Fox good with Bears' run-heavy offense
It remains to be seen if the success of the Bears' run-heavy offense is sustainable, but coach John Fox is fine with it.
The Bears' 231 rushing yards last Sunday were the most ever allowed by a Baltimore Ravens defense. The Bears' 54 rushing attempts were their most in 29 years.
"This is a combative game, a will-breaking game," Fox said. "Running the football is not the easy way to do it. You're not finessing people. I think it's a little bit like a championship boxing match. Body blows aren't real sexy, but they take their toll in the later rounds. It's a way to win. Maybe not as flashy, as exciting as knockouts and those kinds of things, but it works."
Does Fox have a preference?
"Yeah," he said, "winning. Doing the things it takes to win."
The Bears have averaged 226.5 rushing yards in their two victories. They had 222 in the 23-17 overtime victory over the Steelers. In their three losses, the Bears have rushed for an average of 91 yards.
Plenty of blame:
On the Ravens' 77-yard punt-return touchdown Sunday, they stationed 10 players at the line of scrimmage forcing the Bears' gunners (outside cover men) inside to prevent a potential block.
Punter Pat O'Donnell got the ball away, but it was deep and down the middle, giving Michael Campanaro running room.
"The punt's not the issue on that play," special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers said. "The issue is we've got multiple players that are unblocked in that situation, and if we do our part, the other guys on the field, that play doesn't happen.
They had four guys holding up eight and obviously we should have the advantage in that situation. We didn't spread our coverage out enough and they took advantage of it."
Meeting the challenge:
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco threw a lot of passes in Kyle Fuller's direction, but the Bears' cornerback more than held his own.
According to Pro Football Focus, Fuller earned the second-highest grade of his career at 88.9. He was targeted 15 times but allowed just 5 catches for 43 yards for just a 42.4 passer rating. Fuller had 3 pass breakups based on press box statistics, and PFF credited him with four other plays where his coverage directly forced an incompletion.
Center of attention:
Cody Whitehair's most noticeable snap vs. the Ravens Sunday was the one that sailed past Mitch Trubisky toward the Bears' end zone.
Trubisky was able to retrieve the errant snap and throw the ball away, and Whitehair was beyond solid on his other 79 snaps. He never played center until a week before last year's season opener.
"He's gotten better," offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said. "But you're talking about two weeks in a row of completely dominating. The last two weeks we've been able to move those guys inside.
"He did have the one that obviously is unacceptable, and no one owns that more than Cody Whitehair does. But he is a really good football player, and let's not lose sight of the 79 snaps where he really helped the team run the football, and you can't do that without a Cody Whitehair at center."
Injury report:
Linebacker John Timu (ankle/knee), wide receiver Markus Wheaton (groin) and cornerback Sherrick McManis (hamstring) remained out of practice.
Linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski (chest), center Hroniss Grasu (hand) and running back Benny Cunningham (hamstring) were again limited, while wide receiver Tanner Gentry (hip) was a full participant.
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