For as much as the Bears prepared to face two-time MVP Lamar Jackson, it was Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley who looked like an MVP game manager against their defense on Sunday.
Huntley finished the day 17-for-22 passing for 186 yards, gashing the Bears’ depleted defense for 53 yards on seven carries.
Without question, the Bears severely missed Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson in the secondary, forcing Nick McCloud to see a heavy workload increase.
Running back Derrick Henry also added two touchdowns on the ground.
But it’s the Bears’ offense that’ll – deservingly – steal the headlines.
Caleb Williams simply wasn’t good enough, failing to throw a touchdown pass for the second week in a row. The passing attack had just three plays that exceeded 25 yards. A back-breaking interception in the fourth quarter really put the offense’s backs against the wall.
The final offensive drive of the game was the perfect microcosm of every struggle on Sunday. Williams hit receiver DJ Moore for a miraculous one-handed catch and run that brought the Bears to the goal-line down two scores.
The offense couldn’t punch it in, with Williams throwing an inaccurate pass on an unorganized fourth down.
Bears fall to 4-3.
Adam Hoge
Unfortunately, my fears of the Ravens’ defense being better than advertised came true. Caleb Williams wasn’t accurate enough and the Bears committed way too many penalties.
Special teams also proved to be key in this game and the Ravens were much better. Remember, it was the Jordan Stout punt that backed the Bears up and led to Williams’ interception.
Adam Jahns
This one was disappointing. The Bears lost to Tyler Huntley, not Lamar Jackson. They lost to a defense that got some starters back from injury but still entered the game ranked 32nd in scoring, 30th in opposing QB rating, 26th vs. the run, 28th vs. the pass and tied for last in sacks.
Caleb Williams was outplayed by a quarterback who was promoted from the practice squad on Friday. Williams’ intentional grounding penalty was costly at the end of the first half, and his interception in the fourth quarter was a backbreaker. He is struggling right now in coach Ben Johnson’s offense.
Mark Carman
Extremely disappointing loss. Started great. Went away quickly. A lot of questions to answer, including how to get the offense going.
Greg Braggs Jr.
Simply put, the offense was not good enough. Not even close. Caleb Williams has to be better. He wasn’t. At some point, Ben Johnson has to figure out what he’s most comfortable with because the passing game just isn’t up to standard.
Beyond that, the 10+ penalties that happen week after week are inexcusable. That falls on the coaching staff. Ben Johnson has been great so far as the Bears’ head coach. A godsend. But this team, with the small margin of error they have, cannot be committing this many penalties.
Nothing to say about the defense despite giving up a 30 burger. They just don’t have the healthy bodies available to make a fair assessment.
It’s the offense and Caleb Williams that have to step up.
Patrick Norton
Yikes. That was an all-too-familiar loss for the Bears. And the inability to punch it into the end zone from the red zone is a big issue that requires a quick remedy.
And suddenly, next week against Joe Flacco and the Bengals, who scored 38 points on Sunday, looks like a real test for a defense that couldn’t force a single turnover in Week 8 against a backup quarterback and a 1-5 team.
