‘Back to the drawing board:’ Justin Fields, Bears’ offense face long, uncertain journey for answers

‘Back to the drawing board:’ Justin Fields, Bears’ offense face long, uncertain journey for answers originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

TAMPA, Fla. — All the good feelings, vibes, and hope from training camp are washed away after just two games. Despite a clunky month of camp, the Bears’ offense entered the season confident they’d hit the ground running and flash the explosive potential they’d spent the offseason touting.

So much for that.

Quarterback Justin Fields and the Bears’ offense stumbled out of the gates in Week 1. The game plan was flawed, the protection worse, and the third-year quarterback lamented his conservative approach in the season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Things looked different to start Sunday in Tampa as Fields led the Bears on a crisp six-play, 75-yard drive that included completions of 31 and 33 yards to DJ Moore and ended with a 1-yard touchdown run from the young signal-caller.

You could hear the exhale from those in Chicago all the way down in Tampa.

That’s how the offense should look. Now we’re clicking.

Dear reader, they were not clicking.

On their next six drives, the Bears gained a total of 72 yards and averaged 2.1 yards per play during that stretch.

A 90-yard drive in the fourth quarter skewed the Bears’ numbers, but the autopsy of wreckage from a disappointing 27-17 loss to Tampa shows an offense with no flow, plan, or cohesive message as it searches for answers.

“I think we’re improving,” wide receiver Chase Claypool said after the loss. “I think we did a lot better than last week. I think it’s too early to say we’re having issues. I think there’s going to be times in the season where we don’t play our best in the passing game, in the run game, blocking. We just have to learn from that and do better the next week. We were a little better this week but got to do better.”

When asked to pinpoint the reason for the inconsistency on offense, Claypool pointed to individual mistakes that ruin plays and drives,…

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Author : NBC Sports Chicago

Publish date : 2023-09-18 10:55:45

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