Chase Daniel and the defense took turns helping the team to lose a heartbreaker to the Oakland Raiders. First, it was the defense allowing a 97-yard drive in the 4th quarter for a touchdown to lose the lead. Then it was Daniel throwing a pass into triple coverage that got picked off when there was plenty of time on the clock to at least tie the game. All this after the team overcame a 17-0 deficit in the second half. No doubt they have plenty to answer for, but the Chicago Bears offensive line will be a topic of discussion.
It’s not like this group is in some sort of recent rut. They’ve looked disjointed and outright bad for long stretches of this season since it began. The Bears can’t run the ball at all and their pass protection continues to come and go. Penalties are way higher than normal on top of that. Kyle Long may be 31 but he’s playing like he’s 51. Charles Leno has lost his edge at left tackle and the switching of Cody Whitehair and James Daniels between guard and tackle isn’t paying dividends.
The bye week couldn’t come at a better time because head coach Matt Nagy and offensive line coach Harry Hiestand have some serious issues to work out. While no major changes to the lineup are likely in the short-term, it’s becoming clear the team may need to make an infusion of fresh talent next offseason. Most likely via the draft.
Chicago Bears offensive line was manhandled by Raiders
Understand that the Raiders had one of the weaker front sevens in the NFL coming into this game. So for that group to get four sacks on Daniel and allow just 42 yards rushing? That is a direct indictment of the Bears blocking. It was inexcusable and such a far cry from last season. It’s not certain if they’re just not playing with enough discipline or if health issues are playing a bigger part. All anybody knows at this point is they’re not doing their jobs.
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Things aren’t going to get easier for them too. Coming out of the bye week they’ll face New Orleans, Los Angeles (Chargers), and Philadelphia. All of whom have strong defensive fronts. Even if Mitch Trubisky returns as expected, it won’t matter if they can’t get off the mat. Chicago has two picks in the 2nd round for next year. The odds are growing that they could end up using one of them on the offensive line. Especially with Long looking like an inevitable cap casualty and Ted Larsen being a free agent.
None of that will help them now though. Somebody needs to give those guys a good pep talk or a swift kick in the rear end. Whatever it takes to snap them out of this prolonged quagmire. A promising season depends on it.
