The Chicago Bears currently play in one of the toughest divisions in football. The NFC North franchise can ill afford to lose games to seemingly inferior teams, which is what happened on Sunday afternoon in London, England, against the Oakland Raiders.
The Bears lost, 24-21, to fall to 3-2 on the season. The archrival Green Bay Packers now lead the division at an impressive 4-1. If the Bears are going to keep pace with Green Bay — and the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions at that — in the NFC North standings, Chicago will need to correct the little mistakes and answer some burning questions heading into a Week 6 bye week.
Following the team's upcoming bye week, the Bears will take on the surging New Orleans Saints in Week 7 in hopes of avoiding falling back down to the .500 mark.
Can the Bears defense carry the rest of the team?
It is no secret that the Chicago Bears own one of the best defensive units in the entire NFL while this aspect of the NFC North franchise is by far the best the team has to offer at the moment. With the offense struggling mightily under the direction of backup quarterback Chase Daniel, the Bears defense will no doubt be forced to lead the way going forward if Chicago has any hope of returning to the postseason in 2019-20.
However, it remains to be seen as to whether or not the Bears defense is capable of doing so. Even though this is one of the best units in the entire NFL — offense, defense or special teams — it is a tough ask for a defense to lock down potent offenses week after week. With the Bears unable to put up serious points at the moment, the Bears defense will continually need to allow less than three scores per game in order for Chicago to keep things close so it seems — let alone win.
Although it is possible for the dominant Bears defense to keep this team alive as the regular season progresses, it is unlikely that Chicago will be able to keep up with the first place Green Bay Packers, who are currently stringing together quite the well-rounded attack.
Can backup quarterback Chase Daniel keep the offense afloat?
Chicago Bears starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is currently sidelined for an extended period of time due to a lingering shoulder injury suffered just a few weeks ago. As a result, the Bears have since been forced to turn the offense over to longtime NFL backup quarterback Chase Daniel, who is certainly one of the better reserve signal callers that the league has to offer.
Nonetheless, it remains to be seen as to whether or not Daniel can serve as a viable option under center for Bears head coach Matt Nagy. While the team's offense wasn't exactly running on all cylinders under the guidance of the aforementioned Trubisky, the Bears starter is most definitely still a major step up from Daniel.
Perhaps a bye week is just what this team — and more specifically its offense — needs with the New Orleans Saints next up on the docket.
Who is going to step up and become the focal point of the Bears offense?
With starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky ailing and backup quarterback Chase Daniel getting handed the keys to the offense, who will ultimately step up as the team's top playmaker on offense? As it stands today, the Bears do not have many options; head coach Matt Nagy likes to spread the football among several different weapons, whether they be wide receivers, running backs or both.
Nonetheless, one can infer that former jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson, who finally appears to be healthy, is going to be the one to lead this team's offensive attack. While Allen continues to impress when given the football, it will be tough to even get that far if the Bears are forced to put the football in the hands of Daniel for much longer. Unfortunately, a team's top wide out can only be as good as the guy throwing him the ball.
Despite the fact that Robinson has had to rely on Trubisky and Daniel, the veteran pass catcher continues to put his talent on full display when given the opportunity. The Bears' offense will need to continue to lean on Robinson if Chicago has any shot at glory this time around.
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