Shane Waldron Says Offense Emphasized One Big Issue During Bye

The Chicago Bears offense didn't just spend the bye week resting and recharging. That isn't how the NFL works. If you don't use that extra time to clean up certain issues, it is a complete waste. Shane Waldron and the rest of his staff understood that. If this team wanted to make the playoffs, they needed to pinpoint the most pressing issues and strive to correct them. It didn't take long for Waldron to identify what he and his players had to get fixed once everybody returned for practice.

Poor starts have plagued the offense all year. Chicago currently ranks 31st in the NFL in 1st quarter points, averaging 1.7 per game. Meanwhile, two of their biggest rivals, Minnesota and Green Bay, rank 1st and 3rd respectively. If the Bears want to make the playoffs, that can't continue as the schedule gets tougher in November and December. A good place to start would be their opening drives. In six games, the Bears have punted on four of them. The other two were a field goal and a missed field goal. No touchdowns.

Shane Waldron is trying to correct a persistent issue.

This season isn't isolated for the Bears offense when it comes to early points. They were 20th last season, too. Ironically, they were 11th in 2022, a year they were the league's worst team. Still, one cannot understate the importance of scoring early. Of the ten teams who finished highest in 1st quarter points last season, seven made the playoffs and two others had winning records. Thanks to their excellent defense, Chicago has been winning despite this, but such slow starts make success much harder.

Shane Waldron knows this well. In 2022, the one year he made the playoffs as Seattle's offensive coordinator, they ranked sixth in 1st quarter points. The Bears can be forgiven for these struggles. It's a brand new system they're trying to learn, and they also have a rookie quarterback. It takes time to learn how to execute right out of the gate. Thankfully, they've been granted a grace period of poor opponents over the past month. That time is running out, though, and they know it.