After the Chicago Bears‘ loss to the winless Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon, plenty of thoughts raced through the streets of the Windy City.
With those thoughts come reactions, and with those reactions come overreactions.
Here are the biggest reactions following Chicago’s Week 3 loss.
Biggest Overreactions From Chicago Bears vs. Indianapolis Colts
Should the Bears Have Kept Justin Fields Over Caleb Williams?
One of the most common overreactions to this loss was the debate about whether the Bears should’ve kept Justin Fields instead of drafting Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick.
Now, that’s a bit silly for a few reasons.
The Bears were about to have to pay Fields a hefty contract had they kept him. He finished his third season with Chicago before he was traded to Pittsburgh, meaning after this year, he would’ve been set to get his second contract.
The Bears could’ve picked up his fifth-year option for $25.6 million. And while they have built up a large sum of cash throughout the last few seasons, Fields’ $25 million contract would’ve cut into paying players like Jaylon Johnson, DJ Moore, and Montez Sweat.
Compared to Fields, Williams’ rookie contract is just under $40 million over four years. So, the Bears could’ve either had Fields for $25 million for the season or Williams for $795,000.
Another aspect to consider is how well the two have performed throughout their careers thus far.
Most Pass Yards in a game this season
Caleb Williams 363 (Week 3)
Tua Tagovailoa 338 (Week 1)
Geno Smith 327 (Week 2)
Brock Purdy 319 (Week 2) pic.twitter.com/LdF1AQVRza— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 22, 2024
In just his third NFL start, Williams surpassed Fields’ career-high in passing yards. Not that his Week 3 performance was perfect, but to surpass Fields’ career-high in just three games in the NFL is nothing short of impressive.
It also shows how accepting Bears fans were of average quarterback play. In Fields’ third season with Chicago, he eclipsed 300 passing yards just once, throwing for under 200 yards in five complete games.
Fields isn’t a bad NFL quarterback, but having Williams at this price is a relatively easy choice.
Williams still has to continue progressing in his rookie season, but the ceiling looks to be much, much higher after just three starts in the league.
Why Is Matt Eberflus Still Coaching the Bears?
In all honesty, this isn’t as much of an overreaction.
Throughout his time as the head coach of the Bears, Matt Eberflus has been a very poor game manager. When looking at the job duties of a head coach in the NFL, managing in-game decisions is a large part of it.
Takeaways from Matt Eberflus' 26th loss in 37 games as the head coach of the Bears:
1.) Eberflus and this entire staff should have been fired after last season. This staff is clearly the worst in the division and they are doing very little to help their rookie QB.
— Matt Eurich (@MattEurich) September 22, 2024
Last week, Eberflus made one of the worst challenges an NFL head coach has tried in years, paired with another pretty bad challenge; it lost them two timeouts in a winnable game.
Then, this week, Eberflus used two incredibly costly timeouts in a game the Bears could’ve won had they had an extra one. One of those came after a touchdown because Eberflus wasn’t on the same page with his staff on whether they were going for one or two points.
As an NFL head coach, this just simply cannot happen.
Let’s just say Chicago makes it to the playoffs this year (I know it’s unlikely, but just hear me out). If the Bears are in a game against a well-coached team, Chicago is at a disadvantage because Eberflus can’t be trusted to make the right decision in do-or-die moments.
At some point, the Bears’ upper management needs to realize that Eberflus is coaching this team into the ground. He’s shown to be inept at managing a game, and with as much potential as this team has, Eberflus isn’t the guy to bring this team to where it needs to be.
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Not only are his in-game decisions regarding timeouts and challenges bad, but his choice not to kick an onside kick while down five points with just over two minutes left was a mind-boggling decision.
With how well the Bears’ defense was playing, it wasn’t as bad of a decision comparatively to the challenges a week before and the timeout after Chicago scored a touchdown, but it’s still a decision that stacks up with the rest as frustrating.
Eberflus is a strong defensive mind, but at the same time, his strengths haven’t outweighed where he struggles. It’s hard to be a head coach in the NFL, but after two seasons and three games, the Bears should be expecting to look for a new top guy this offseason.
D’Andre Swift Showing To Be Worst Free Agent Signing This Offseason
This offseason, the Bears opted against spending money on free-agent offensive linemen and instead signed running back D’Andre Swift to a three-year, $24 million contract.
It’s already an iffy decision to pay running backs once they finish up their rookie contracts due to the number of running backs entering the league each year who can likely be as good as the one they’re replacing.
That obviously changes with top-of-the-league backs. But even then, general managers are hesitant to tie down loads of money to running backs after their rookie contract.
However, Ryan Poles wasn’t hesitant about signing Swift at all.
Swift was the first free agent move Chicago made this offseason, and through three games, it’s looking like its worst signing in the offseason.
D'Andre Swift has 37 carries this season.
Yards gained on each from least to most:
-12, -4, -4, -4, -3, -3, -2, -1, -1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 20— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 23, 2024
Now, sure, the offensive line has been abysmal this season, so it’s likely that most running backs in the league struggle to find success in the backfield.
The main reason this signing is so bad is because of how bad the offensive line still is. The backfield was good enough heading into this season, but the offensive line surely was not.
Signings like Coleman Shelton and Nate Davis and trading for Ryan Bates were clearly not enough, and the Bears are understanding that now.
Roschon Johnson Should Be RB1
Up until this week, Roschon Johnson had no offensive snaps at all — not one. With Travis Homer placed on the IR last week, Johnson got his chance against Indianapolis, and he showed why he should be the team’s lead back… or at least in the main committee.
Last season, the Bears were the best rushing team in the league, featuring Fields, Khalil Herbert, Johnson, and D’Onta Foreman. Well, Fields and Foreman are gone, and yet, Herbert and Johnson have hardly been utilized this season.
Herbert: 8 rushes, 16 rushing yards, 1 TD, 2 targets, 2 receptions, 4 receiving yards
Johnson: 8 rushes, 30 rushing yards, 5 targets, 4 receptions, 32 receiving yards
Maybe Chicago felt the need to use its freshly paid back, but to have Johnson with no carries through two weeks is malpractice.
Roschon Johnson is gonna end up being one of the biggest steals of this draft.
He has a blend of vision strength and elusiveness. Uncommon RB. #DaBears #Bears #ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/FRAR3qOSan
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) August 14, 2023
This offensive line has been incredibly bad, and it has been since the beginning of the season.
Johnson is a pure power back who showed the ability to fight contact on Sunday, and if the line is going to continue to play as poorly as it has, it might be time to give Johnson the backfield and see what he can do with it.
It can’t be any worse than Swift.