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Ravens 30, Bears 16: Three observations in Chicago’s NFL Week 8 loss

3 weeks agoScott Bair

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BALTIMORE — The Bears arrived Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium on a four-game winning streak, set to play a Ravens team that had lost four in a row.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson wouldn’t play, which was made official the previous day amid injury-report drama, and his team was in got-to-have-it mode to save its season. The Bears, meanwhile, were looking to continue their surge up the NFC standings with a run of good play, especially under pressure.

Both streaks ended, as the Ravens emerged with a 30-16 win.

Let’s look at three key takeaways as the Bears fell to 4-3 and the Ravens improved to 2-5:

Takeaway stream dries up

The Bears collected 15 takeaways during their four-game win streak, the chief reason why they were playing so well on defense. They had takeaways on roughly 37 percent of drives, which was impressive yet unsustainable. That was clear to everyone, even Chicago defenders.

It’s unfair to expect three or four takeaways per game forever, so not having one against the Ravens made life harder on the Bears’ offense, which often had been reliant on short fields to score. Chicago actually lost the turnover battle for the first time in forever.

The Bears had one giveaway, when Caleb Williams threw a brutal interception in the fourth quarter, deep in Chicago territory and down just three points. That’s unacceptable by any metric.

To make matters worse, the Ravens scored a touchdown shortly afterward to go ahead two scores.

The Bears eventually reduced their deficit to one score, but they couldn’t pull any closer, making that pick the game’s decisive moment.

Drives end in three points, not seven

The Bears put together two solid drives to start the game, with 13-play, 64-yard and 11-play, 61-yard sequences.

They came away with just two field goals.

That’s a recurring theme from wins over the Commanders and Saints, when the Bears were too reliant on field goals. One first-quarter field-goal drive against the Ravens ended in the red zone, the other just outside of it.

The Bears (again) hurt themselves with penalties — 11 for 79 yards — and struggled to stay on schedule as they approached the goal line. That’s why, despite controlling the tempo and time of possession, they were down 10-6 at halftime.

The Bears were successful early in the fourth quarter, when they absolutely had to have it. Running back D’Andre Swift was the catalyst and touchdown scorer. He moved Chicago into the red zone with an explosive run and a big catch-and-run reception, then finished the drive with a 2-yard TD run.

The Bears were 1-of-3 on scoring touchdowns in the red zone. Their last trip came late in the game when they had to score to keep hope alive, but they turned it over on downs at the Ravens’ 1-yard line.

Johnson said the Bears were working hard to improve in red-zone offense and must continue looking for solutions. Overall offensive efficiency could use some help, too.

Injuries really piling up

The Bears entered the game without any of their starting cornerbacks. Injuries ate at the defensive line during the game, too, with Dominique Robinson (ankle) lost early. Rookie Shemar Turner also was ruled out with a knee injury that didn’t look good.

That left Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo to play every snap, with only Daniel Hardy in reserve.

Rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III also was ruled out with a concussion late in the second half. And it was clear watching Swift run in the second half that he didn’t have his usual speed and burst. Receiver Olamide Zaccheaus also went to the injury tent late in the game after taking a big shot, though no injury update was provided.

All this bad news came one day after slot cornerback Kyler Gordon and reserve offensive lineman Braxton Jones were placed on injured reserve.

That’s a lot for a team to absorb, especially with the bye week already in the rearview.

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