Chicago Bears are still a work in progress

The Chicago Bears still have a lot of work left to do.

The Chicago Bears are still very much a work in progress, which was apparent even after their victory on Sunday against the New York Giants. In a game that came down to the wire at Soldier Field, the Bears held off a final drive by Daniel Jones and the G-Men, to sneak out with a 17-13 win and begin the season 2-0.

In doing so, their chances of making the playoffs increased dramatically — at least statistically. However, if this team wants to have a realistic shot at making the playoffs, then there is much work to do over the coming weeks and months.

In their opener, they needed an otherworldly fourth quarter to overcome an already porous Detroit Lions’ secondary which lost key contributors during the game. In addition, the defense struggled to stop the run, as it clearly missed the presence of Eddie Goldman.

On Sunday, the team seemed to do a much better job against the run, only yielding a total of 75 yards. However, the Giants were without Saquon Barkley for most of the game, as he left after the first play of the second quarter with a knee injury.

One theme that continued from Week 1, though, was the Bears’ ability to run the football. They rushed for 135 yards after galloping for 149 last week. In doing so, Matt Nagy has demonstrated a willingness to commit to the run this year.

Another trend that persisted, albeit a negative one, was their inconsistency on offense. As noted above, the Bears’ offense was pedestrian for three quarters last week. After a relatively strong first-half performance from Mitch Trubisky (13-18 for 159 yards and two touchdowns), he stalled in the second-half (5-10, 31 yards and two interceptions).

For the Bears, the first two weeks offered an opportunity to work out the kinks against a pair of sub-par teams. As they move into Week 3, they won’t have that luxury as they face the Atlanta Falcons. Although they are 0-2, they have lost to the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys. In those two losses, they put up a combined 64 points, so scoring won’t be a problem for them.

They have, however, surrendered their share of points, giving up 78. However, the question will be whether the inconsistent Bears offense can take advantage and capitalize, or will they continue this Jeckyl and Hyde routine? If it’s the latter, it’s hard to imagine them scoring enough points to keep pace.