Bears aim to clean up passing attack after win over Saints

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 4 hours ago

CHICAGO - The Chicago Bears have proven they can win in just about every way this season - through the air, in an ugly fashion, in rainy conditions, and on the ground with a dominant defense.

Chicago’s most recent win against the New Orleans Saints was one of those games where the passing game couldn't get it going, but the run game carried the offense.

“You go back and you don’t throw the pick and you complete two or three of those on the runs and efficiency-wise is up there with 70 percent. So, it comes down to super some things and it comes down to three completions and with being able to be more efficient and keep the team on the field and making plays and so, that’s a collective thing. Starts with me and then it boils down to me being able to give the wide receivers a good ball, them catching it and creating space for themselves and things like that,” quarterback Caleb Williams said. “So, it’s a collective thing. But, it starts with me and we’ve been getting better with on the run efficiency and passing-wise and in the pocket, we’ve been pretty solid. So, we start hitting on those on the runs, it opens up the offense (because) those second plays become big explosive plays after a defense called maybe the perfect defense or maybe something happened with the up front or anything and we start hitting on those and big plays start happening. It looks a lot better than it did last week.”

Williams is generally not one to turn the ball over. However, against the Saints, he threw his first interception since Chicago’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders. It was only his third pick this season.

While he obviously does not want to turn the ball over, inaccurate passes bother him more than interceptions.

“It bothers me more when I miss a pass rather than throwing a pick, weirdly enough, (because) it’s something wide open or I didn’t get the receiver a good enough ball or anything like that,” Williams said. “That bothers me more than throwing a pick. Those moments happen where you throw a pick and we got the defense, special teams. To be able to help in those moments and from there when we get back on the field, it’s time to roll.”

Chicago’s passing game has an ideal matchup to get back on track against the Baltimore Ravens on Sun. Oct. 26 (Noon / CBS). The Ravens are uncharacteristically bad with a 1-5 record and have allowed at least 37 points in four of their six games so far this season. Their run defense has also struggled, allowing an average of 5.3 yards per carry and nine rushing touchdowns.

However, despite the record and the metrics on this defense, this is not an opponent that Williams and the Bears are taking lightly.

“Coach Harbaugh has two seasons where they haven’t been great. So, if you really think about it, they’ve been a top team in the NFL for the past 18 years, 20 years or so, however long he’s been coaching,” Williams said. “So, they got great players. They got a great defensive coach, defensive players and they got a few guys down offense and defense. But, I think they got guys coming back off the bye week and so, this is a big game for us. It’s a big game for them and being able to come in here with the right mindset as us and execute plays that we need to execute gives us the best chance to go win the game.”