The Chicago Bears were starting to breathe a sigh of relief. After years of dysfunctional football, the Bears had won four games in a row while competing in the toughest division in the NFL. Sitting in third place in the NFC North, first-year head coach Ben Johnson had his team heading in the right direction.
Were the Bears on their way to a playoff spot? While optimistic fans and media might have said that the team was trending toward postseason success, Johnson knew there was still more work to be done.
### A Harsh Reality in Week 8
Johnson’s worst fears came true in Week 8 when the Bears traveled to Baltimore to face the struggling Ravens. Though the Ravens are often a perennial AFC power, they entered the game with a dismal 1-5 record and were in last place in the AFC North. Quarterback Lamar Jackson was sidelined with a hamstring injury, missing his third straight game.
Despite facing Baltimore’s third-string quarterback, the Bears failed to capitalize. Instead of asserting themselves against the vulnerable opponent, they looked like an immature team, allowing a winnable game to slip through their fingers. The final score wasn’t even close, as Baltimore secured a 30-16 victory.
### Offensive Struggles: Williams and the Bears’ Inability to Exploit a Weak Defense
The Bears needed second-year quarterback Caleb Williams to continue growing and leading the offense. Unfortunately, he fell short. Though his stat line wasn’t terrible—completing 25 of 38 passes for 285 yards—Williams managed to lead only one touchdown drive, missed several open receivers, and struggled on critical third- and fourth-down plays, converting just 6 of 14.
Chicago’s offense was further hindered by a weak running game. D’Andre Swift managed only 45 yards on the ground, while rookie Kyle Monangai added just 24 yards. Adding to their woes, the Bears’ offensive line was unable to create running lanes against a Ravens defense that ranked 29th in yards allowed. They simply couldn’t establish control in the trenches.
Coach Johnson was visibly frustrated with the team’s overall sloppiness, which included 11 penalties during the game. “You see flashes of explosive plays and some really good things happening,” Johnson remarked. “But the penalties are what stand out first and foremost. We’re still having some of the pre-snap issues. There’s occasional not getting lined up quite right. There’s occasional not getting the motion quite right. That stuff adds up, and it hurts us. We get away with it occasionally. But that’s just not the way you win in this league.”
### Defensive Shortcomings: Unable to Contain Baltimore’s Backup QB
On the defensive side, the Ravens got back on track behind quarterback Tyler Huntley. The Bears defense failed to contain him, allowing Huntley to complete 17 of 22 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown. He efficiently spread the ball around to targets including Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and tight end Mark Andrews.
The Bears had initially prepared to face Lamar Jackson, and while Huntley was seemingly a more manageable opponent, Chicago’s defense ended up elevating the backup quarterback’s performance. Throughout their winning streak, the Bears had been adept at forcing turnovers; however, they couldn’t capitalize on takeaways against Baltimore and ultimately failed to slow the Ravens down in the crucial fourth quarter.
Linebacker T.J. Edwards admitted the team needs to find ways to win even without forcing turnovers. “They had guys out, we had guys out,” Edwards said. “We’ve just got to figure out a way to come away with the win.”
### Looking Ahead: Johnson’s Big Test
The Bears entered the game against the Ravens with momentum but failed to execute effectively on either side of the ball. Despite having a great opportunity to win, they did not bring their best effort.
Looking forward, Chicago faces another road test against a vulnerable opponent: the Cincinnati Bengals. Yet, if they couldn’t contain Huntley, how will they manage to stop Joe Flacco and an embattled Bengals team that just suffered a shocking 39-38 loss to the New York Jets?
Head coach Ben Johnson must find a way to have the Bears play more efficient, disciplined football moving forward, or the team risks being fully exposed as a pretender this season.
https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/why-bears-loss-to-ravens-proves-they-are-playoff-pretenders
