Bear Down, Nerd Up: Bears mired in yet another losking streak

The Steelers won their 19th consecutive game on Monday Night Football, the longest winning streak in the history of Monday Night Football (which dates to 1970).

In the process, they handed the Bears' their fourth consecutive loss. There's a good chance the streak extends to five games when they return to action Nov. 21 against the Baltimore Ravens, one of the AFC's top teams.

Justin Fields looked great in the second half (more on his performance later), but first let's talk about losing streaks.

Streaking the wrong way: Four straight losses, again. Losing streaks have become a habit of late for this organization. Last season, the Bears suffered their first six-game losing streak since losing eight consecutive games under coach Dick Jauron in 2002. In 2019, the Bears lost four straight games smack dab in the middle of the season, spoiling a 3-1 start.

For those keeping track at home, this makes three straight seasons with a losing streak of at least four games. It has been a long time since the Bears did that.

The last time they lost four consecutive games in three straight season was a stretch that ended with - drumroll, please - the 1975 season.

There have been some close calls in recent years. The team suffered through losing streaks of four games or more in 2014, 2016 and 2017, with the 2015 season being the saving grace (if you can call it that) despite the fact that the 2015 Bears had two separate three-game losing streaks.

But if you think the current decade of Bears turmoil is rough, ask some of the longer-tenured Bears fans about the early 1970s. Between 1969 and 1975, the Bears suffered through a losing streak of four or more games in six consecutive seasons. More remarkably, the team suffered through a five-game losing streak for five straight seasons between 1971 and 1975 (with a six-game losing streak in 1973).

Not surprisingly, the Bears did not have any winning seasons during that six-year stretch. That stretch also spanned three head coaches: Jim Dooley, Abe Gibron and Jack Pardee.

Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the only time the Bears suffered a four-game losing streak and still made the playoffs was last season, when the playoffs expanded to include seven teams in each conference.

Fields' second half: Here's why Bears fans should be excited for the future. Justin Fields asserted himself in the second half of Monday's game. He completed 9-of-16 passes that traveled 10 or more air yards, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. His 15.7 air yards per pass attempt was the second most by a quarterback all season.

The results were obvious to anyone who watched the game. Fields was airing it out, and that's a huge reason the offense scored 24 points in the second half. The flow of the game (such as trailing by 14 heading into the fourth quarter) often dictates the aggressiveness.

This was the best example yet of Fields playing aggressive, while also playing mistake free. It's going to give Bears fans more reason to ask Matt Nagy to let Fields play more aggressively.

On the season, Fields' average intended air yards per throw is sitting at 10 yards exactly, second behind only Lamar Jackson's 10.4. For a quarterback who made headlines in college with his deep-ball ability, notably that win against Clemson in the national semifinal, this is what Bears fans were waiting for.

Last no more: Rejoice Bears fans, your team is no longer last in the NFL in total offense. The Bears' 280.7 yards per game through Week 9 is now one spot ahead of Houston's 280.1 (both teams have played nine games). Thanks to a season-high 414 net yards Monday, the Bears have propelled themselves out of last place.

They remain last in total net passing yards with 144.1 passing yards per game. They continue to be last in that category by a wide margin, despite throwing for 278 passing yards Monday. The 31st-ranked team is New Orleans with 191.6 passing yards per game.

The Bears, mercifully, have raised their average above 140 net passing yards per game on the season. If you're a regular reader of Bear Down, Nerd Up, you might remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that no team has averaged fewer than 140 passing yards over the course of a full season in 10 years (the 2011 Jacksonville Jaguars averaged 136.2).

Currently at 144.1 passing yards per game, that's still within the realm of possibility, but the hope is Fields and the passing game turned a corner in the second half against the Steelers.

Monday's first half vs. second half split was pretty staggering: 52 net passing yards in the first half, 226 in the second half.

Run right, run left: For the first time in awhile, the Bears found success running the ball both right and left. With rookie Larry Borom making his second consecutive start at right tackle, the team seems to have found its footing at both tackle spots.

In his return from injury, running back David Montgomery attempted 12 of his 13 carries to the right of the center, and six of them to the right of the right tackle, according to Next Gen Stats. In previous weeks, the Bears had been heavily focused on running to the left behind left tackle Jason Peters.

The Bears have now run for at least 140 yards in five consecutive games. That is their longest such streak since 1986, per Elias Sports Bureau. The 1986 rushing attack was, of course, led by Walter Payton a year after winning the Super Bowl.