Toast88
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Some of these overall points are courtesy of our friends Hoge and Jahns. Just them going through their regular reflection from the Texans game and looking ahead to the Giants game, touched on several things that I kind of thought could be organized into a guide on game keys for the Bears.
I've listed them below, and when necessary expanded them with my own stats:
1) Tackle better
The defense can't carry out the tackling job they have so far, which has been uninspiring, for the most part. The Bears finished last year with the 4th most missed tackles. Numbers for this year are spotty, because it's not an official NFL stat, but it's not been great so far.
Saquon Barkley is second in the league, with 317 yards, including a 164-yard output against a Titans team that struggled to wrap up.
2) "The Bears can run the ball straight down the Giants' throats"
The Bears have the second most potent rushing attack in the league, second only to the Browns, and the Giants' defense has struggled against the run.
Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott combined for 178 yards on the ground against the New York defense on Monday night. Coming off a short week, the defense might not be in the mood to stop yet another heavy rushing attack on Sunday in the Meadowlands.
3) An efficient quarterback effort that limits mistakes
The Bears should be able to control the ball on the ground against the Giants, once again taking pressure off of Justin Fields and likely resulting in yet another game of very few passing attempts. Bears fans won't be happy, but the coaches have shown their top priority is to win the game, and the blueprint to win this game will probably be another 20-ish-throw, sub-200-yard Justin Fields performance, hopefully this time with fewer interceptions. Just pull the trigger when you see a guy open. They're there.
Cooper Rush went 21 of 31 for 215 yards, 1 TD & 0 INTs. Don't expect that high a workload for Justin Fields in this game, but a similarly-efficient effort is probably enough to net the Bears a W in New Jersey on Sunday.
4) Make a big play
Bears are tied for 19th in explosive plays, defined as a rush of 12+ yards or a pass of 16+ yards. That's actually a much higher rate than their offensive DVOA, so they're actually outperforming their offense on big plays. Relying on the running game is always tricky, because it limits your ability to stretch the field. But a few well-timed big-chunk runs or passes could do wonders to keep the Bears on the offensive and scoring points this game.
My prediction: Bears hit the high water mark for the season, with 2 TDs on the ground and another through the air, winning 24-20.
I've listed them below, and when necessary expanded them with my own stats:
1) Tackle better
The defense can't carry out the tackling job they have so far, which has been uninspiring, for the most part. The Bears finished last year with the 4th most missed tackles. Numbers for this year are spotty, because it's not an official NFL stat, but it's not been great so far.
Saquon Barkley is second in the league, with 317 yards, including a 164-yard output against a Titans team that struggled to wrap up.
2) "The Bears can run the ball straight down the Giants' throats"
The Bears have the second most potent rushing attack in the league, second only to the Browns, and the Giants' defense has struggled against the run.
Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott combined for 178 yards on the ground against the New York defense on Monday night. Coming off a short week, the defense might not be in the mood to stop yet another heavy rushing attack on Sunday in the Meadowlands.
3) An efficient quarterback effort that limits mistakes
The Bears should be able to control the ball on the ground against the Giants, once again taking pressure off of Justin Fields and likely resulting in yet another game of very few passing attempts. Bears fans won't be happy, but the coaches have shown their top priority is to win the game, and the blueprint to win this game will probably be another 20-ish-throw, sub-200-yard Justin Fields performance, hopefully this time with fewer interceptions. Just pull the trigger when you see a guy open. They're there.
Cooper Rush went 21 of 31 for 215 yards, 1 TD & 0 INTs. Don't expect that high a workload for Justin Fields in this game, but a similarly-efficient effort is probably enough to net the Bears a W in New Jersey on Sunday.
4) Make a big play
Bears are tied for 19th in explosive plays, defined as a rush of 12+ yards or a pass of 16+ yards. That's actually a much higher rate than their offensive DVOA, so they're actually outperforming their offense on big plays. Relying on the running game is always tricky, because it limits your ability to stretch the field. But a few well-timed big-chunk runs or passes could do wonders to keep the Bears on the offensive and scoring points this game.
My prediction: Bears hit the high water mark for the season, with 2 TDs on the ground and another through the air, winning 24-20.