Why the Bears are running the ball better

The great Cincinnati escape was whatever you perceive it to be.

A thrilling win, near collapse, promising signs for the offense, a reminder to never apologize for a win? It all fits.

The Bears received plenty of good fortune Sunday, especially early in the game. Chase Brown dropped a pass across the middle that likely would have been a third-down conversion. The Bengals jumped offside on a missed field goal by Cairo Santos. They got a false start penalty on third-and-2, and Ja'Marr Chase dropped a potential touchdown pass.

Those four plays alone handed the Bears roughly 15 points. And imagine if the Cincinnati defense had any sort of plan for containing Caleb Williams’ scrambles.

If there's a defining trait of the Bears right now, it's the run game. While the offensive line has been decent, the perimeter blocking has been outstanding.

Rookie Colston Loveland has made huge strides already with his blocking. But the Bears are getting valuable contributions from all three tight ends, and all three of the main receivers. This has been invaluable to the offensive success.

The Bears ran a sweep play twice, once in each direction, and they gained a combined 52 yards. The play features zone blocking across most of the line, while the outside receivers seal the edge and the strong-side tackle bounces to the outside to block the cornerback.

When they ran this the first time, Kyle Monangai gained 13 yards, cutting between Loveland and left tackle Theo Benedet, but was a step away from being off to the races for a potential 76-yard touchdown.

The sweep right went for 39 yards and set up the touchdown that put the Bears ahead 41-27. This one had nice seal blocks by D.J. Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus, a kick-out from Darnell Wright, then Monangai juked a defensive back.

There were other examples: The jet sweep flip to Zaccheus that went for a 14-yard TD featured winning blocks on the perimeter by Durham Smythe and Rome Odunze. Loveland helped secure the Moore reverse touchdown late in the game.

The 22-yard TD run by new arrival Brittain Brown was another success story, with Smythe, Loveland and Odunze clearing the path.

So if anyone's disappointed by Odunze's zero-catch, zero fantasy points performance, please try to appreciate his blocking.

Kicking time

So what was the deal with the Bears’ kickoff coverage? Deerfield High School graduate Charlie Jones ripped the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, then the second kickoff was taken almost to midfield.

On the touchdown, the Bengals pulled off a nice trick play. They sent two blockers at Daniel Hardy, who lined up as the third player from the right end. While players around him hustled downfield, Hardy was shoved backward by two blockers, which opened up a huge seam. The next-closest guys couldn't get off blocks. Kicker Cairo Santos was the last hope and he couldn't get a finger on Jones, a speedster who finished college at Purdue.

Mounting injuries might have something to do with the special teams performance. A couple guys who were in the middle of the two long kick returns are very deep-cut roster types — linebacker Carl Jones Jr. and receiver Jahdae Walker. Jones spent all of last season on the practice squad, while Walker is an undrafted rookie from Texas A&M with no stats to his name.

The Bears kicked away from Jones on the next three returns, and the Bengals didn't appear to try the double-team block scheme again. Then the Bears' coverage just got much better as the game went on. In fact, Walker made a nice stop in the second half, while running back Travis Homer added a pair of nice return tackles.

Best plays

There was no shortage of creativity in the Bears offensive plan Sunday, but some of the more subtle plays also stood out.

On the opening drive, the Bears ran a fake bootleg, with three receivers running routes to the right side, while Williams tossed a throwback screen left to Moore for 19 yards.

The double reverse pass that went for a touchdown from Moore to Williams, it's hard to imagine what the defense was thinking. D.J. Turner, the cornerback on that side, stayed home on the reverse handoff, then never even looked at Williams as he trotted into the end zone to catch the pass.

Another good one was a third-and-4 late in the first half. Cole Kmet chipped the edge rusher, then headed across the middle on a quick tight end delay. Meanwhile, Cincinnati linebacker Demetrius Knight locked onto Homer, who headed into the flat from the running back spot.

The result was Kmet wide open for an easy 10-yard gain and first down, which led to a field goal.