After putting up 59 points in the season opener, there is a lot to be optimistic about when it comes to the Chicago Bears offense. Quarterback Caleb Williams had a career day and will be looking to build on that performance against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2.
There are not many offenses in the NFL that are as explosive as the Bears. No other team had more than 41 points in the first week of the season, and Chicago’s top playmakers were not even that involved. Tight end Colston Loveland had no receptions while No. 1 receiver Rome Odunze only had two receptions. It is hard to stop the Bears’ offense, especially when there are so many players who can go off at any given time.
As the Bears look to start the season 2-0 for the first time since
2020, here are three reasons for optimism.
Vikings run defense was in the bottom half of the league last season
For all of the talk about Brian Flores’ defense, they actually struggled against the run last season. They allowed over 2,000 yards over the course of the season for an average of just over 124 rushing yards a game. Sure, they only allowed 66 rushing yards in their season opener. However, their opener was against the Green Bay Packers, who do not have a good running back who can play right now.
Chicago has two good running backs with D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. The Bears’ run game just erupted for 291 yards and six rushing touchdowns between Swift with three, quarterback Caleb Williams with two and Monangai with one. While Chicago relies on their run game anyway, Minnesota’s struggles last season suggest the Bears greatest offensive strength and lines up perfectly with the Vikings’ biggest weakness on defense. This should be a very entertaining matchup to watch in this game.
Carson Wentz is not good at completing passes downfield
Carson Wentz played most of the season opener against the Packers after starting quarterback Kyler Murray sustained a concussion. Based on when other players typically come back from a concussion, Wentz will probably be the starting quarterback. In the win against the Packers, Wentz did not complete a single pass of at least 20 yards; only two passes were over 10 yards. He finished the game with only 133 passing yards despite playing most of the game. This is great news for Chicago. Their biggest problem against the Carolina Panthers was the deep shots downfield and the explosive plays, but the Vikings could not do that with Wentz at quarterback.
Even with Murray at quarterback, they were not doing much in the passing game. He left the game with just 18 passing yards and an interception. So, with either quarterback in the game, it appears Minnesota’s passing game is going to be limited. With Wentz, they were not able to push the ball downfield. With Murray, they were not able to do much of anything. Chicago’s defense could actually have a really good game going against the Vikings if they can contain Aaron Jones in the run game.
The Vikings like to turn the ball over and the Bears do not
Going back to last season, Minnesota has turned the ball over at least one time in four of their last five games. In fact, they had a turnover in 14 different games last season including both times against the Bears. They even had four games last year with at least three turnovers; Minnesota even had one game with five turnovers. Chicago has a tendency for creating turnovers. Their defense led the NFL in takeaways last season and had three turnovers in their season opener against the Panthers.
Offensively, the Bears generally do not turn the ball over. With the exception of their first drive of the season, Chicago took care of the football in the season opener. They also had the fewest turnovers on offense out of any team in the NFL and never had a game with more than two turnovers in the regular season. Teams tend to win when they win the turnover battle and the Bears usually win the turnover battle and should in this game as well.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: 3 reasons for optimism as the Bears face the Vikings in Week 2
