Bears most to blame for Week 3 loss to Colts

By way of a 21-16 defeat at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts, the Chicago Bears took their second consecutive loss on Sunday afternoon in what could only be described as an ugly, disjointed, and remarkably frustrating game, especially if you are, as I am, a fan of the Chicago Bears. It's the third such game the Bears have played this year, and frankly, if it weren't for a blocked punt and a Will Levis meltdown in Week 1, this team would be staring at an 0-3 hole right now.

It's hard to say which of these first three games have been cause for the most concern, but this loss to Indianapolis feels the most perplexing.

The Bears ran 30 more plays and had 11 more first downs than the Colts, converting on a respectable 43 percent of their 3rd downs and averaging over 7 plays per drive. Yes, the Bears offense committed three turnovers, but the defense also picked off Anthony Richardson twice, so it's not as if Indianapolis had an overwhelming advantage in the turnover column.

So where the hell did this game go sideways?

It would be easy to look at the three turnovers Caleb Williams had — now five in three games — and point the finger of blame at him, but to me, it continues to look like Caleb Williams is evolving and improving with each game that goes by. Yes, he missed badly on some throws. Yes, he's still a little too reckless with the ball. But there are plenty of factors beyond Caleb's control that go a long way in explaining some of his early struggles.

Amazingly, there is one single still-shot that captures how the Bears lost this game, and explains why this team may ultimately come up way short of the lofty preseason expectations many around the league had.

Let's break it all down.

The Bears Offensive Line 

Caleb Williams has been sacked 13 times (3rd most in the league) so far this year, and his sack percentage is a disgusting 9.92 percent. Now some of this is on Williams, who coming out of USC had been knocked for holding onto the ball a too long. But most of the blame should be shouldered by an offensive line that has been beaten too many times by four-man rushes, and seemed to have absolutely no clue how to pick up a blitz against the Houston Texans in Week 2.

Whether that's poor coaching (more on this in a bit) or just horrendous execution, something needs to be done about this unit's performance. We've seen young quarterbacks progression get derailed by dreadful offensive lines in the past — Bears fans should remember what happened with Justin Fields — and Chicago can't afford to let it happen to Caleb Williams too. There isn't much that can be done right now, but Ryan Poles needs to make bolstering the offensive line priority number one in the 2025 offseason.

D'Andre Swift 

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The Indianapolis Colts came into this game as the league's worst run defense (by far), and yet the Bears, who the last two seasons have been among the league's best rushing offenses, could only manage 63 yards on 28 carries. Now again, some of this is on scheme (like I said, we'll get there) and some of this is on the offensive line, but what the hell are the Bears paying D'Andre Swift $24 million for if he can't even average 24 yards per game? 

Far too often, Swift has shown no burst and no vision, and he has yet to break a tackle, according to Pro Football Reference. Against Indy, he ran the ball 13 times for 20 yards, and the rest of the Bears backfield didn't fare much better. Khalil Herbert, whose lack of usage through the first two weeks of the season has been a point of conversation, rushed four times for 9 yards. Roschon Johnson, making his season debut, looked like the best of the bunch, logging eight carries for 30 yards.

Shane Waldron (and by association, Matt Eberflus) 

At the exact same time on Sunday afternoon — right after that miserable speed option call — every single Bears fan had the same realization regarding offensive coordinator Shane Waldron:

It's not just Shane Waldron's play-calling has lacked rhythm or been so predictable, it's the tiny nuances that are maddening. For example, on the aforementioned speed option, 5'8″ 190 lb. receiver DeAndre Carter was on the field and tasked with blocking a Colts linebacker. On the strip sack that ended up sealing the game for Indianapolis, Cole Kmet was left on an island to block Laiatu Latu. This is stuff that shouldn't be happening, especially for a guy who isn't a first-time play caller.

But just because Shane Waldron is giving us Getsy flashbacks — who gave us Matt Nagy flashbacks — it doesn't mean that head coach Matt Eberflus should be let off the hook either. Between the beard and the Hard Knocks publicity tour, it's almost as if we've been Jedi mind-tricked into forgetting that Eberflus is 11-26 as the Bears head coach, and won't be back next year if this team doesn't end the season with a winning record.