The Chicago Bears offense has been very mediocre this season and is the team’s biggest weakness by far. Here are midseason grades for each offensive position on the Bears.
Quarterback: D+
The Bears quarterbacks, as expected, have struggled this year. Mitch Trubisky started the first three games, while Nick Foles took over late in the 3rd game of the year and has started ever since. Neither quarterback has shown much impressive ability and both have been hindrances to the offense.
Chicago, unfortunately, has had to rely on these subpar quarterbacks a lot. Because of the teams inability to run the ball, head coach Matt Nagy has preferred to throw the ball. The Bears are third in passing attempts in the NFL, but only 22nd in passing yards and 16th in passing touchdowns.
Trubisky and Foles have also made plenty of mistakes. Combined, they have thrown 10 interceptions and 55 bad throws. 55 bad throws is second in the NFL for a team.
Helping the quarterbacks’ grade is their ability to lead comebacks and the offensive line’s struggle.
Chicago’s quarterbacks have the most fourth quarter comebacks in the NFL, with three. This shows that they have the ability to come through in clutch situations.
A large reason for the poor quarterback statistics falls on the Bears offensive line. Trubisky and Foles seem to constantly be under pressure. This makes their job more difficult, but of course, more skilled quarterbacks would be more poised in the face of pressure.
Running back: C+
The Bears running game this season has been atrocious. They rank 31st in rushing yards, 32nd in rushing touchdowns and 29th in yards per attempt. These do not seem like the statistics of a position deserving a C+.
However, even more than the quarterback position, Bears running backs have been heavily affected by the porous offensive line.
The Bears are third in the NFL for broken tackles by a running back, and starter David Montgomery leads the NFL in broken tackles with 18. He also averages 2.6 rushing yards after contact.
With statistics like these, the expectation is for Montgomery to get more than 3.8 rushing yards per attempt. However, he is often forced to break these tackles in the backfield because of how bad the offensive line is.
It is not Montgomery’s fault, or any other running back’s fault that the Bears offense has had difficulty running the ball.
Wide receiver and tight end: B
The receiving unit of the Bears has been solid, but nothing too special. They have 11 total drops, dropping the ball on 3.5 percent of passes. Other than Allen Robinson, they do not have particularly great statistics, although much of that falls on poor quarterback play.
Allen Robinson has been the saving grace for this Bears receiving corps. He has 50 receptions on 77 targets, with only one drop. He has been one of the best receivers in the NFL this season, and is widely underappreciated because of the quarterbacks he has throwing to him.
A good sign from this group is the potential shown by rookie tight end Cole Kmet and rookie wide receiver Darnell Mooney. Kmet has made some great plays and quarterbacks have a 145.3 passer rating when throwing to him. Mooney has risen through the Bears ranks to become the number 2 wide receiver and has a 87.8 passer rating when thrown to.
Offensive line: F
The Bears offensive line has been a complete disaster, both in the passing and running game.
Bears quarterbacks seem to always be under pressure, and the Bears have lost the 6th most yards due to sacks. With subpar quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles, they need to have time to throw to be effective. In this way, Chicago’s offensive line kills any potential dangerous passing attack.
The Bears difficulties to run the ball largely falls on the offensive line as well. Running backs David Montgomery and Cordarrelle Patterson rarely get holes to run through, and as stated before, the Bears statistics reflect that.
Injuries have not helped this miserable group of players. The Bears best offensive lineman, James Daniels tore his pectoral muscle against the Buccaneers in Week 5. Center Cody Whitehair got injured in the Week 7 matchup against the Rams, and in Week 8, tackle Bobby Massie got injured. He is reported to be out for a month.
No part of this group has been close to average, and they therefore deserve an F.
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