Bears' Coach Comments on Velus Jones' Disastrous Start to Season

The Chicago Bears overcame a 14-point halftime deficit on Sunday to defeat the Tennessee Titans, 24-17 at Soldier Field.

It wasn’t a pretty game for the Bears as the offense struggled mightily and the special teams unit had a huge blunder in the first half, which helped put Chicago in a hole early. Former third-round pick Velus Jones Jr. had a blatant miscue on Sunday afternoon as he muffed a kickoff return in the first quarter.

Jones kicked the ball 20 yards ahead of him, giving the Tennessee Titans great field position. But thankfully, the Bears' defense was able to buckle down and hold the Titans to a Nick Folk 40-yard field goal.

Subsequently, Jones was replaced by DeAndre Carter and Khalil Herbert on the kickoff return team. After the comeback win, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was asked about Jones Jr.’s performance and threw his support behind the wide receiver.

“I was proud of Velus. Not how he wanted that to go…He did a nice job coming in at half back,” Eberflus said (h/t CHGO Bears).

Jones only received two snaps at running back, recording 11 yards on the ground. The former third-round pick also added one reception for eight yards.

It wasn’t a spectacular performance from Jones Jr, who took a huge stride in the preseason by learning the running back position to stick on the 53-man roster. However, Eberflus likely hopes that he will improve next week against the Houston Texans.

The entire Bears offense struggled on Sunday, so no one should be shocked to see Jones only have 11 yards on the ground. But it will be interesting to see what the Bears do with Jones and the kick return unit.

Carter looked terrific in his only kick return on Sunday, picking up 66 yards and giving Chicago great field position. Conventional wisdom says to give Jones another chance at kick returner, but if he has another miscue next week, it could put him on thin ice.

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