(Audacy) The end result was another loss for the Bears on Sunday, but their offense showed a little more life in their first game under new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown's direction.
Brown took over as the Bears' play-caller after the team fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron last Tuesday. Brown had been serving as the team’s passing game coordinator prior to Waldron’s firing.
The Bears had been listless on offense leading up to Waldron’s firing, as the 19 points they posted in a one-point loss to the Packers on Sunday were the most they’d scored in a game since Week 6 – which is the last time they’ve won. While the 19 points were still a meager total, the Bears offense nonetheless showed progress in posting 391 yards and going 9-of-16 on third-down conversions.
In his weekly appearance on the Mully & Haugh on Monday, Bears top receiver DJ Moore explained that Brown’s vibe has been infectious.
“He’s just got a lot of confidence and a lot of energy, so he’s just worked that into the offensive meetings throughout the week and we saw it on Sunday with the play calls," Moore said. "With him, it’s going to be him and that’s the only way he knows how to be.
"Probably the biggest difference is we had a lot of energy coming out of there. We were all involved in the plays."
Coincidentally, that energy isn’t actually present on the sideline during games, as Brown opted to call plays from the booth, a departure from how Waldron used to operate.
Time will tell if his way of operating proves to be the best, but Brown and the Bears will face no shortage of challenges with games against the Vikings and Lions looming before a tilt with the 49ers in San Francisco.