Bears Film Study: Big plays ruin defensive effort
The Bears were good enough to force mistakes by the lake, but they still couldn't beat Cleveland on Sunday. So the theme of this week's film study is, why are the Bears stuck in the mode of losing close games?
The answer, of course, is a little bit of everything. Justin Fields could have been better and should have gotten more support from teammates. But this is a team that still needs to get better in just about every phase.
The offensive line will be OK at times then give up pressure at the wrong time. That's what happens with five decent players, no standouts and two starting tackles that are better in run blocking than pass protection.
No reason to ever complain about a 4-sack game, but the Bears could have used a little more consistent pressure, which begs the question of what they'll do on the opposite side of Montez Sweat, with Yannick Ngakoue both injured and headed for free agency.
The crusher last week was the secondary giving up big plays at the worst moments. More details to follow, but the challenge is to improve a group that was already making strides, and figure our a plan to keep Jaylon Johnson.
But with Fields, instead of dreaming about Caleb Williams becoming a Pro Bowler, try imagining how much better Fields could be if he had another top-level receiver and more consistent pass protection. A different guy stepping into the same flawed situation isn't likely to produce better results.
Big play chronicles:
The Bears' defense did it all Sunday – 4 sacks, 3 interceptions, scored a touchdown and gave up 215 yards on five pass plays. Here's a rundown of the big-play failures.
-- The play that gave the Browns some offensive momentum was a 42-yard pass to Amari Cooper on third-and-7, after the Bears had gone up 7-0. Cleveland kept seven blockers against the Bears' four rushers, so QB Joe Flacco had time to let the patterns play out.
Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson got burned on a double move, but another problem was Flacco used his eyes to draw safety Eddie Jackson to the other side of the field, where the Bears didn't need help. Jackson was almost on the opposite numbers when Flacco let it go and Stevenson was beaten, though it did take an accurate throw.
-- Marquise Goodwin's 57-yard catch was nice play action by the Browns. Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker misread the play, Jackson was caught flat-footed, there was no pass rush and Flacco had time to wait for Goodwin to race into open space.
-- Cooper's 51-yard TD, which tied the game with 3:08 left, was well-executed. Elijah Moore went deep to occupy Brisker, while Cooper followed behind. The Browns were counting on Cooper to outrun linebacker Tremaine Edmunds across the middle, which he did. Flacco had time and the throw was perfect. Brisker took a bad angle, allowing Cooper to take it to the end zone instead of being tackled at the 27.
The biggest problem for the Bears on this play was rookie cornerback Terrell Smith. Playing zone with no receivers in his area and his middle linebacker matched against a wide receiver, he's got to back up and get in the play. Edmunds shouldn't be deeper than the corner.
-- To start the winning drive, Cleveland ran a simple play where Njoku and Goodwin ran side-by-side, Goodwin went deep, taking two defenders with him, while Njoku stopped and was wide open for 31 yards.
-- The winning field goal was inevitable after a rough third-and-15 pass to Njoku. This was the biggest second-guess of the game for the Bears. They rushed six, which is a risk against a calm, veteran QB like Flacco. The Bears ended up with defensive tackle Justin Jones backing into the area where Njoku was running, but he had no chance of stopping the play. Brisker ended up unblocked on his blitz, but the Bears left such a void for Njoku to fill, it wasn't even a challenging pass for Flacco.
Fourth-and-1 failure:
Based on the end zone view, wide receiver Darnell Mooney should be off the hook for what looked like a shoddy blocking effort on the fourth-and-1 play to open the fourth quarter. Bolingbrook's Cameron Mitchell made the tackle, but his first move was to step toward the interior of the line. Mooney saw this and stepped out, thinking he should go after Glenbard North's Greg Newsome, who was further downfield.
Once Mooney saw how quickly Mitchell reacted to Fields keeping the ball, he changed his mind and tried to give Mitchell a bump, but it was too late. Mitchell's shoe tackle tripped up Fields and the Bears missed a chance to snag a first down near the 30-yard line with a 17-7 lead.
Quick hitters:
Let's point out some good blocks. Cody Whitehair helped spring Roschon Johnson for the 22-yard run, longest of the day, which helped the Bears get away from their own goal line late in the second quarter. … On Velus Jones' 12-yard sweep in the third quarter, Johnson and seldom-used receiver Trent Taylor set the edge with two solid blocks. … There was no better illustration of how much defensive end Montez Sweat has helped than when he knocked over the lineman blocking teammate DeMarcus Walker, then still beat Walker to Flacco for the sack.
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