin White is on injured reserve with a broken collarbone / shoulder blade. It’s not likely that he’ll be one of the players designated to return this year, so White will probably go into his fourth year next year, the last of his rookie contract, and very little production to his name. It’s sad – he’s a great kid with great talent. But some players have worse luck than others.
Whats the health update on Sherrick McMannis?
— Bob Norris (@Bobjnorris) October 17, 2017
We haven’t heard much about McManis’s status since he left Sunday’s game on a cart. Hopefully it’s not as serious as it seemed and he’ll miss a minimum amount of games. He’s a captain on special teams and it was easy to see why after the Bears gave up a kick return and punt return touchdown in the second half that made that game way closer than it needed to be. It’s extremely unlikely the Bears fail that miserably on special teams if he’s out there. Wishing him a speedy recovery.
Do you expect Trubisky to get more passing attempts this week, especially since they’re playing against a good run defense?
— Angry Bulls fan (@FireGarPaxx) October 17, 2017
Absolutely. I answered a similar question to this above, so check that for more details. But there’s no doubt the Bears need to open up the passing game to succeed going forward. Cam Newton and Drew Brees (the following week) will present major problems – way more so than Joe Flacco did. So the Bears will find themselves needing to score in bunches. That calls for a lot more Trubisky than we’ve seen. And given that this season’s main goal at this stage is to develop him, I’m a big fan of this. Let the kid play.
