Just one year removed from a 12-4 season and postseason appearance, the Chicago Bears stumbled to a 8-8 season in 2019. There were many factors that contributed to those struggles, mostly on offense.
Now, the Bears will look to rebound in 2020, and there are several things that will ultimately determine whether the Bears find success in 2020, including on an offense that put up one of the worst performances last season.
Here are five factors that could make or break the Bears this season.
1. Quarterback play
The Bears offense was among the worst in the NFL last season. While quarterback wasn’t the only issue on offense for the Bears, it was the biggest concern. Mitchell Trubisky was supposed to take the next step in his third year, but he regressed to the point where general manager Ryan Pace was forced to bring in competition — and his potential replacement — in Nick Foles. Now, Trubisky and Foles will battle for the starting job.
If the Bears offense is going to right the ship, it starts with the play at quarterback. Whether that’s a motivated Trubisky or a renewed Foles, Chicago needs better play from the quarterback position. Plain and simple. Sure, there are other areas that need to improve on offense, but it starts with the quarterback.
2. Run game
One of the biggest failures of the Bears offense last season was the run game. Chicago had one of the worst run games in the league last season, averaging 3.7 yards per rush in 2019, which tied for 27th in the league. The lack of balance on offense certainly didn’t help Chicago either.
The Bears have spent the offseason working on how to fix the run game. While the running back room will remain consistent with David Montgomery, Tarik Cohen and Ryan Nall, Nagy brought in some new offensive minds in offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and offensive line coach Juan Castillo to help perfect it. The Bears also brought in veteran offensive lineman Germain Ifedi, who will likely occupy the starting right guard job.
3. Takeaways
The Bears defense was far from the issue last season, but they did regress in some key areas. Perhaps the biggest area was takeaways. Chicago led the league with 36 takeaways in 2018, which was a big part in the defense’s dominance.
While Chicago remained a top defense in 2019 — allowing the fourth-fewest points in the NFL — they struggled to create turnovers. The Bears had just 19 takeaways last season, which ranked 22nd in the league. A far cry from their 2018 output. The Bears will be focused on getting those numbers up in 2020, which should be helped by Chicago’s pass rush and Eddie Jackson returning to free safety.
4. Division play
If the Bears are going to have a chance at making the playoffs, they’re going to need to take care of business inside the NFC North. Chicago has gone 4-2 in the division over the last two seasons, including 4-0 against the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. But the hurdle for the Bears remains their rivals to the north in the Green Bay Packers, who Chicago has gone 1-3 against in the last two years.
Chicago opens the season against the Lions, where they have a chance to win a season opener for the first time in the last six years. Then, they don’t face their division rivals until the final stretch of their schedule, which includes five divisional games in the last eight weeks. Which means if the Bears want a return to the postseason, they need to take care of business in the second stretch against their NFC North rivals.
5. Injuries
One of the key factors in Chicago’s success in 2018 was the overall health of their roster. While they suffered some minor dings along the way, including a couple of missed games by Khalil Mack, Allen Robinson and Eddie Jackson, they didn’t suffer any significant losses.
But last season, the Bears lost several players for an extended duration, including some that landed on injured reserve, including defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, linebackers Danny Trevathan, Roquan Smith and tight ends Trey Burton, Adam Shaheen and Ben Braunecker.
