advertisement

Jeffery, Marshall both frustrated in Bears’ loss

Bears wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall were both frustrated after Sunday’s 26-18 loss to the Saints.

Jeffery, a second-round pick in just his second season out of South Carolina, had a career-best 10 catches and piled up 218 receiving yards, more than any player in franchise history. But it wasn’t enough to prevent a second straight loss.

“It’s not about what I did; it’s about what the team did, and we didn’t get the win,” said Jeffery, whose 3-yard TD catch was his second score of the season. “I’m more concerned about the ‘W,’ not about what I did.

“It’s a team thing. There were (10 other) guys that it took for me to get 200-plus yards or whatever I had.”

Jeffery now has a team-best 429 receiving yards on the season, shooting past the heavily-covered Marshall, who has 378. Marshall was held to 4 catches for 30 yards, although his 2-yard TD catch was his third of the season and helped bring the Bears to within 26-18 with 2:11 left in the game.

Marshall has 31 catches to Jeffery’s 28, and running back Matt Forte (27) and tight end Martellus Bennett (25) are closely bunched in a passing attack that is much more balanced than last season.

But his lack of productivity Sunday didn’t sit well with Marshall.

“It’s really tough,” he said. “I’m not going to lie to you. My No. 1 goal going into the workweek was to work on my body language when I’m not in the game. I (had) kind of let myself down, and the guys around me, with my body language. I got better at that (Sunday).”

But Marshall says his frustration ultimately comes down to the same as Jeffery’s — losing.

“The frustration comes when we’re not winning and the offense isn’t moving the ball,” Marshall said. “It has nothing to do with me. I have a nice contract, been to (four) Pro Bowls, made All-Pro.

“I want to win. Sometimes the formula may go to me, sometimes it doesn’t. Whatever’s best for the team, that’s what we need to do.”

Marshall said he wasn’t surprised by the huge numbers put up by Jeffery. The old pro invited the youngster down to South Florida to train with him in the off-season and predicts great things for him in the future.

“I didn’t think the season was going to be like this where it was going to be hard to get me the ball,” said Marshall, who was targeted just five times on Sunday but leads the team with 47, 2 more than Jeffery. “But at times we need another guy on the other side, and this guy had a career day. It’s just awesome to see this guy mature right before our eyes.”

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.