After the Bears’ defeat in Week 2, coach Matt Eberflus blames everyone for the terrible pass protection.
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was questioned about pass protection after a 19-13 loss to the Houston Texans that saw rookie quarterback Caleb Williams sacked seven times.
The Bears have given up nine sacks in the first two weeks of the season, tied for the most in the league with the Las Vegas Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers. Eberflus said pass protection duties “is everybody,” adding it’s not just on the offensive line. Follow us on Facebook “I believe protection is everybody.
It’s the tight ends, it’s the offensive line, it’s the runners, it’s the quarterback, it’s everybody involved,” Eberflus told reporters after the loss Sunday night. “And obviously, we need to do a better job of running the ball than what we did.
We also need to establish the running game better than what we did because it’s always a good friend for a young quarterback when you can do that.” Related: Texans defense too much for Caleb Williams, Bears offense in 19-13 loss A CLOSER LOOK The running game in Chicago has been one of the worst in the NFL so far this season.
The Bears did score their first offensive touchdown of the season in Week 2 via the ground game on a short run by Khalil Herbert, as Williams is among four quarterbacks – Carolina’s Bryce Young, Washington’s Jaden Daniels, and Denver’s Bo Nix – to not throw a touchdown yet.
Tracking back to the running game, among teams with at least 35 rush attempts, Chicago has fifth-least amount of rushing yards in the NFL, averaging a fourth-worst 3.5 yards per carry. D’Andre Swift, who posted the first 1,000-yard rushing season with the Philadelphia Eagles last year, signed a three-year, $24 million deal with the Bears this offseason but hasn’t been anything to note through two games. It’s important to note the Eagles are one of the best offensive lines overall in the league and the Bears weren’t at the same talent level entering the season and haven’t shown much to start it.
Here’s how each Bears offensive lineman has graded out overall in two games, courtesy of Pro Football Focus. For reference, a grade of 60.0 is considered average while those in the 30s are very poor and those in the 90s are elite: Left tackle Braxton Jones: 62.3 Right tackle Darnell Wright: 59.5 Guard Teven Jenkins: 73.0 Guard Ryan Bates: 59.6* Guard Nate Davis: 57.4 Center Coleman Shelton: 66.6 *Bates was ruled out before the Texans game on Sunday. Jenkins stands out, as he received the fourth-best overall offensive rating (68.4) in Week 1 and was the highest-rated offensive player (72.7) in Week 2. Wright (72.7) was second to Davis (73.7) against the Titans but both had poor performances against the Texans, as Wright received a 49.0 grade and Davis received a 52.2 grade. Here’s a look at each offensive lineman’s pass-block and run-block grades as of Monday: PASS BLOCKING Jones: 73.4 Wright: 57.0 Jenkins: 54.6 Bates: 65.7 Davis: 61.9 Shelton: 55.6 RUN BLOCKING Jones: 58.5 Wright: 64.9 Jenkins: 78.5 Bates: 56.0 Davis: 67.8 Shelton: 75.2 Related: PFF player grades: Best, worst performers in Bears loss to Texans At a glance, it appears pass blocking has been more of an issue than run-blocking early in the season. The Bears are a more pass-centric offense, however, so that’s something to note.
Eberflus spoke about the running game’s issues following the loss. “Run game comes down to the basics,” Eberflus said. “It comes down to your combo blocks. It comes down to guys working their helmet in the right spot, staying square, working to the second level, spotting up to the second level, sticking and staying on the second level. “The perimeter blocking needs to improve with our push cracks, our crack blocking, blocking on the perimeter for perimeter screens. It just comes down to detail.
It comes down to us being consistent as a group to be able to get that done. We’ve got the guys, we’ve got the coaches, we’ve got the players. We’ve just got to be better at the details, be better at the fundamentals of running the ball.” If Chicago can get a run game to a respectable level, it will do wonders for the play-action-pass game and Williams. If not, NFL defenses will continue to feast on a rookie quarterback. The Bears head on the road to take on the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3.
The Colts held the Green Bay Packers to 122 passing yards – albeit, without starting quarterback Jordan Love – but gave up 261 rushing yards on the ground. The Colts also struggled against the run when they played the Texans to open the season, as Joe Mixon ran for 159 yards. It might be the week Eberflus puts even more of an emphasis on the run game to get pressure off of Williams and the offensive line.
