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Why Bears’ loss to Ravens proves they are playoff pretenders
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- Why Bears’ loss to Ravens proves they are playoff pretenders
The post Why Bears' loss to Ravens proves they are playoff pretenders appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The Chicago Bears were starting to breathe. After years dysfunctional football, the Bears had won four games in a row while playing in the toughest division in the NFL. They were in third place in the NFC North, and first-year head coach Ben Johnson had his team heading in the right direction.
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Were the Bears on their way to a playoff spot? While optimistic fans and media might have said that the team was headed that way, Johnson knew that more work had to be done. His worst fears came true in Week 8 when the Bears traveled to Baltimore to take on the reeling Ravens .
Baltimore may be a perennial AFC power, but the Ravens came into the game with a 1-5 record and they were in last place in the AFC North. Quarterback Lamar Jackson was nursing a hamstring injury and missed his third straight game. But instead of asserting themselves against an opponent that had to start its third quarterback of the year and was struggling defensively, the Bears looked like an immature team and they let a winnable game slip through their grasp.
In the end, it wasn't even close as Baltimore earned a 30-16 victory.
Williams and Bears offense could not take advantage of vulnerable Ravens defense
Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
The Bears needed second-year quarterback Caleb Williams to continue to grow and drive the team forward. He did not do that. His numbers were not awful as he completed 25 of 38 passes for 285 yards, but he only led one touchdown drive and he missed several open receivers and the Chicago offense was just 6 of 14 on third- and fourth-down plays.
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The Bears did not support Williams with any kind of a running game. D'Andre Swift could only muster 45 yards and rookie Kyle Monangai had 24 yards. The Chicago offensive line was unable to open holes against a defense that ranked 29th in yards allowed. The offensive line was simply unable to assert itself against a defense that had been largely ineffective for the first seven weeks of the season.
Johnson was unhappy with the overall sloppiness of the team that included 11 penalties.
"You see flashes of explosive plays and some really good things happening," Johnson said after the game. "But the penalties are what stand out first and foremost. We're still having some of the pre-snap issues. There's occasional not getting lined up quite right. There's occasional not getting the motion quite right. That stuff adds up, and it hurts us. We get away with it occasionally. But that's just not the way you win in this league."
Bears defense was ineffective
The Ravens got back on the winning track behind quarterback Tyler Huntley . The Chicago defense was unable to control him as he completed 17 of 22 passes for 186 yards and one touchdown. He spread the ball around to Zay Flowers , Rashod Bateman and tight end Mark Andrews .
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The Bears had prepared to play against Jackson in this game, and they seemingly got a break when they were playing against Huntley. But the Chicago defense did its part to turn the backup quarterback into a star.
The Bears had been able to take the ball away from opponents throughout their winning streak. They could not take the ball away from Baltimore and the defense simply could not stop the Ravens in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line.
Linebacker T.J. Edwards explained that the Bears have to figure out a way to win even when they are not getting takeaways. "They had guys out, we had guys out," Edwards said . "We've just got to figure out a way to come away with the win."
Johnson faces big test
The Bears had momentum going into the Ravens game, but they failed to execute on both sides of the ball. It appeared that hey had a great chance to win, but they did not bring their best effort.
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They have another road game coming up against another vulnerable opponent in the Cincinnati Bengals . But the Bears could not contain Huntley, so how will they contain Joe Flacco and an angry Bengals teams that suffered an embarrassing 39-38 loss to the New York Jets ?
Johnson has to find a way for the Bears to play much more efficient football in this game or they will be fully exposed as a fraudulent pretender.
Related: Bears' Ben Johnson disagrees with Caleb Williams on killer interception vs. Ravens
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