Chicago Bears’ Offense struggles in 27-17 loss to Buccaneers

Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears offense struggled for a second consecutive week as the team fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-17 on Sunday.

Aside from an electric 6-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to start the game, neither the running game nor the passing game generated much production. The Bears totaled 236 yards of total offense on 51 total plays, an abysmal average of 4.6 yards per play.

D.J. Moore acted as the lone offensive bright spot in Sunday’s loss, catching 6 of his 7 targets for 104 yards. However, the majority of his production came on the opening drive where he made catches of 33 and 31 yards.

For the second week in a row, Justin Fields was outplayed by the opposing team’s quarterback. Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield annihilated the Bears defense, completing 26 of his 34 passes for 317 yards and a touchdown.

Fields, on the other hand, completed a mere 55% of his passes for 211 yards. Fields accounted for both of Chicago’s touchdowns (one rushing and one passing), but tossed two interceptions, both in the final minutes of the game.

While the poor performances from Fields have been concerning early on, the Bears’ inability to establish the run has been even more puzzling. Just a season ago, the Bears led the entire NFL in rushing yards per game with 177.3.

Against Tampa Bay, the Bears ran the ball a mere 16 times for a total of 67 yards, an average of 4.2 YPC (that includes a 29-yard run by Roschon Johnson. Without that run the Bears averaged 2.5 YPC).

In 2022, the Bears exclusively featured the run game and the wheels of Justin Fields. On average, the Bears ran the ball 32.8 times per game, only trailing Philadelphia and Atlanta in total attempts. Fields appeared unstoppable, finishing the season with 1143 yards and 8 touchdowns.

In 2023, the run game looks like a shell of its former self. The additions of Darnell Wright, Nate Davis (who didn’t play against Tampa Bay), and Lucas Patrick into the starting lineup have seemed to set the running game back. Justin Fields registered 4 carries for 3 yards against Tampa Bay.

While it is unclear what part of the offense is stopping the team from reaching its potential, something needs to change. Nobody expected the Bears to contend for a championship in 2023, but an offensive regression was far from what the Chicago faithful had envisioned.