The Chicago Bears' winning ways came to an end on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Facing a Lamar Jackson-less team, Chicago had a solid chance of winning and extending their win streak to five games. However, they suffered a tough 30-16 loss that is closer than what the final score suggests.
Unfortunately, much of the blame for this game goes to quarterback Caleb Williams. Williams threw for 285 yards on the day, but he failed to find the endzone as a passer and as a runner. Perhaps his biggest mistake, though, was delivering the killing blow that eventually finished off the Bears in the fourth quarter.
Facing a 2nd-and-9 from their own four-yard line, coach Ben Johnson drew up a play-action scheme for Williams. It was a risky call inside his own endzone, but the Bears' offensive line did a great job blocking up the play. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain, as Williams threw a costly pick to Nate Wiggins that set the Ravens up inside the red zone.
Two plays later, the Ravens scored on a Jonathan Kolar Catch to put them up 23-13. That pick ended up being the decisive blow, as the Bears failed to find the endzone after that play. What's interesting, though, is the disconnect between Williams and Johnson on the play. Williams believes that he made the right read and that he just threw an inaccurate ball that Wiggins made a great play on.
“It was a good read: Rome man-to-man with the guy that caught the pick,” Williams said, per Adam Jahns. “I just didn’t give a good ball to Rome.”
Johnson doesn't see it the same way. “Just in my mind, there might have been another option that we could have gotten to,” the Bears coach said.
When watching the play, it does seem like both sides have a point. Williams definitely could have located the ball better for Rome Odunze, not allowing Wiggins to undercut the route. However, even with a perfect ball from the Bears QB, Marlon Humphrey was also in the vicinity to potentially break up the pass. Running back Kyle Monongai was also coming open after the play-action, which is probably the option Johnson was referring to.
In any case, this dispute will be settled when the Bears get to their film study session this week. The Bears still have a decent 4-3 record, but it was the perfect opportunity for Chicago to continue hanging around the NFC North title picture.
