The Chicago Bears lost 30–16 on Sunday in a brutal, yet all too familiar fashion that fans have seen time and time again. Here are my biggest takeaways from the tough loss.
Caleb Williams Needs to Play Better
I know it’s not popular to criticize the quarterback right now, but Caleb Williams was billed as a generational talent — and I just haven’t seen that since he arrived in Chicago. Sure, we’re only seven games into the Ben Johnson era, but I expected things to look different by now.
At this point, Williams doesn’t really have one thing he does at an elite level. I still believe he can turn it around, but if I’m being honest, my gut says he might never live up to the lofty expectations he carried as a college prospect. Time will tell — fingers crossed.
The Bears Are Undisciplined
I can’t remember the last time I saw a more undisciplined Bears team. The penalties are out of control. They currently lead the league in false starts, which is comical, but it’s also killing them. Chicago continues to shoot itself in the foot week after week, and they’re not good enough to overcome that — no team is.
I don’t know why this team can’t get through a game without 10 penalties, but something has to change — and fast.
Turnovers Hid a Lot of These Issues
During their four-game win streak, the Bears racked up 15 turnovers — an insane number — and I think that masked a lot of their problems. Those takeaways covered up offensive struggles and sloppy play that we’re now seeing front and center.
Special teams haven’t helped much either. Outside of Tory Taylor, the coverage on kickoffs has been rough all season, and it was especially bad against the Ravens. Don't get me started about Cairo Santos. It's time to turn back to Jake Moody. Also, the defense wasn’t great, but given all the injuries, they did enough to win if the offense had shown up. Since it didn’t, the whole thing fell apart.
Final Takeaways
It’s gut-check time for Chicago. At 4–3, their margin for error is shrinking fast. Next week’s matchup with the Bengals — one of the league’s worst defenses — will be telling. Can this team finally move the ball and find the end zone?
A win to get to 5–3 would calm some nerves, but nothing comes easy in the NFL. Losing in Baltimore just made next week feel like a must-win.
