Chicago Bears: Game against Denver Broncos a must-win
After a poor coaching performance and lackluster results by starting Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and the offense in game one , is game two against the Denver Broncos a must win game for the Chicago Bears?
It was a beautiful Thursday evening in Chicago…Fall was in the air, pumpkin spiced everything was on sale, and the Monsters of the Midway were back! At least we thought they were. Never had there been so much hype for a Chicago Bears season opener in recent memory…
The centennial anniversary for the NFL and the Bears, Super Bowl aspirations for a championship starved franchise and the World’s greatest fans — it was all laid out.
It appeared to be a promising start to the season, which included the team paying homage to its storied past by trotting out the 85′ Super Bowl squad just prior to kickoff and 2018 NFL Coach of the Year, Matt Nagy, channeling his inner George “Papa Bear” Halas by wearing a fedora into Solider Field. Sadly, those were the only highlights of the night for the team as they failed to muster any semblance of an offense against an improved Packers defense.
Fast forward to week two and the Bears are squaring off against a familiar figure in new Denver Broncos head coach, Vic Fangio, who will look to take advantage of his intimate knowledge of Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears offense at home. While the season is still very young, can the Bears afford to start the season at O-2? The percentage of teams that go on to make the playoffs, let alone a Super Bowl appearance after going win-less in their first couple of games is relatively low.
What would a loss do for the team’s psyche and confidence going forward? How will Nagy approach Mitchell Trubisky’s development if he fails to make significant progress this week in Denver? Can the defense be counted on to shoulder the majority of the burden week-in and out? Will they hold up over the course of a 16 game season? Will Nagy trust his kicker with field goal attempts longer than 38 yards? These are all fair questions for Bears fans who are starting to get a little nervous.
Despite it being very early, I think this week’s game against the Broncos is a must win for the Bears. It’s also a must-perform moment for Mitchell Trubisky. Although the offensive line did a poor job of protecting him last week against Green Bay, he needs to run through his progressions faster, get rid of the football quicker, and limit the amount of plays he is telegraphing with his eyes. Trubisky does not need to be Tom Brady…but he does need to respond to last week’s terrible performance and silence the naysayers and fans who are already looking to his future replacement.
Next. What will it take to win in Denver?. dark
The message from Bears fans to Coach Nagy? Stop being cute. You have a Super Bowl ready defense that shouldn’t be squandered. Tailor the offense to Trubisky’s strengths, commit to the run, and for the love of Pete stop handing the ball of to Cordarrelle Patterson on a third down and one on a crucial drive in the game. We have a winnable game against Denver, if you’ll only stick to what works for your offense and provide the defense the cushion they need to deliver a win. Bears will be watching very closely on Sunday.