There are some persistent issues plaguing the Chicago Bears this season, but nothing more so than the penalties. The Bears have been flagged more than their opponents in every game this year, and in Sunday’s
30 to 16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, they were penalized 11 times for 79 yards, while Baltimore was penalized just 6 times for 45 yards. That’s the third game this season in which the Bears were hit with at least five more penalties than their opponent.
The season totals are 72 penalties for 533 yards for the Bears, and 36 penalties for 254 yards for their seven opponents.
That’s unacceptable, and it’s something head coach Ben Johnson addressed in his postgame press conference.
“The penalties to me is what stands out first and foremost,” Johnson said when asked what is most urgent in getting the offense on track. “You know, we still have some of the pre-snap issues. Where there’s occasional not getting lined up quite right. There’s occasional not getting the motion quite right. And so that stuff adds up and, and it hurts us. We get away with it occasionally, but it’s just not the way you win in this league.
“I really put it on the leaders there in that locker room to get this ship going the right direction in that regard. Us coaches, we’ve been pounding that drum now for a while and we haven’t gotten the results we wanted. So it’s on the leaders here on this team to get us right.”
It’s ultimately on the players to focus and clean that up, so I don’t mind Johnson publicly holding his players and his captains accountable, especially since he’s also critical of himself in front of the media each week.
As for the overall numbers, the Bears had 372 yards to 355 for the Ravens. Chicago also had the edge on third downs, 46.2% to 40.0%, but Baltimore had more first downs 24 to 19, and they had a slight edge in time of posession, 30:30 to 29:30. When you consider in the first quarter the Bears had the yardage edge (125 to 8), the time of posession edge (12:41 to 2:19), ran more plays (22 to 3), and had 9 first downs to none for the Ravens, you get a sense of how bad it was after one.
Let’s look at the Bears’ playing time breakdowns and a few individual stats from the game.
OFFENSE
It was another up-and-down game from quarterback Caleb Williams, and it’s fair to say he’s not playing like a first overall draft pick should be playing in his second year. The aforementioned penalties have had a lot to do with the offense getting behind the sticks, which is difficult to continuously overcome. Williams and the passing offense had a handful of explosives downfield yesterday, as eight of his 25 completions went for more than 15 yards, but the interception was a terrible throw, and he’s still not always on the same page with his receivers.
D’Andre Swift was solid, but the game script never allowed him or the running game to really get going.
Rome Odunze tied his career high with 7 receptions, and his 114 yards are the second-highest.
DEFENSE
Cornerback Nashon Wright led the Bears with 9 tackles, and he had a QB hit.
Dayo Odeyingbo had 8 tackles and a tackle for loss.
Gervon Dexter Sr. had 7 tackles, 2 TFL, and a sack.
Montez Sweat also had 7 tackles (1 TFL) and a sack.
Kevin Byard III and T.J. Edwards each had 6 tackles.
Jaylon Jones got the start at corner, and he had 3 tackles and a forced fumble.
SPECIAL TEAMS*
*The above image has players who only played in the third phase.
Cairo Santos missed a 58-yard field goal, but hit from 47, 39, and 32. He also hit his lone extra point try.
Tory Taylor had 2 punts for a 54.0 average (44.0 net) and one inside the twenty.
D’Marco Jackson had 2 tackles on special teams and a fumble recovery.
I always thought Josh Blackwell was a solid reserve nickel corner, but he can’t even get on the defense this season.
To check out the complete Bears vs. Ravens box score, I find ESPN’s site is easy to navigate.
All statistics and snap counts, as well as the accompanying pictures, are taken directly from the NFL’s Game Statistic and Information System.
