Bernstein: Disastrous Bears offense is careening into crisis
(670 The Score) If it wasn't must-win for the Bears in Indianapolis on Sunday, it was at least Must Stop Sucking on Offense.
The winless Colts had surrendered 474 rushing yards in two games, the most through that span in the NFL since 1978. And they were missing DeForest Buckner, their best defensive player. It was a chance for already-embattled Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron to show the merest inklings of his ideas for his concepts of a plan to score more than the lone offensive touchdown that was on Chicago's books entering the day.
And the Bears lost 21-16, still lacking cohesiveness and identity on that side of the ball in a way that's almost approaching artful and exquisite in its ability to remain so characteristically inept. Forget the final numbers, those bloated by both a meaningless end-of-half heave and later garbage-time defenses content to watch the sand trickle through the hourglass.
Somewhere in Halas Hall, near enough to the offensive coordinator's office, sits an old coffee cup on the rim of which is an immortal and rogue prion, a brainworm that infects the processing centers for play design, sequencing, in-game communication and planning. Nothing rational can explain the Bears' consistent failures to score enough points, despite fully making over the personnel and each next doomed coach.
This one just threw it 52 times Sunday and ran it just 28, and he called an all-timer of a fourth-and-goal humdinger with the Bears down 7-0 in the second quarter. In what could only be described as an apparent attempt at satire, the Bears called a pistol-formation speed-option toss to D'Andre Swift, who was promptly chased down and turned backward before he slipped and was buried for a 12-yard loss. It was the equivalent of a comedy cold open, needing only for all 11 men to look directly into the camera and scream, "LIVE FROM INDIANAPOLIS! IT'S CHICAGO BEARS FOOTBALL!"
Swift himself may also be an issue, with questionable vision and decision-making that should raise fair questions as to why two good teams have now allowed him to depart. Compiling 20 yards on 13 carries with a long of four can't be what the Bears envisioned.
And what exactly was it in general? General manager Ryan Poles has put his talented rookie quarterback behind an overmatched and busted up line, acquired a veteran receiver who can't get on the field and now sees his team far too overly reliant on a return specialist being a key piece.
And head coach Matt Eberflus had another bad day too, one for that side of the ledger already so marked up with avoidable losses to bad opponents. Anthony Richardson's shockingly wayward selection of scuds and floaters should never be enough like it was Sunday, nor should be Shane Steichen's mismanagement of the clock.
But the magic imbued by Eberflus' improved grooming didn't keep his sideline from inexcusable ongoing confusion. He diminished the excitement of Williams' first career touchdown by taking too long to realize the obvious need for a two-point conversion attempt when down 14-9 and was forced to use a critical timeout. That left the Bears with just one timeout when it might have mattered late.
This was right there for the Bears, gift-wrapped as a get-right, and yet their signature secret sauce of various confusions was there as always to keep them from grabbing it.
At least we may have stumbled upon something they do well.
Dan Bernstein is the co-host of the Bernstein & Holmes Show on middays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on 670 The Score. You can follow him on Twitter @Dan_Bernstein.
