Bears remain undefeated at home with their 24-18 victory vs. the Rams on Sunday. Here are my three big takeaways from the Bears big win.
Caleb Williams keeps showing impressive progress.
Each week, Williams continues to improve, even when things around him are chaotic. The Bears coaching staff showed improvement in the second half against the Rams, but there’s still room for growth. Here’s a look at Williams passer ratings so far this season:
Week 1: 55.7
Week 2: 51.0
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Week 3: 80.8
Week 4: 106.6
Now, let’s focus on his performance over the last two games:
520 passing yards
69% completion rate
3 touchdowns
93.7 passer rating
This shows real progress.
D’Andre Swift has arrived.
Many people were calling for D’Andre Swift to be benched. Personally, I believed he was too talented to give up on after just three weeks. Yes, it was rough at times, but several other factors were affecting the Bears running game. The team stayed patient, and Swift rewarded them with his best performance as a Bear on Sunday, racking up 72 receiving yards, 93 rushing yards, and a touchdown. He was a game-changer for the offense and a much-needed boost for rookie QB Caleb Williams. Hopefully, this is the spark the Bears need as they head into a more favorable stretch of their schedule.
Shane Waldron proved he has the ability to coach.
The first half was rough, especially up until the final two-minute drive, but the second half showed significant improvement. Reportedly, Shane Waldron held some players accountable before the game against the Rams, and it made a difference. He pushed the offensive unit and adjusted his play-calling in the second half. There were no unnecessary speed options at the goal line; instead, he respected the game flow, stuck with the power run game, and let Caleb Williams make plays with his arm as the game progressed. The offense was balanced, and Waldron delivered in a game that could have spiraled if the Bears hadn’t adjusted late in the first half. He proved he can coach, but now it’s about maintaining consistency and building on the momentum they’ve created.
More notes:
- The defense wasn’t discussed much in this takeaway piece, but they are still very impressive. Yes, they gave up a few long drives, but it was truly bend don’t break. Jaquan Brisker is emerging as a rising star, and Montez Sweat continues to play at a high level. This defense is elite and will always keep the Bears competitive.
- Tory Taylor is a superstar. Total game changer. That is all.
It’s great to watch a Sunday game and come out of it with mostly positive thoughts. Swift finally appeared and played really well. I still think Roschon provides more in his overall downhill running style, pass-catching, and pass blocking, but Swift having a good game was nice to see. Caleb didn’t try and do too much, and that throw to DJ was an absolute dot! Gervon Dexter was the steal of the draft last year! He is proving that Poles made the right decision in him and the right decision to stay away from Jalen Carter! Things I didn’t like.… Read more »
The defense was giving up a 4.6 YPA rushing avg. A team that wasn’t as beat up and set on having Stafford pass would have kept running until we stopped them. Which was something we didn’t do well.
It’s great to win, but there’s a lot to fix.
@citizen34 —
You and ProFootballFocus (PFF) saw the same things:
Here’s the PFF grades on Tremaine Edmunds for the Rams game (9/29):
Tremaine Edmunds (61 snaps)
29.8 ▪︎ 32.6. ▪︎ 32.9 ▪︎ 49.8 ▪︎ 44.4
DEF▪︎ RDEF ▪︎ TACK ▪︎ PRSH ▪︎ COV
It was Tremaine’s worst graded game of the year.
Good work, @citizen34 !
I thought the offensive adjustments were really good and the fullback and taking snap from center is what I have been begging for thru 3 games. I would like to see them go play-action from under center sometimes too! My big question about the defense; there were at least 10 plays where Stafford was throwing 15-20 posts in the middle of the field for easy completions. Is that on our MLB not getting deep enough or on Kyler Gordon? Seems like a pretty easy thing to fix. Bear down boys!!
IF the OL protects Caleb, the Bears will win 9 or 10 games. Otherwise, I worry about our franchise QB’s health.
The defense is good but Gordon and Stevenson get beat too often. Glad to see Swift break out with nice runs and catches. But we still need a tough breakaway RB. I agree that Tory Taylor is a weapon – a future Pro Bowler!
We just gotta improve the OL to be a playoff contender…