Stock Up, Stock Down: Bears stumble in Week 1 loss to Vikings |
Ariana Pensy
· · 10 hours ago
CHICAGO - No one ever wants to start the season with a loss, especially when the Bears were supposed to be so much better with their new head coach, rebuilt offensive line, and added weapons. Nonetheless, they looked like the Bears from last season.
Caleb Williams - Stock Slightly Down When the offense is stagnant and cannot move the ball, that ultimately rests on the quarterback. Furthermore, he had multiple inaccurate passes and could have taken more shots downfield. However, there is no harm in taking what the defense gives you, and if that is short passes to get a few yards, that is fine. That is also something he did not always do last season. In addition, he was successful at avoiding a sack on numerous occasions and turned some of those plays into positive yardage. Overall, his performance against Minnesota is a mixed bag, but there are still multiple positives to take away from it. Offensive Line - Stock Down The only reason Williams was only sacked twice is because of his rushing abilities. There were a lot of plays where it seemed like he was running for his life, trying to avoid the negative play in the backfield. The intentional grounding penalty, for example, was ultimately the result of trying to avoid taking a sack. However, what might have been worse than their blocking was their penalties. The penalties were atrocious, particularly the three false start penalties - one on right tackle Darnell Wright and two on right guard Jonah Jackson that Chicago traded for in the offseason. There was so much hype around this offensive line going into the season, and in the season debut, they were disappointing. Going against the Detroit Lions on Sun. On Sept. 14 (Noon / FOX), the line will have to improve to prevent defensive end Aidan Hutchinson from getting into the backfield. D’Andre Swift - Stock Down On multiple occasions, head coach Ben Johnson singled out running back D’Andre Swift as a player who could create a spark for Chicago’s offense when they needed it and lead the backfield. This was something I was skeptical of after his performance last season. His performance in the season opener seemed to prove that I was right to be worried. When your quarterback is the leading rusher, something is wrong, especially when he had only a third of the carries your starting running back had. Swift had 17 carries for 53 yards, averaging just 3.1 yards per carry. The league average through the first week is 4.2 yards per carry. Especially with the Bears lacking depth at running back with Roschon Johnson still on the injury report and limited in practice on Wednesday, Swift needs to produce more. Perhaps it is time to get Kyle Monangai some carries and see if he can do better. Nahshon Wright - Stock Up Chicago’s game against the Vikings was not all doom and gloom. Arguably, the best play of the game was cornerback Nahshon Wright’s pick-six against his former team. It was the only turnover in the game, and if Chicago’s offense could have capitalized on the momentum, it was a play that could have sealed the Vikings’ fate. He did have a pass interference penalty, which is something that he needs to clean up. But, especially for a player that was not even projected to start and only did because both Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon were out, Wright had quite the night and proved he can be a reliable player for the Bears in the secondary.
