The Chicago Bears (3-4) will face a big test as they travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles (4-4) at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
If the Bears are going to get a much-needed victory, they’re going to need a lot of help from their offense, which has been okay at best and horrid at worst.
But in order for the Bears offense to be effective, it’s simple.
Here are three keys for the Bears’ offense in Week 9’s contest vs. the Eagles.
1. Remain committed to the run
Matt Nagy was brought to Chicago to bring life to a Bears offense that historically — and for the past couple of decades — has been medicore and reliant on the defense. Nagy has made his stance perfectly clear on not wanting to run the football a ton, but you can’t get away with just passing in the NFL.
Prior to last week, the Bears offense failed to establish a balance between the run and pass, which made them wholly one-dimensional and predictable. But now that the Bears got the run game going — after a 135 yard rushing performance from running back David Montgomery — they found that balance.
Now, they need to maintain that balance. Remain committed to the run to help out your struggling quarterback and utilize your rookie running back.
2. Protect the football
The simple fact of the matter is that if quarterback Mitchell Trubisky didn’t commit two egregious fourth-quarter turnovers, the Bears likely would’ve beat the Chargers last week. But he did, and the Bears lost after Eddy Pineiro missed a 41-yard field goal wide left.
When it comes to being effective as an offense, protecting the football goes without saying. But, as is everything, it’s easier said than done. Although prior to the Saints game, the Bears hadn’t been a turnover machine. When they started, the losses started piling up.
If the Bears defense can do what it does best and dominate a game, then the key to victory for the Bears offense might be as simple as protecting the football.
3. Convert on redzone opportunities
While the Bears offense was able to get the run game going last week, they failed to take advantage of several opportunities in the redzone, especially with goal-to-go situations.
When you have first-and-goal on the 4-yard line, you can’t leave that touchdown on the field. The Bears offense needs to convert on those opportunities in the redzone, especially when they’re within the 10-yard line. As they learned the hard way last week, those missed points will come back to haunt you.
