It's Clear Now. Chicago Bears Are Building The 2019 Ravens

The Chicago Bears spent 2022 trying to discover what offense fit their players best, especially quarterback Justin Fields. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy ran a variation of Green Bay's scheme for the first few weeks. Things weren't quite clicking. So going into the bye week, the coaching staff made some adjustments. They decided to incorporate more of the Baltimore Ravens' offense constructed for Lamar Jackson. The idea was to take advantage of Fields' speed and lean on the ground attack. It worked wonders for over two months.

Injuries slowed them by December, unfortunately. Still, it was an evident glimpse into what the Bears offense could be. The lingering question was whether they'd lean into this off-season are make a more vigorous effort to morph Fields into a traditional pocket passer. We appear to have an answer. Not only is GM Ryan Poles retooling the offense to resemble the Ravens, but one version in particular—that of the 2019 Ravens. The similarities in personnel are striking.

Two pass-catching tight ends

• 2019 - Mark Andrews and Hayden Hurst
• 2023 - Cole Kmet and Rob Tonyan

Speedy wide receivers

• 2019 - Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin
• 2023 - D.J. Moore and Darnell Mooney

Two downhill running backs

• 2019 - Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards
• 2023 - Khalil Herbert and D'Onta Foreman

Mobile dual-threat quarterback

• 2019 - Lamar Jackson
• 2023 - Justin Fields

It's hard to argue the Chicago Bears' approach.

That 2019 Baltimore team was a juggernaut. Jackson threw for over 3,000 yards and 36 touchdowns while running for 1200 yards and seven additional scores. The looming threat of Brown over the top allowed Andrews and Hurst to find space over the middle while the running game feasted on lighter boxes. The Ravens finished #1 in score and #2 in total yards that season. If Chicago were to mimic a style, they could do a lot worse. One could even argue this Bears group is deeper than that one four years ago.

The critical difference is the offensive line. Baltimore's was outstanding, led by Pro Bowlers Ronnie Stanley, Marshal Yanda, and Orlando Brown Jr. The Chicago Bears don't have anything approaching that group. That is why Poles will likely be focused on upgrading the offensive line going into the draft. If he wants this system to function at a similar level to 2019, it starts up front. If nothing else, at least the Bears have an identity in mind.