The Bears had a must-win game slip through their fingers on Thursday against the Washington Commanders at Soldier Field.
Chicago held the Commanders to 214 total yards, but a Velus Jones Jr. muffed punt and a Darnell Mooney bobble cost the Bears a win as Carson Wentz and Co. left Chicago with a 12-7 win.
The Bears now have lost three straight games and sit at 2-4.
Head coach Matt Eberflus and his team have a lot of questions and zero answers as they prepare for a Monday night date with the New England Patriots.
Before we move onto New England, let’s sift through the rubble from the Bears’ loss to the Commanders on Thursday night:
Overreaction? I don’t think so.
For this, I went back to 2009 and looked at all the situations that first-round quarterbacks landed in and found 15 that were pretty, pretty ugly.
NFL
Staring with Stafford, here’s a brief overview of each of the 15 rookie quarterbacks’ top offensive weapons upon being drafted.
Matthew Stafford: Calvin Johnson, Kevin Smith, Bryant Johnson
Josh Freeman: Cadillac Williams, Kellen Winslow Jr., Antonio Bryant
Sam Bradford: Steven Jackson, Brandon Gibson, Laurent Robinson
Blaine Gabbert: Maurice Jones-Drew, Mercedes Lewis, Mike Thomas
Andrew Luck: Vick Ballard, Reggie Wayne, Donnie Avery
Ryan Tannehill: Reggie Bush, Brian Hartline, Davone Bess
E.J. Manuel: C.J. Spiller, Steve Johnson, Robert Woods (rookie)
Blake Bortles: Denard Robinson, Marquise Lee (rookie), Allen Hurns (rookie)
Marcus Mariota: Delanie Walker, Antonio Andrews, Harry Douglas
Mitch Trubisky: Jordan Howard, Josh Bellamy, Kendall Wright
Sam Darnold: Bilal Powell, Robbie Anderson, Quincy Enunwa
Josh Allen: LeSean McCoy, Zay Jones, Kelvin Benjamin
Joe Burrow: Gio Bernard, A.J. Green, Tee Higgins (rookie)
Zach Wilson: Michael Carter (rookie), Keelan Cole, Corey Davis
Justin Fields: David Montgomery, Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet
Most of the quarterbacks listed above, like Fields, also found themselves behind patchwork offensive lines. Burrow, Luck, and Stafford were especially hammered in early in their careers. In Luck’s case, he took a beating throughout and chose early retirement after several injuries.
Now, I’d also split the list above into two separate categories: those who were legit first-round talents with star potential and those who weren’t but found themselves getting drafted above slot.
So, let’s pair 15 down to 8: Stafford, Bradford, Luck, Mariota, Darnold, Allen, Burrow, Wilson, and Fields.
None of those eight found themselves in a great situation. At least Allen, Burrow, Wilson, and Luck landed in situations with coaching stability and an organization willing to build around them from the jump.
Stafford might have had Calvin Johnson, but he received no help from his offensive line or defense during his time in Detroit. The Titans never built around what Mariota did well and were frustrated when the square peg wouldn’t fit in a round hole. In 49 career games with the Rams, Bradford was sacked 120 times (!). Darnold got one season with Todd Bowles and two with Adam Gase before being shipped off to Carolina. He was sacked 98 times in three seasons in New York.
Fields was drafted by a lame-duck regime that didn’t put him in position to succeed. New general manager Ryan Poles entered and didn’t use what little resources he had at his disposal to at least field an offensive line to keep Fields upright in Year 2. Outside of Mooney, Fields has no one to throw to and he is being pounded every week. The quickest way to wreck a young quarterback is to get him hit so much he starts either seeing ghosts or leaves the pocket too early.
I don’t know if Fields is in the worst situation for a first rounder since Stafford, but I can’t argue he’s not. I’d probably put my money on Luck just because he was sacked 174 times in 86 games and the Colts never really got the line right until Luck hung it up.
Fields has a great case. As I wrote this weekend, the Bears are doing the 23-year-old a massive disservice with the protection they are providing him.
As for whether Patrick Mahomes could play behind the Bears’ line and with the skill players, I’d say he could, but it probably wouldn’t look like the Mahomes you see in Kansas City today.
Developing a franchise quarterback is about the blend of talent and situation. Few quarterbacks can land in a bad situation and still hit their ceiling. Luck did. Allen and Burrow’s teams quickly patched up the holes around them to aid the development. Stafford survived Detroit, put up huge numbers, and then finally got out to show what he could do in a well-run organization.
The Bears’ gamble is that Fields will survive this season, grow, and then they’ll surround him with talent in 2023. For Justin Fields’ sake, I hope it pays off.
Overreaction? No.
Head coach Matt Eberflus said the Bears would re-evaluate every player during the mini-bye.
That evaluation must start with the offensive line and rookie left tackle Braxton Jones.
Jones has given up 20 pressures in six games. That’s good for an 11.1 percent pressure rate.
Jenkins has been solid at right guard, but if he can be a sturdy blind-side blocker than Jones, the Bears must give it a shot.
I doubt that’s in the cards, though.
Overreaction? Yes, but not by much.
I am on the record in saying the best thing for the Bears’ future is to get a top-three pick and flip it for more picks.
That only works if Fields develops into the guy, or at least shows them enough this season to warrant passing on a loaded QB class that includes Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud.
I don’t think the Bears will finish with the worst record.
The Panthers are abysmal. The Texans are racing to the bottom and the Bears already beat them. Despite the loss to the Commanders, the Bears are a better team.
But I could see the Bears finishing at 5-12 and having a top five pick.
The Commanders game was one I had pencilled as a win. Given how bad the offensive line has played, it’s hard for me to see the Bears beating the Patriots or Cowboys in the next two weeks.
Can they beat the Dolphins? Meh. Lions? Maybe. Falcons? Might be a bad matchup. Jets? It’s in the cards.
It’s the NFL, so the Bears will find a few wins, but they are trending to a six-win ceiling miracle cures aren’t found.
Overreaction? Yes, but hold that thought.
The Roquan Smith thing could get interesting here soon.
Outside of the Texans game, Smith hasn’t looked like the dominant WILL linebacker the Bears hoped he’d be in Eberflus’ system. That’s part of the reason Poles didn’t want to fork over the record extension Smith wanted this offseason.
Smith bet on himself and planned to send a message to the Bears and the rest of the NFL this season.
It hasn’t gone that way.
Smith already has missed six tackles this season (he missed 12 all year last season) and only has five total pressures.
He has had tough moments in three straight weeks. In Week 5, Smith was juked out of his shoes by Vikings wide receiver Jalen Reagor on the goal line. Against the Commanders, quarterback Carson Wentz flat-backed Smith blocking for running back Brian Robinson. Don't forget that Smith also got got by Tyrod Taylor against the Giants in Week 4.
If the Bears don’t author a turnaround quickly, could they try and shop Smith on the open market? Perhaps.
RELATED: Bears have put Fields in shameful situation for young QB
But I’d bet they try and unlock the best version of Smith.
Given that the Bears have no viable WILL option outside of Smith, I’d guess it would take a hefty sum to pry him from the Bears.
Overreaction? No.
Lucas Patrick has been borderline horrific at left guard. If his thumb is fully healed, the Bears need to move him back to center. That’s the position they signed Patrick to play, and the hope is the line will play better with him there.
But with Cody Whitehair out, the Bears have little options at left guard. They could start Sam Mustipher there. But I’m not sure the results would be better than they have been with Mustipher at center.
Leatherwood just returned from the NFI list after a bout with mono. He hasn’t had much time with offensive line coach Chris Morgan. But if he can do what Jenkins did on the left side, it’s worth a try.