Finishing strong remains the strongest ingredient in the successful sports formulas. But for the Bears, breaking fast from the gate and gaining an edge through the first turn is perhaps even more critical, even for a team that has sought to define itself as finishers.
The Bears go into Sunday with standing 2-1 in games where they have led or been tied after one quarter. Even more telling, within their dismal home record of 1-6, the Bears have scored the first touchdown in only one of those games – the win, over Oakland. In the other six, their opponents have scored the first touchdown and the Bears have failed to recover sufficiently.
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Notably perhaps, the Bears did not score the first touchdown at Tampa Bay. But the first TD did not come on the Buccaneers’ first possession, something of a negative pattern for the Bears’ defense this season. And that first touchdown belonged at the feet of special teams after a blocked punt gave the Bucs the football at the Chicago 4.
The Bears this year are a healthy 4-1 when leading at halftime.
“You want to start fast and finish faster,” said coach John Fox. “That’s our goal. Sometimes I don’t know if that’s reality for any team in the league, but we definitely have room for improvement in every area.”