The Bears offense has improved drastically since the mini-bye week, where offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has adapted his scheme to fit his players’ strengths. Most notably, quarterback Justin Fields.
After averaging 15.5 points in the first six games, Chicago has averaged 31 points in the last month. They’ve scored 29-plus points in four consecutive games (33, 29, 32 and 30).
While they’ve been able to put up points, the one thing they haven’t been able to do is to close out games.
There have been several times this season where the Bears offense hasn’t been able to mount a comeback drive late in the fourth quarter. It was evident again last Sunday against the Lions, when Chicago stalled in their own end with a little more than a minute left. Fields completed 1-of-4 passes and took two sacks on that drive, which, after a failed fourth down conversion, stalled at Chicago’s 32-yard line.
But it also happened in Week 9 against the Dolphins, Week 5 against the Vikings and Week 4 against the Giants, where the common denominator is the Bears had opportunities to win or tie the game.
It’s been a point of emphasis for this offense — finishing games — where the reason is simple, lack of execution. For an offense looking to continue to improve, closing out games is the next step.
As the Bears gear up for a Week 11 game against the Falcons, host Ryan O’Leary (@RyanO_Leary) and myself (@AlyssaBarbieri) discuss the next step for Chicago’s offense and preview Sunday’s matchup against Atlanta.
Follow The Bears Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts