This past week, the Bears faced off against the Washington Commanders and the narrative of their season struggles seems to be following them. The Bears, as of Week 6 of the NFL season, are 2-4 and have struggled as they seem to be stuck in finding any flow. Though the general fan consensus was that they’d be worse, it seems like there have been multiple chances to squander any of that doubt. 

It only seems appropriate to start this breakdown with who fans thought would be their savior, Justin Fields. As of now Fields has started a full season’s worth of games and should be pretty in sync with the system that he plays under. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Fields so far this season has an average of 144.83 yards per game; this along with 5 touchdowns 5 of which come through the air.

Though this seems good, Fields according to PPF  is ranked 29th in passing yards, 28th in passing touchdowns, and 5th in interceptions. This is somewhat excusable as Justin is ranked 29th in pass attempts which raises the point that maybe his stats are what they are because the coach’s scheme doesn’t give him the ball allowing him to throw. However, even if he isn’t throwing the ball that much he should have a higher throwing percentage than 55.17%. 

Now moving away from the individual struggle we can look at the team as a whole. The Bears as of now rank 31st in points for (meaning their ability to score every game) according to Pro Football Reference, now maybe that would be ok; it isn’t uncommon for teams that don’t score to win games. However, the Bears are also ranked 11th in points against (How many points have been scored against the Bears) according to Pro Football Reference, effectively saying that the Bears can neither score nor stop teams from scoring on them. 

Though these stats say that we shouldn’t be winning games, for the past 3 weeks all of the Bears games have come down to the last possession in one-possession games, two of which have been lost to last-minute fumbles. This makes the Bears losses even more frustrating for fans as they are able to repeatedly point out the point at which the game was lost. 

Bears fan and Niles North employee Laurel Wilson was nice enough to give his comments on the Bears’ season so far expressing how he thinks that though painful the Bears are going through the growing pains of a new system and coach. Wilson also points out that Fields’ struggles are due to a lack of tools as he doesn’t think that he has a legitimate receiver to throw to. All in all, it seems as if fans are content with putting this season aside in hopes of future success.