Chicago Bears Offense Stuck in Neutral as They Face NFC North Gauntlet
Twelve summers ago, the first weekend of Packers training camp coincided with the wedding of my future wife's college friends in Green Bay.
I chalked it up to football mania when the DJ spun interludes of "Go Pack Go" at the groom's behest. It felt beyond obsession, though, once the music pivoted to "The Bears Still Suck Polka," especially with the bride hailing from suburban Chicago.
Nowadays, The Happy Schnapps Combo's biggest hit resonates as both prophetic and precise. A Week 10 home loss to the once-punchless New England Patriots stretched the Bears' skid to three games after a promising 4-2 start behind seeming franchise savior Caleb Williams.
It's too soon to say Williams is ruined as a franchise QB —although some sky-is-falling sports talkers have—but one can't deny this: An inept attack and crummy chemistry have the 2024 Bears cooked.
You need not be the next Nostradamus to sense that this much-hyped season will get worse. Sunday's visit from the Packers starts a stretch in which the Bears will face their NFC North foes in six of the next eight weeks, including three straight.
Division-leading Detroit (8-1), Minnesota (7-2), and Green Bay (6-3) all figure to bolster those playoff chances with two cracks apiece at Chicago.
The Packers carry a 10-game winning streak against the Bears in the NFL's oldest rivalry, outscoring them by 127 points over that span while racking up a plus-19 turnover differential.
"They've been doing really well," Bears tight end Cole Kmet said. "I haven't won that [rivalry] game yet, but that's a game that can course-correct a lot of things, I think, especially if you look good."
Kudos to Kmet for his optimism, but the Bears probably won't pass the eye test at Soldier Field on Sunday, at least when they have the ball.
Chicago enters the game on a streak of 23 consecutive possessions without a touchdown, has managed just 27 points in a three-game losing streak, and has allowed 16 sacks of Williams in the past two weeks.
The offense averages 277.6 yards per game, third lowest in the league, and is breaking in new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown after coach Matt Eberflus fired predecessor Shane Waldron this week.
With Bears fans chanting for Eberflus' dismissal during the Patriots game—"I"know it's part of the job," the 14-29 coach said—the organization made a needed change. Something had to give.
It seems Waldron's giving personality might have paved the way to his ineffectiveness over a nine-game tenure, however.
"I would say just probably he was too nice of a guy," said wide receiver Keenan Allen, one of the organization's high-profile offseason acquisitions intended to accelerate Williams' development. "I think during OTAs, training camp, he kind of fell into a trap of letting things go, not holding people accountable. Obviously, those things led to a slippery slope."
Questions about Eberflus' hold on the locker room mounted even when the current skid merely was one game old.
Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson's trash-talking of Washington Commanders fans moments before his missed assignment helped the defense allow a game-winning Hail Mary as time expired in Week 8 clearly violated much of Eberflus' famed "HITS" principle.
That's Hustle, Intensity, Takeaways, and (playing) Smart.
Eberflus only demoted Stevenson temporarily at Arizona the following week. He didn't start the game but played most of it after teammate Terrell Smith suffered an ankle injury.
Chicago fans know an anagram for "HITS" all too well lately.
Indeed, the Bears still—take it away, Happy Schnappsters.
