Overreactions: Caleb Williams getting help, D’Andre Swift, Shane Waldron and Bears playing Panthers every week
The Bears have won two straight games, including Sunday’s dominant 36-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
There’s no way the Chicago fan base was fired up over that development, right? Panthers struggles be darned, explosive talent on display added confidence to what the Bears can do if the offense gets running in cohesion with an already-humming defense.
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That added excitement to the in-game group text chains among those Bears fans at Marquee Sports Network, from which we crowd source our Bears over-reactions each week. Those texters will remain anonymous to ensure they keep messaging freely, but we’ll get to their thoughts, comments and concerns in these post-Panthers overreactions.
The Bears offense is…good?
Overreaction: No.
To answer that question directly: just maybe, and possibly yes. We’ve always known that this Bears offense had talent. DJ Moore and Keenan Allen are top-tier receivers. Rome Odunze is a top-10 pick. Cole Kmet’s a premiere tight end. D’Andre Swift is a home-run hitter as a runner and check-down/screen option.
Caleb Williams is a phenomenal talent. If he could figure it out quickly and get protected by the offensive line, this Bears offense could be something special.
All that was offseason hype. The execution wasn’t so great early on, leaving many to wonder whether this offense would realize vast potential. I don’t think that question has been answered yet, not until we see more consistency.
There’s no doubt that Williams is special and that this group of skill players can play. What happens when an aspect of the game is taken away by a good defense? What happens when adversity is inevitably faced? If the Bears respond well from an offensive perspective, that will mean the offense is good. A lot of that will ride on the quarterback and the offensive line that gives him a puncher’s chance.
The run game makes Caleb Williams better
Overreaction?: Heck no.
It’s no coincidence that Williams has been better when the run game has taken off. It provides offensive balance, takes the pressure off the young quarterback and allows him to throw in less obvious passing situations.
While the overall yards per carry average weren’t outstanding against Carolina at just 3.3 overall, but the stat was dampened by some obvious running situations in the second half with the Bears holding a massive lead. The Bears had 97 yards and 4.0 ypc in the first half when the game was competitive.
D’Andre Swift was a handful in the early going, with 15 carries for 67 yards and a 43-yard catch in the first half. That presence kept the Panthers honest, which allowed Shane Waldron to call pass plays designed to attack every level of Carolina’s defen. Williams executed that approach well, especially when the Bears were on the ball and operating with some pace. It’s easier to function with a balanced offense, and we’ve seen Williams thrive in those situations.
The Super Bowl’s back in play
Overreation?: Juuuuust a little bit
I’m 99 percent sure this one was sent, somewhat in jest, after the Bears got off to a hot start. There was a high level of excitement about how the Bears played, likely because of the explosiveness on display from DJ Moore, Swift and others Bears skill players while operating with Caleb Williams, who continues to progress each week and is doing the basics and the fantastic equally well.
Here’s the main problem even talking playoffs with the Bears at 3-2. The NFC North might be the toughest division in NFL football. The Vikings are 5-0. The Lions are 3-1 and just had a bye. The Bears and Packers are above .500, with Green Bay earning two wins while Jordan Love was out with injury.
All four teams are good. Not all of them will make the playoffs after beating each other up at the end of the regular season. If the Bears continue to play like they have recently, they’ll have a chance to play deeper into the winter. That’s no guarantee in this division. It’ll take a CJ Stroud-like effort from Williams in his rookie year and continued dominance from this defense against the top competition they’ll inevitably face.
Chicago’s only focus should be on stacking wins. If that happens, deserved optimism will continue to grow.
I wish we could play the Panthers every week
Overreaction: No
I’m sure most teams, except the Raiders, feel that way. The Panthers aren’t very good. Their defense has been decimated by injury at every level, and their medical tent was full for most of Sunday’s game.
While that creates questions about how much value we should put into the Bears offensive explosion, the players themselves believe it’s more about their own execution than anything else.
“We don’t measure it against the defense that we play,” Rome Odunze said. “It’s about the execution that we have, our capabilities and our standards. As long as we adhere to that and we’re trying to continually get better, then we’ve had a good day.
“I thought we were firing on a lot of cylinders – I wouldn’t say all of them, though – and we had great success. Going forward, we can continue to make improvements so that this offense can put out a product like that on a regular basis.”
I’ve used that Odunze quote in two separate stories now. That’s how much I like it. It acknowledges that execution matters more than the team the Bears are facing, and that there’s potential to tap. I believe both of those points are true. The Bears will have to prove it, though, against a team better than Carolina. They’ve got some bad defenses ahead on their schedule so, to borrow from Odunze, focusing internally on execution will be more important that any numbers put up. The season would be easier if Chicago plays the Panthers every week, but there’s enough talent here that it’s more about what the Bears do than what the opposition is doing.