DEFENSE

October 17, 2017

If you’ve been following this blog, I’ve given my take on the Bears. I said the defense should make them competitive in most games. When they beat the Steelers, I thought this was the blueprint for how they can win. Strong defense along with a good rushing attack. This is how they managed their second victory.

The defense was excellent in all phases. Their defensive line applied pressure on the quarterback and stifled the run.  The return of Danny Trevathan greatly improved the defense and rubbed off on the other linebackers. When the front seven of the defense is working, you can create havoc for your opponent. Trevathan had a sack and Christian Jones caused a fumble for one of three Ravens turnovers.

When your front seven is working so well it makes it easier for your secondary. If I were giving out game balls, the much maligned Kyle Fuller would get one. He defended extremely well on multiple passes thrown in his direction. It was his tip that led to an Adrian Amos interception. Amos looked like a running back returning it for touchdown. Bryce Callahan also had a nice diving interception. Another game ball goes to Joe Flacco.

Trubisky and the offense did just enough. You can see he is learning. In the years prior, the Bears quarterbacks didn’t know the meaning of throwing the ball away. He did just that after a bad snap near the goal line and on other occasions. He also rushed for a first down on third and long. He completed a pass to Simms for a touchdown. One of the two key plays in overtime was an 18 yard completion on third and eleven. Without that pass you are probably out of Connor Barth’s range. When your team is going nowhere, it's nice to see trick plays. Tarik Cohen’s touchdown pass to Miller worked perfectly. He and O’ Donnell are now tied for the league lead in quarterback efficiency rating.

The Bears running attack is the biggest reason for the win. All but 17 plays were running. The offensive line did not have one false start penalty. When thinking about those self-inflicting wounds in previous games, this is incredible. Jordan Howard showed why he is an elite running back with 167 yards rushing. However, it is customary for me to point out the dumb. Howard ran out of bounds with 24 seconds left when the Bears could have run out the clock. Luckily, The Ravens only got one play.

This game should not have gone into overtime. The Bears managed to squander an 11 point lead with less than 5 minutes left. There is an unwritten rule in football, toward the end of the game punt out of bounds and don’t give the receiver a chance to run it back. Another rule is a play isn’t over until whistle blows. These two special team goofs cost the Bears 14 points.

The overtime started with Bears shanking a punt giving the Ravens good field position. The Bears' defense steps up and forces a punt to the Bears 7 yard line. Jordan Howard gets the ball. Raven safety Eric Weddle tried to strip the ball instead of making what would be a sure tackle. Howard gets away and runs for 53 yards. Trubisky’s 18 yard completion to Kendall Wright on third and 11. Connor Barth field goal. Bears win.

Trubisky seems like the real deal. We won’t know for a while because he has no receivers who can get open, or once they do, drop they the pass. Kendall Wright had 2 catches (36 yards). Taylor Gentry was targeted three times, no catches. The other wide receiver, Tre McBride, wasn’t thrown to once.