Awakening starts with defense
If the Bears want to keep their season from going off the rails, they have to take care of business as home favorites against a 2-5 Chargers team. Here are our three keys.
Rediscover an edge on defense.
What happened to the unit that held Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to 10 points in the season opener? Anybody seen the group that forced five turnovers two weeks later against the Redskins? Remember that Week 4 dominance against the Vikings in which the Bears allowed only 40 rushing yards and one scoring drive? Those were the good ol’ days, apparently. In the last two losses, the Bears have been gashed for 320 rushing yards, with the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs and the Saints’ Latavius Murray each having a 100-yard day. The Bears have only one sack in those two games — by reserve Abdullah Anderson — and two takeaways. After giving up a late gamelosing 97-yard touchdown drive to the Raiders in London, coordinator Chuck Pagano promised that performance was an aberration. “Certainly not us,” he said. But then in last week’s beating by the Saints, the Bears allowed 424 total yards, the most since December 2016. “I feel like we’re losing our identity,” cornerback Prince Amukamara said. Now’s the time to get it back.
Strive for a ‘300’ game. Week 8 trivia question: Name the one NFL team this season that has yet to total 300 yards of offense in a game. The winless Dolphins? Nope. The lowly Jets? Wrong. The floundering Redskins? Not them either. Indeed, it’s the Bears who have yet to find their way to 300, with a season-high output of 298 yards in Week 3 against the Redskins. Matt Nagy’s 30th-ranked offense averages 263.7 yards. At that clip, the Bears are on pace to post their worst total yardage numbers since the 2005 team averaged 256.3. Any way you slice it — unreliable running game, erratic quarterback play, debatable play-calling — the Bears are sputtering. In 23 games under Nagy’s direction, the offense has failed to score 20 points 12 times.
3. Expose the Chargers’ greatest weakness. Quarterback Philip Rivers has been ordinary this season, and the Chargers running game has stalled out because of mediocre offensive line play. Veteran left tackle Russell Okung could provide a needed lift; he’s in line to make his 2019 debut after missing the first seven games while recovering from a pulmonary embolism. Said Chargers coach Anthony Lynn: “He brings stability. And his presence on the field? We miss it.” Still, one quick way for the Bears to contain the Chargers’ big-play threats — receiver Keenan Allen and running backs Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler — is to win up front. Right tackle Sam Tevi will need help trying to contain Khalil Mack and the rest of the Bears pass rush. The Bears should be able to beat the Chargers up the middle as well, both against the run and with pressure on Rivers. A golden rule in the NFL: When struggles become extreme, rely on your strengths to get you back on track.