By Mike Johnson >>
- The big story of this game is the homecoming of Bears head coach Ben Johnson to Detroit, where he was previously the offensive coordinator.
- The Bears are playing on a short week after blowing their Monday night matchup against the Vikings despite an 11-point second half lead.
- Detroit’s offense looked like a shell of itself in their first game since losing Johnson to the Bears, and they will look to get back on track this week.
- Jahmyr Gibbs had a larger share of the Lions backfield in Week 1 than we saw at any time prior to David Montgomery’s injury last year.
How chicago Will Try To Win ::
The Bears opened Monday night on a tear with a clean touchdown drive and it appeared that Ben Johnson’s arrival was going to solve much of what troubled them in 2024. That excitement quickly dissipated, however, as Chicago went nearly three quarters of game time before their offense scored another touchdown. The Bears then had a nice drive to give themselves a chance late, but ultimately came up short. Zooming out, we can see that the team’s success came in two very clear scenarios. The first was early in the game with scripted plays. The second was late in borderline desperation mode and playing at a faster pace. This evaluation coincides with what most film watchers will tell you was the story of 2024 – quarterback Caleb Williams not processing things and going through his reads well. In the scripted plays, he already knows what he needs to do, while the hurry-up mode, by nature, has him playing more freely and often facing less suffocating defenses.
Week 2 against the Lions will provide a very similar test. The Vikings were bringing a variety of blitzes and overwhelmed the Bears protection schemes, pushing Williams off his spot and forcing him into playground mode with regularity. Detroit has a new defensive coordinator as well, but blitzed on 35% of their snaps in Week 1 – which is similar to what we have seen in past seasons. The Lions run defense was elite in 2023 before injuries tore them up last season. In Week 1 they held the Packers to 3.1 yards per carry, seemingly getting back to their strong point. This is important to know because the Bears backfield leaves a lot to be desired. Running back D’Andre Swift is more of a space and receiving back than a true workhorse, which makes it hard for the Bears to establish a consistent physical element on the ground. Swift played on 54 offensive snaps, which represented an 81% snap share, and had a 52% utilization rate in the season’s opening week.
The Bears played at the fifth slowest rate in the NFL in Week 1. Looking at this matchup, the best approach seems like it would be a higher pass rate (focused on the quick passing game) and an increase in no-huddle, while playing at a brisk pace. This would emphasize the strengths of their personnel by getting Swift in space, getting Williams in rhythm, and slowing down the Lions pass rush via the blitz. Chicago is unlikely to have much success through the traditional running game and Williams is likely to make costly mistakes if they try to run deeper and longer developing routes too often.
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