This Bears season has gotten off to the worst start possible — they haven’t just lost two winnable games, they haven’t just watched the coaching staff struggle, but the QB that carried the weight of the franchise into the 2023 season looks like the most worry-fraught version of himself imaginable. Right now, every part of this football team is ugly to watch.

Worse yet, if you listen to the early portion of the Twitter Spaces that Jeff and I recorded pre-game, it’s as if we could see this loss coming. After so much struggle in Week 1, how far could the team truly bounce back in Week 2?

It’s heartbreaking. If Chicago loses to the Chiefs next week (and certainly if they lose to the Broncos the week after), the season may be over before it fully started. So how do we assess the blame?

The Head Coach

Let’s start at the top. Matt Eberflus took over for Alan Williams as the defensive playcaller in yesterday’s game, but the results were every bit as uninspiring as they were the week before.

It’s not as if the Bears didn’t try to make changes — Matt Eberflus called quite a few blitz/pressure looks early, but Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers offense handled the extra rushers and punished the Bears with the brutal efficiency of a bona fide NFL offense.

Now 2 weeks into the 2023 season, the Bears’ defense has allowed an almost perfect passer rating on 3rd & 4th downs — that’s unacceptable. It’s one thing to understand that Chicago’s defense lacks talent in the front 4, but to invest the money and draft picks that they did into their defense & produce so poorly on key downs is untenable for a coach that specializes in that side of the ball.

Bears defense against the pass on 3rd/4th down:

– 20/23 (87%), 282 yards (12.3 Y/A), 3 TDs

– Eight 15+ yard receptions allowed

– 1.012 EPA/dropback allowed (32nd by about double lol)

– 157.3 passer rating allowed

— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@SpielbergerBrad) September 18, 2023

Expectations for this defense were never high, but after signing 3 new defensive linemen in Free Agency (DeMarcus Walker, Yannick Ngakoue, Andrew Billings) and drafting 2 more with Top 70 picks (Zacch Pickens, Gervon Dexter Sr) I think it’s fair to expect better from this unit than what what may be the worst results in football for the 2nd year running.

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Following Sunday’s loss, the Tampa Bay game feels like a huge one for Chicago’s coaches coaches in particular — if you felt like I did, the most frustrating part about the Green Bay game was that the Bears’ supporting cast wasn’t nearly the issue it was in 2022.

• WRs got open
• DBs made plays in coverage
• Tremaine Edmunds flew around in coverage (sometimes too much)
• Andrew Billings went to war in the trenches
• The OL, while inconsistent, held a pocket against a good DL through the first quarter
  • In particular, Braxton Jones & Darnell Wright played well enough given their matchups

This isn’t a recipe for automatic and unquestioned success, but it’s enough to put together a competitive performance — I thought Chicago outplayed Green Bay in the first half, but after the Packers hit on a few big plays in the 3rd Quarter, it felt like the wheels fell off. You could call it a lack of poise, you could call it a lack of faith, but when fans & analysts alike started questioning a team’s effort before the 4th quarter began, you’ve got more problems than just roster talent.

Chicago’s coaches can win back quite a bit of favor with a big win on the road, but how will they go about doing it? What does Tampa like to do on defense, and how can the Bears counter that? How will they shift things to stop the Bucs’ offense? Nick Whalen & I put together a hell of a game preview on today’s episode of Bear With Us, but I wanted to share some of my thoughts in print. Let’s get into it.

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Originally I was planning on dissecting one of the many defensive drives, but while prepping for last night’s stream I found a drive that perfectly encapsulated the Bears’ issues against Green Bay — with that in mind, I broke down all 8 plays from Chicago’s 2nd offensive series in the latest episode of Dissecting a Drive.

In the video we discuss:

• Where did Justin Fields improve from 2022? Where did he struggle on Sunday?
• How did Getsy set up his offense for success? What could he improve?
• Route spacing issues, bad snaps, and other execution errors
• Much, much more

Check it out and let me know what you think!

All-22 Breakdown Stream:

If you’re into All-22 film breakdowns, I stream every Tuesday Night during the season to talk through the ups and downs of the game! Come check it out!

I watched the Packers-Bears All-22 tape so that you don’t have to — here were some of my notes:

Getsy Gets Ahead of Himself:

Luke Getsy and the Bears started this game off strong, but as the contest wore on Getsy displayed a strange habit of telling on himself with the Bears’ formation — below is a screenshot of the infamous D’Onta Foreman screen pass that lost 7 yards, and if you look at the personnel that Chicago split out wide you too will see the screen coming.

On this first down, the #Bears go 3-wide with:

– Kmet (TE)
– Tonyan (TE)
– Blasingame (FB)

Can you guess which playcall this is? Hint: It's not 4 verticals. pic.twitter.com/nq42iU5YPS

— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) September 11, 2023

But that wasn’t the only moment where it seemed as if Green Bay read Luke Getsy’s mind — here’s another example of the Bears’ formation tipping a play and resulting in a massive start to the second half. With Blasingame (a fullback) out wide to the left side, the Packers send Devonte Wyatt straight upfield in anticipation of a Justin Fields bootleg that Blasingame would usually block for. Wyatt ends up on top of Fields before the quarterback fully turns around.

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That was one way to start the season, wasn’t it?

The Chicago Bears, after months of build-up and roster additions, came out flat from the first whistle against Green Bay and got blown out of their own building before the 3rd quarter had ended. It was a day that could’ve heralded a new chapter within the storybook Bears-Packers rivalry, but instead it was… well, I’ll let Jeff say it for me.

(S)HITS principle.

— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) September 10, 2023

After a game like that, I felt the need to sleep on my thoughts. I’ll have more posted later this afternoon, but I want to wait until I can watch the tape before really diving in on this game — I have a bad feeling that the tape may give us uncomfortable answers to questions we didn’t want to ask on both offense & defense.

It’s only Week 1, but that was as bad of a Week 1 game as I could’ve imagined. Chicago will need to turn things around in a hurry too — a loss to the Buccaneers (who just beat Minnesota on the road) will create legitimate stakes as the Bears take on the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium. Only six NFL teams since 1979 have ever started 0-3 and still made the playoffs.

The 2023 Bears don’t have outrageous expectations, but I’d think the organization had their sights set on a 7th seed playoff spot & major development from the roster’s young players. That may yet be achieved, but with tough matchups littered throughout the early weeks of Chicago’s schedule, the road to a playoff season got much harder last night.

Postgame Podcast:

Your Turn: Do you feel any better about yesterday’s game today?

There’s nothing quite like NFL Week 1, is there?

After months of roster additions, subtractions, and schematic changes, the NFL’s 32 Teams will finally take the field this weekend and show us who’s here to content, who’s here to pretend, and everything else in between.

But between you and me, 15 of the 16 NFL games scheduled for this weekend might as well not exist — the Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers this Sunday at 3:25PM in the first game since Aaron Rodgers’ departure and it’s the only game on my mind.

How are the Bears going to attack the Packers’ defense? What are the Packers looking to do on offense? Moreover, who’s going to win? Nick Whalen & I put together a hell of a game preview on today’s episode of Bear With Us, but I wanted to share some of my thoughts in print. Let’s get into it.

Before the Teams Take the Field…

Keep an eye out for the Packers’ official Friday injury report. Explosive Packers WR Christian Watson was listed as a practice non-participant on Wednesday (hamstring injury), and if either he or WR Romeo Doubs (DNP — hamstring injury) can’t play on Sunday Jordan Love will be left throwing to rookies in his first 2023 NFL start.

That may sound like an exaggeration, but it isn’t — with TE Tyler Davis already on IR, Love’s Sunday receiving weapons could consist of:

• Rookie TE Luke Musgrave
• Rookie TE Tucker Kraft
• Rooke WR Jayden Reed
• 2nd year (7th round pick) WR Samori Toure
• Rookie WR Dontayvion Wicks, who was limited on Wednesday’s practice with a hamstring injury

The Packers also need OT David Bakhtiari (knee) and EDGE Rashan Gary (knee) to play big roles on Sunday’s game despite injury limitations, which may be difficult for each veteran based on what their bodies can do and where each player is within their recovery timeline.

If I had to guess, I expect one of the Packers’ 2nd year WRs to make it to gameday (likely Doubs, as his hamstring injury occurred before Green Bay’s 3rd preseason game), but the absence of even one 2nd year WR puts tremendous pressure on the Packers’ rookies to carry the offensive load on Sunday. And, as we’ve learned, featuring rookies can be a scary prospect.

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After months and months of waiting, the eve of the 2023 NFL Season is finally upon us. Buckle up, because this ride doesn’t end for another 19 weeks.

On this tranquil Wednesday, I can confidently tell you that there is nothing left to say about this weekend’s Bears-Packers matchup that hasn’t already been discussed (and discussed and discussed) since March — I think we’re ready for the game. All that’s left is for it to kick off.

Later today we should see official Wednesday Practice Reports from both teams that will give us hints as to the severity of injuries like Rashan Gary’s ACL, Cody Whitehair’s hand, and whatever is going on with Lucas Patrick, but outside of that the stage is set and ready for it’s players.

Tomorrow, Nick and I will preview the schematic strengths and weaknesses of each team’s offense & defense as well as talk through the impact players on both squads. We’ll cover everything from basic score predictions to assessments on each team’s advantages in the key situations that often determine games — 3rd downs, play in the red zone, drives late in the half, and much much more on the latest episode of Bear With Us.

But until then, soak up these last few hours of anticipation — the 2023 NFL Season is right around the corner, and what better way for it to start than watching Patrick Mahomes face down a Bears’ division rival with his hand effectively tied behind his back?

Can Mahomes carry a Chiefs team that may be missing both Chris Jones and Travis Kelce? I don’t know, but I’m glad we get to find out tomorrow — football is back.

Your Turn: What, if anything, do you have left to say about this weekend’s Packers game?

In my 15 years as a Bears fan, I have seen the Chicago Bears sweep the Green Bay Packers once.

One single season. Across Fifteen years.

Since Aaron Rodgers took over at Quarterback, Green Bay has consistently throttled Chicago — the Packers have won a staggering 26 out of 31 contests and have left the Bears with a lower win percentage vs Green Bay in that span (16.12%) than Chicago finished with in a last-place 2022 season (17.65%).

As a matter of fact, Chicago enters this weekend’s game with two concurrent losing streaks against the Green Bay Packers:

• The Bears are 0-8 in their last 8 games against Green Bay
• The Bears are also 0-8 in their last 8 September matchups against the Packers

Thus, if you’ve ever felt like Chicago simply couldn’t beat Aaron Rodgers, you were right.

But Chicago doesn’t face Aaron Rodgers this weekend.

After more than a decade of dominance, a new face now leads Green Bay. Jordan Love has taken the reigns at Quarterback, and he brings with him a wildly young offensive skill core with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

There are virtually no expectations for this Packers team, save that the young guns develop on offense, but that’s not to say they’re without talent — with high-pedigree draft picks like Christian Watson, Luke Musgrave, and Jayden Reed, the 2023 Packers are a dangerous team. But, as of the time of writing this article, they’re also as weak as they’re likely to be this year.

The Packers’ starting CB2, Eric Stokes, will open the 2023 season on the PUP list. Tyler Davis, GB’s veteran TE3, will start the season on IR and force rookie Luke Musgrave into a starting role early.

2nd year possession receiver Romeo Doubs tweaked his hamstring and missed the Packers’ final preseason game. Star EDGE rusher Rashan Gary tore his ACL in 2022’s Week 9 and, though he’s slated to play in Week 1, will assuredly lack some measure of explosion for at least a few more months.

This Packers team is young, untested, and banged up. If Chicago can’t beat them now, when will they?

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With the Chicago Bears’ 53-man roster set for Sunday’s Bears-Packers game, it’s finally time we talk through 2023 Season Predictions — on the latest episode of the Bear With Us podcast, that’s exactly what Nick and I do.

In a Monday morning mega-show, Nick and I talk through every Bears 2023 topic possible in lieu of this weekend’s season kickoff:

• What will Chicago’s overall record be?
• Which games will Chicago win? Which games will they lose?
• Where in the Bears’ schedule are there natural rest advantages over opponents? Are there any disadvantages to watch for?
• What should we expect from Fields in 2023? And what constitutes a “good” season from him?
• Who do we have our eyes on defensively?
• What would be a good year for Eberflus’ 2023 defense?
• And much, much more…

Start your week right with the latest episode of Bear With Us — now available in both video & audio forms. Give it a listen/watch and let me know what you think!

Podcast Form:

Note: Video Form is available after the ‘jump’

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Happy Friday Bears fans — this is it, the last Friday that leads into a weekend without NFL football until the end of the 2023 season.

Enjoy it. Plenty more analysis to come next week as we gear up for Week 1, and plenty more coming after that.

DJ CanadaBear’s Choice: