Turnovers Will Haunt The Bears In Week Seven
Two turnovers against the Washington Commanders cost the Chicago Bears from going 3-3 for the season. Can the Bears fix their turnover problem in Week Seven?
Turnovers, every offense hates to see this happen. It’s the major drive behind teams falling apart in games. The Chicago Bears and their offense are no strangers to turnovers, as they continue to make costly mistakes protecting the ball.
While the Bears can win games, it’s those turnovers that kill their momentum during games. Fans saw this during a critical comeback drive against the Minnesota Vikings. After giving up the lead, quarterback Justin Fields was marching the team downfield for a game-tying score. However, what came next is a story of the Bears giving away winnable games.
Bears Are Consistent With Turnovers During Scoring Drives
After Justin Fields hit Ihmir Smith-Marsette with a dart of a pass, it was looking good for the Chicago Bears. He was going downfield, making defenders miss him as well. However, Cam Dantzler would rob the Bears of their comeback moment.
His stripping of the ball from Smith-Marsette put an end to the game. But that costly turnover isn’t the only one the Bears have committed during scoring drives. During their Thursday night game against the Washington Commanders, Fields threw a costly interception inside the red zone.
While the interception was mostly dumb luck, as Fields threw the ball off a defender’s helmet, it was still a costly turnover. The Bears also have turnovers that lead to the other team scoring points, which is what put the dagger through the heart of the Bears on Thursday night.
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Bears Rank In The Bottom Half Of Turnover Differential
The game of football comes down to possessing the ball. If your team isn’t maintaining possession, the likelihood of winning games goes down. This is exactly what the Chicago Bears are experiencing early this season.
According to The Football Database, the Bears are -2 this season in turnover differential. Out of the 13 teams with negative numbers on the differential, only two are above .500. If you want to make the playoffs, you can’t give opponents extra possessions. With the problem already identified, how do the Bears go about fixing the turnover issues?
Preventing Turnovers Goes Beyond Protecting The Ball
The common answer for anyone talking about turnovers is to tell teams to protect the football. However, the issue with the Chicago Bears and their turnover issues goes beyond this saying. A perfect example comes from a poorly fielded punt by rookie receiver Velus Jones Jr. With him losing track of the punt, he put himself in an awkward position, leading to a turnover.
While the Bears’ turnovers this season have seen opponents get lucky, other times it’s from a lack of protecting the ball. However, the Bears’ roster needs to make better decisions. If they can’t field the punt, let it go. If Fields can’t throw the ball over the defender’s helmet, maybe he should roll out with the ball.
With the Bears losing the turnover battle, they aren’t helping their defense. This Bear’s defense isn’t like the defenses fans have seen in prior years as they no longer have dominant defensive players. While they have Roquan Smith, Eddie Jackson, and Robert Quinn, they can’t hold up the entire Bears defense.
Fields Needs Help With Offensive System In Chicago
If fans want to see fewer turnovers from Justin Fields, the Chicago Bears need to fix their offense system to work with the young QB. He’s clearly out of his element under Luke Getsy in Chicago. While Getsy was the QB coach for Packers MVP Aaron Rodgers, his work with Fields isn’t panning out for the Bears. If Getsy doesn’t change the system work around Fields, mistakes, and turnovers will continue.
The Bears visit the New England Patriots in Week Seven. Hopefully, the Bears can figure out the turnover issue.
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