Chicago Bears: Three culprits to blame in loss to Patriots

#2: Leonard Floyd

After trading up to select outside linebacker Leonard Floyd in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the Bears have tried to maximize his potential. He’s dealt with injuries in the three seasons he’s played in the NFL but has largely underperformed. He faced a tough assignment on Sunday, and he was exposed dropping into coverage.

While the Bears have running back Tarik Cohen in the backfield as a pass-catching specialist, the Patriots have an equally dangerous specialist back in James White. White is one of Brady’s favorite targets, and he called out the Patriots coaching staff for not using him enough after a bad loss to the Detroit Lions. White was most successful on Sunday when Floyd had to cover him.

White runs a lot of option routes out of the backfield. This means that he can read the defense after the snap and choose what he thinks will be most successful from a set of pre-determined routes. Each time Floyd dropped into coverage against White, it seemed as if he had no shot to make a stop on the running back. Watch this five-yard touchdown to White. Floyd isn’t even close.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1054076196260958208

After three seasons with the Bears, Floyd has been largely unimpressive both in pass coverage and rushing the passer off the edge. The thought was that Floyd would get much better matchup options with the addition of Khalil Mack on the other side of the defense. Floyd has no sacks through six games this season. He’s got to be better if this team wants to be a playoff contender.