Chicago Bears: Lessons learned from Super Bowl LIV

The Chicago Bears can learn a lot from Super Bowl LIV — particularly as it relates to the San Francisco 49ers’ performance.

As the last piece of confetti fell to the natural grass turf of Hard Rock Stadium, Chicago Bears fans turned their attention to the 2020 season — if they hadn’t done so already. But in beginning to focus on next year, there were some lessons that were obvious from Sunday night’s game that must be considered as the team makes its offseason moves.

First and foremost, the team must improve their quarterback situation. The reality is Mitchell Trubisky‘s play last season fell short of expectations and what is needed to be a competitive team. While many have called for improvements in the offensive line, tight end group and playcalling, nothing will truly elevate the team’s offense like above-average quarterback play.

Do the Bears have to upgrade the tight end position? Yes. Do they have to be better at run blocking? Of course, they do. However, those thinking fixing those things is the magic elixir for this offense may be setting themselves up for disappointment.

In theory, the idea of pounding the ball in the run game and playing quality defense might sound appealing. Heck, it’s how the Bears played for decades. However, teams that play that style of football — usually to mask their quarterback’s warts — have very little margin for error. They must play virtually flawless football in all other aspects of their game, with the exception of the quarterback. The problem is when they don’t play flawlessly and they need the quarterback to step up — like the 49ers needed Jimmy Garoppolo to do on Sunday — they’re in trouble.

Bears fans no doubt had deja vu when Garoppolo sailed the ball over the head of Emmanuel Sanders, who had a step on his man. That pass would have put the 49ers ahead with 1:40 left in the game. Instead, they lost. When the Kansas City Chiefs stopped the run, and the 9ers had to turn to Garoppolo, he let them down. At the end of the day, you need a quarterback you win because of and not one you win in spite of.

As for the playcalling, there were a number of plays Andy Reid called in the game that would have drawn the ire of Bears fans had Matt Nagy done the same thing in similar situations. However, no one was railing against Reid — why? Well because those plays worked — and they worked because they had a quarterback who would execute. The speed option play on 4th and 1 in the second quarter comes to mind.

Again, the Bears can address their other issues but without competent quarterback play, it is simply window dressing. The offensive statistics may look better, but it is not going to overcome deficient quarterback play.

The other important lesson learned from the Super Bowl was the need for the Bears to add speed to their offense. Having players like Tyreke Hill and Sammy Watkins, with their speed, opens up so much in the middle of the field. Defensive backs must give them a little extra cushion to prevent getting burned deep, but in doing so, they give up a lot of underneath stuff. Of course, you still need a quarterback who can consistently complete 10-20 yard passes — but if you do, having that kind of speed can be a game-changer for the Bears’ offense.