The Chicago Bears' offense was stuck in the mud the entire first half as the Green Bay Packers took full control, 14-3. It felt like another classic showdown between the two teams. One was a well-oiled machine, while the other couldn't seem to start. Then something changed in the second half. Ben Johnson made some adjustments that began taking advantage of Green Bay's defensive weaknesses. Caleb Williams made some excellent throws, and the Bears clawed their way back to a 21-21 tie in the 4th quarter.
Unfortunately, a missed opportunity on defense allowed the Packers to regain the lead. The Bears had a chance to tie it, but their final throw was intercepted. The story coming out of the game was Williams' resilient performance and Chicago's frustrating defensive miscues. However, people didn't seem to grasp another big development during the rally that went somewhat unnoticed.
Much of the Bears' success stemmed from a concerted effort to get rookie wide receiver Luther Burden the ball more often. It worked. The 2nd round pick was targeted three times in the second half. He caught all three for 55 yards. Two of them were crucial to ten points the Bears scored. The third kick-started the final drive that got them in position to tie it.
The Chicago Bears learn more each week about how good Burden is.
With his performance on Sunday, he is now seventh among all rookies in the NFL in receiving yards and third among wide receivers. Keep in mind he's doing that despite getting the sixth-most targets on his own team. Tetairoa McMillan (98) and Emeka Egbuka (110), who are ahead of him, more than double his target share (40). If he got the same number of opportunities as Egbuka, based on his production to date, he'd have 1,086 yards. That is with another four games to play.
There is no longer any question that Burden is a core part of the Chicago Bears' future. He can play. The team knew they were taking a risk on him, given the maturity concerns from his time in Missouri. Head coach Ben Johnson felt his talent was worth the gamble. All signs point to that being an excellent decision. Sooner or later, the Bears will finally make Burden a central part of their passing attack. One could argue they should've already done that, but it wasn't easy with Rome Odunze and D.J. Moore already in place.
Now that one is hurt and the other has somewhat regressed, it feels like the perfect time to take the training wheels off.
