The Chicago Bears were unable to find an offensive spark in their 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 10. Part of the reason was just how bad the offensive line was.
Chicago allowed Caleb Williams to be sacked eight times. It's the first time the Bears have allowed six+ sacks in back-to-back weeks since 1993. Sunday's loss also marked the seventh time the Bears have allowed six+ sacks in a game under Matt Eberflus, via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic.
From 2013-2021, between the Marc Trestman, John Fox and Matt Nagy eras, Chicago allowed six+ sacks three times total. Amidst the calls for Eberflus' job, the offensive line hitting a franchise low certainly won't keep his seat any less cool.
To be fair, it isn't all Eberflus' fault. General Manager Ryan Poles built the roster in front of him. Furthermore, the Bears were without Darnell Wright, Braxton Jones, Nate Davis and Kiran Amegadjie against the Patriots. Still, offense has been a problem all season, and Sunday's performance was another firm example of it.
Williams completed 16-of-30 passes for 120 scoreless yards. He averaged just 3.9 yards per attempt and earned a passer rating of 61.3. D'Andre Swift led the way with 59 yards. But it came on 16 carries as he averaged just 3.7 yards per touch. The longest pass of the day was 18 yards to DJ Moore. And as a whole, the Bears gained just 142 yards of total offense.
All of those problems can't solely be attributed to the offensive line, but their issues didn't help. Chicago is now 4-5 on the season and dropped a game to a Patriots team who moved to 3-7. The playoffs seem nearly impossible for a Bears team continuing to crumble.
The offensive line will need to be figured out, both short and long-term. But they'll also need to find a way to score more than three points against a Patriots team who entered the week ranked 25th overall in total defense.