Chicago Bears’ Lack of Execution on Offense Costly in Loss to Denver Broncos
Published by Matt Eurich on November 22, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears had a chance to improve to 5-5 on the season with a victory over the Denver Broncos in Week 11, but they lacked execution on offense and fell to 4-6 on the year after losing 17-15.
The Broncos entered the game with the top defense in the league, allowing just 277.3 total yards of offense a game, but the Bears were able to muster 349 total yards of offense on Sunday afternoon. Chicago did a nice job of moving the football at times—particularly in the second half—but the offense struggled to get the ball in the end zone.
Quarterback Jay Cutler completed seven of his 12 passing attempts for 118 yards in the first two quarters, but the offense finished the half with just 159 yards and trailed the Broncos 10-6 going into the third quarter.
Cutler finished the game with 265 passing yards on 18 completions, but he threw one interception and lost a fumble. His poor play was not the only reason why Chicago lost on Sunday, but the offense struggled at times because of his miscues.
Jay Cutler’s Miscues Prove Costly
Chicago’s defense forced the Broncos to punt on their first possession of the second half, but the Bears offense gained just nine yards on three plays and were forced to punt the football. The defense forced Denver to punt the football again before the Bears made their first big mistake on offense.
Cutler avoided pressure and scrambled out of the pocket on the first play of Chicago’s second possession in the second half, and he gained six yards before running back Ka’Deem Carey picked up the first down with a five-yard carry on second down.
With the ball at Chicago’s 21-yard line, Cutler tried to hit third-year receiver Marquess Wilson in the middle of the field, but the pass was intercepted by Denver linebacker Danny Trevathan and returned 14 yards.
Wilson struggled to create separation off the line of scrimmage, and the Chicago Tribune‘s Rich Campbell did not know why Cutler decided to force the football to the former Washington State receiver:
Cutler shook off his interception on the team’s next possession, and the Bears were able to move the ball 79 yards down the field on eight plays. But the offense struggled to gain yards after Cutler hit Wilson for a 29-yard gain, and the Bears had to settle for a Robbie Gould field goal.
Denver scored a touchdown on its next possession, but Chicago’s offense struggled to capitalize in the red zone after Cutler connected on a 40-yard pass to Wilson. With more than 10 minutes remaining on the clock, Chicago’s offense could not punch the ball into the end zone on four straight passing plays before the team was forced to turn the football over on downs.
Chicago’s defense forced another punt on Denver’s next drive before Cutler turned the football over with 2:30 remaining on the clock. Cutler stepped up in the pocket, but Denver’s Von Miller knocked the ball out of his hands. The football ricocheted off right guard Patrick Omameh’s back, and defensive tackle Malik Jackson came away with the recovery.
Cutler’s second turnover was not all his fault, but he has struggled to protect the football when stepping up in the pocket throughout his career.
The former Vanderbilt standout led a nice drive down the field late in the fourth quarter, and he connected on three big passes to get the Bears into scoring position with less than a minute remaining on the clock, per the team’s official Twitter account:
A costly pass interference penalty against Denver’s Bradley Roby put the Bears into scoring position, and rookie running back Jeremy Langford dove into the end zone with 24 seconds remaining on the clock to get the Bears within two points.
The offensive line failed to get a push on the team’s two-point conversion attempt, and Langford was stopped in front of the goal line. After the game, it was revealed that Cutler checked out of a pass play on the two-point conversion and into a run, per the Chicago Sun-Times‘ Patrick Finley:
Cutler was without starting wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal, as well as starting running back Matt Forte, but the offense struggled to execute with the veteran quarterback under center—particularly in the red zone.
The Bears made four trips to the red zone on Sunday, and they only came away with one touchdown. Cutler struggled to execute in the passing game at times on Sunday, but the running game also failed to get into rhythm after back-to-back strong performances in Week 9 and Week 10.
Running Game Struggled to Get into a Rhythm
Langford entered Sunday’s game as one of the NFL‘s hottest running backs over the course of the last two weeks, but he struggled in Week 11.
The former Michigan State Spartan gained 142 total yards of offense in Week 9 against the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football, and he backed that up by gaining 182 yards of total offense in Week 10 against the St. Louis Rams.
On Sunday against the Broncos, Langford gained 25 yards on 13 carries and caught three passes for just 17 yards. Carey left the game after suffering a concussion early in the second half, but he led the Bears in rushing with 32 yards on nine carries.
The offensive line failed to get much of a push off the snap of the ball all afternoon, and Chicago’s running game suffered because of it. In total, the Bears gained just 86 yards on the ground on 25 attempts, and their inability to get into a rhythm in the running game allowed Denver to stack the box throughout the afternoon.
The Broncos have one of the league’s best defenses, but the Bears struggled to execute offensively in Week 11. Being without top options like Jeffery, Royal and Forte hurt Chicago’s offense, but the Bears had chances to put points on the board in the second half and came away empty.
The Bears will head on the road later this week to take on the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving night, and they will need to do a better job of executing on offense than they did on Sunday afternoon if they want to remain in the playoff discussion in the NFC.
Statistical information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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