CHICAGO BEARS: 3 TAKEAWAYS FROM EMBARRASSING 41-10 LOSS TO CHIEFS

CHICAGO BEARS: 3 TAKEAWAYS FROM EMBARRASSING 41-10 LOSS TO CHIEFS – Although the Bears did not play well through the first two weeks of the season, there were a couple of positives to discuss, even if they were small ones.

Welp, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that trend was not evident against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Bears came into this contest as double-digit underdogs. Not only that but as the game was set to begin, the biggest storyline was pop star Taylor Swift was in attendance as a guest of Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce.

Seriously.

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I guess that is what happens when you are near the bottom of the league in multiple offensive and defensive categories. For the diehard fans who had any hopes of their team putting up a fight, those hopes were obliterated early and often.

The Chiefs dominated the first half across the board. They went into the break with a 34-0 lead. This was the largest lead Andy Reid has had during his 25 years of coaching.

Ouch.

If that was not bad enough, the Chiefs piled up 312 yards compared to just 85 for the Bears. And they held the ball for nearly two-thirds of the first half as well.

Thankfully, the game mercifully came to an end, with the home team coming out on top 41-10. Let us look at some of the biggest takeaways from the Bears’ latest loss.

Hey, It Could Have Been Worse

I had to really dig deep down into my soul to come up with that assessment. Although the Chiefs looked like they were playing against an NCAA football team, the Bears did manage to do a couple of things. They recorded their first takeaways of the season in the second half. Moreover, they turned those two turnovers into 10 points, albeit in garbage time.

This at least meant they avoided being shut out. Second, as bad as this game was, the Broncos-Dolphins game was even worse. Miami won that game by a 70-20 margin. This marked the most points scored in a football game since 1966. The Dolphins also racked up 726 yards of total offense. So, technically, yeah, it could have been worse.

One other note, that same Broncos squad is the Bears’ next opponent. But the way things have gone thus far, they will more than likely find several ways to lose that game as well.

Moving on.

Matt Eberflus’ Unwillingness To Adjust Was Very Frustrating

OK, I get it. The Bears were missing a couple of defensive starters. Sure, blitzing Patrick Mahomes usually does not work well for opposing teams, due to his ability to extend plays with his legs.

So, the Bears spend most of the day playing in a variety of zone coverages. What was the result? Mahomes and the Chiefs took full advantage of this scheme, as he was able to get the ball to 10 different receivers.

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Now, I do not claim to be an expert when it comes to professional points. However, if you see that opposition is tearing your game plan to pieces, shouldn’t you at least consider doing something different?

Even Fox analysts Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen pondered this question multiple times during the broadcast. As a head coach, when you see something is not working, it is your job to switch things up from a schematic standpoint. But for whatever reason, Eberflus chose not to do so, and the Bears paid the price for that decision the entire game.

The Bears Are Who We Thought They Were

Chicago’s stats coming into this contest were not pretty by any stretch of the imagination. They had allowed 383 yards per game, which was the fourth-worse average in the NFL. Furthermore, they had given up 32.5 points per contest, which was the second-worst average in the league.

What was the final tally when this lopsided game was finished? As it was previously mentioned, the Bears gave up 41 points. This was the most points they had given up in a game this season.

Through the first two games, the Bears were defeated by a total of 28 points. The final margin of defeat in this game (31 points) exceeded the total margin of victory for the Bears’ opponents through the first two games combined. Let that one sink in for a moment. 

As former Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green famously said about the Bears in a postgame interview back in 2005, “The Bears are who we thought they were.”

This time, their opponent did NOT let them off the hook. 

Yes, it is too early to say that this team will go 0-17. At the same token, it is safe to say it will take divine intervention for this team to match the three-win total from last season, something that seemed like a foregone conclusion when the season started.