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As the Chicago Bears gear up for the start of their 2021 season, there’s not a whole lot of confidence surrounding the team. A big part of that has to do with the uncertainty on offense, which is coming off back-to-back unimpressive outings under Matt Nagy.
Last season, the Bears tied for 22nd in scoring (23.3 PPG) and ranked 26th in total yards (331.4). While there have been some improvements on offense — starting with the quarterback position, where Chicago added Andy Dalton and Justin Fields — there’s still plenty of questions about what this Bears offense will actually look like, as the starting unit never played together in full during preseason.
Chicago’s offense has a chance to set the tone for the 2021 season when they take the field on Sunday night against the Rams. It certainly won’t be easy against a Los Angeles defense that ranked first in the NFL last season, allowing the fewest points (18.5) and yards (281.9) in the league.
“It’s a really good defense and we’re going to face a lot of good defenses this year and that’s why you play this game,” Dalton said. “This is why you prepare and the way you prepare and you get ready for these games because they all mean a lot. This is going to be a good test to start the year.”
History tells us the Bears are in for a rough outing against the Rams, as the offense has struggled over the past three meetings, where they’ve scored just two touchdowns on 35 possessions.
If Chicago stands a chance of upsetting the Rams, their offense is going to need to rise to the occasion and sustain drives, something we didn’t see out of this unit last year. One of the areas of focus for offensive coordinator Bill Lazor is converting third downs, which the Bears ranked 31st in the NFL with a 34.6 percent conversion rate in 2020.
“I think when you look at some of the things we committed to improving from last year, I’ll put third downs at the top of the list,” Lazor said.