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You'd be hard-pressed to find a single play that defines the early season struggles of any particular NFL team as well as the 4th and goal speed option that first-year Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron dialed up late in the 1st half against the Indianapolis Colts last weekend.
I don’t think it’s an overreaction to say the Chicago Bears just had the worst play call on 4th and goal in NFL History pic.twitter.com/udVzhCrLaw
— Nick Perkins (@NickyPerkss) September 22, 2024
After a few days of being roasted online by fans and by analysts alike — myself included — Shane Waldron finally put the blame on himself on Thursday afternoon, which is a little bit like the iceberg that sunk the Titanic saying to the 1,517 people who died “Hey guys, that was my bad!”
“All those things start with me,” Waldron said on Thursday, according to Nick Shook of NFL.com. “I've got to be better in that situation; I will moving forward.”
Waldron noted that three failed interior runs on the first three goal-to-go plays influenced the play-call on 4th down. But there lies the issue… those three failed runs up the middle were the types of plays you call when you have no faith in your talent. The 4th and goal option is a play you call when you're desperate. Given the talent and expectations the Bears offense came into the season with, there's no reason why Shane Waldron should be lacking faith or feeling desperate.
“I know we haven't lived up to what we want to be in our building right now in terms of some of the execution there,” Waldron said. “But the thing we can rely on is the communication has been great, it's been consistent and it's ever growing. … We're built the right way. The players are built the right way. Seeing that keep improving as we move forward is something that we'll show.”
Caleb Williams-Rome Odunze connection a highlight for Bears fans
The area where there has been the most improvement over the course of the first three weeks of the season has been in the connection between Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze. Odunze's only reception in his first career game was on a ball that was deflected into the air on a pass intended for DJ Moore. In Week 2's loss to the Houston Texans, Odunze hauled in just two of his five targets for 33 yards. But in Week 3, it was a breakout performance for the 9th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Caleb Williams targeted Odunze early and often against the Colts, throwing his way 11 times. Odunze recorded six catches for 112 yards and a touchdown. That included a pair of completions for 47 and 27 yards on Chicago's first two possessions of the 2nd quarter. Late in the game, Williams hit Odunze for a 1-yard touchdown, which Bears fans hope will be the first of many touchdown connections over the next handful of years.
