Dhruv Koul shares his in-game reactions, thoughts and observations from the Broncos-Bears game at Soldier Field. Follow him on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
CHICAGO -- There wasn't a whole lot left to be said about the Chicago Bears' state of affairs coming into today's game against the Denver Broncos. The Bears were a mess through three weeks, with the coaching situation a disaster and the quarterback playing himself more and more out of Chicago.
But head coach Matt Eberflus finally did some things this week that show he's willing to take over control of the football team again. For one, he announced he will call defensive plays the rest of the season. Hey, if he's likely on his way out after this year, might as well go down swinging his way. I get it.
But then!
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Benching Chase Claypool was a long time coming. After a disastrous effort in Week 1, he improved after a significant chastising from his coaches and GM Ryan Poles. But then this week, he essentially told the media he doesn't think the Bears are using him correctly. Enter discipline. This is going down as one of Poles' worst moves, but better if the Bears end the experiment sooner rather than later.
The more interesting aspect here is rookie UDFA Tyson Bagent taking over the QB2 role. The coaches liked him a lot during preseason and he has, in their opinion, earned this promotion. I agree. And besides, if Justin Fields continues to play himself towards a benching, might as well roll with the young guy. Good for Bagent.
Oh yeah, there was a football game today, too. The 0-3 Bears hosting the 0-3 Broncos at Soldier Field. This matchup reminded me a lot of the Chargers-Bears game in 2019, when a woeful, broken Chargers team came to town and upset the Bears in one of the bigger meltdowns of the Matt Nagy era. A game just RIPE for a similar disaster.
In the end, well, you know what happened.
I shared my in-game reactions, thoughts and observations from the game below. Follow me on Twitter (or X, I guess) @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation!
Thoughts and Observations
1. Matt Eberflus' decision to punt on the first drive is exactly the problem I have with defensive head coaches, especially archaic ones. They rely on defense to keep the game close -- a defense, btw, that is absolutely horrific thanks to HIS SCHEME being terrible. Simply a losing attitude in the NFL. Also, you're 0-3 and your seat is already hot. Like, what else is there to lose?
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And yeah, you guessed it, the move backfired as Denver marched right down the field with EASE. The icing on the cake:
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Tremaine Edmunds has really looked awful this season. His instincts were bad in college and it seems Buffalo hid it well while he was there... because his instincts look bad again with Chicago. Just a bad, bad investment so far.
2. A nice sequence towards the end of the first quarter, early second quarter for Chicago. The Bears took the ensuing kickoff down the field for a touchdown, highlighted by a Cole Kmet TE-sneak on 4th and 1, and then a Fields to DJ Moore touchdown (sensational catch). Fields has looked slightly more comfortable today and it's manifesting in some rhythm plays.
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The Broncos then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, leading to rough field position. Chicago finally got a stop and took over on the Broncos' 44. Probably the best sequence of the season for the Bears.
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3. And that's exactly what they did. After a Tyler Scott false start, Fields threw a bullet going left to DJ Moore for a big gain. And on the next play, Fields quickly saw Kmet on a seam against Cover-3 and hit him for a touchdown. Two beautiful throws back-to-back. He's playing well so far today.
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4. What a drive by the Bears. A strong mix of running game and boot-action. Fields is playing good, accurate football today. The Broncos are confused on defense and the Bears are running wild.
They've truly looked like a solid football team so far this afternoon. Fields finished the first half 16/17 (incompletion was on a Hail Mary) for 231 yards and three touchdowns. And the Bears lead 21-7 at the break.
I wish this was a joke, but:
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5. An impressive drive after halftime by the Bears to take a 28-7 lead after the defense forced a punt. Justin Fields with several really good plays against the blitz and a nice job avoiding a sack to find Khalil Herbert for a touchdown. Just a very, very solid drive and overall display.
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Unfortunately, the Broncos answered quickly after that with a touchdown at the end of the third quarter to make it 28-14. And then the Bears went 3 and out. Chicago can't afford to let the Broncos back in this one.
6. And yet, they did. Soft zone, confusion and bad tackling lead to multiple long third-down conversions for Denver -- the last one resulting in a touchdown. It's 28-21 with 9:36 left in the 4th quarter. It's anyone's game at this point. Bad, bad look for Eberflus' defense. Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards were just bad, again, on that drive.
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7. Justin Fields is sacked, he fumbles and the Broncos return it for a touchdown. I wish this was a comedy show, but it's not. Feel awful for Fields after the game he's had, but you just can't do that. Brutal, brutal.
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8. The Bears took the next drive impressively into FG range, but a colossal screwup from Matt Eberflus led to a TO-on-downs. And the Broncos took the next drive right into FG range to take a 31-28 lead with 1:46 left. Just an all-time collapse by the Bears here. Truly despicable football in the last 23 or so game minutes.
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9. And Fields gets picked off on the final drive yet again. The Bears implode in the second half to lose 31-28 to Denver. I have no words, folks.
10. The Bears travel to Washington on a short week for a prime time tilt at FedEx Field. The Commanders have a deathly defense, compared to what the Broncos trotted out today. And after that loss.... who knows what's left of this Bears team?
Early prediction: Commanders 30, Bears 13.
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