The New York Giants head to Soldier Field in Illinois on Sunday to face the Chicago Bears. Let’s learn about this version of the Bears from Bill Zimmerman of SB Nation’s Windy City Gridiron in this week’s ‘5 questions’ segment.
Ed: The Bears have won five of their last six games. What has keyed this run, and what are legitimate expectations for the Bears over the remainder of the season?
Bill: The Bears certainly have some issues when you watch them. Their special teams aren’t very good. Their defense has not played well, except for one stretch of the season when they were forcing a lot of turnovers, and their offense is probably their biggest strength, but it’s certainly been inconsistent. The key has been Ben Johnson and the culture he’s building. The culture at Halas Hall and in the locker room has been broken for several years, probably since 2020. And other than a couple of blips, probably since Lovie Smith was fired nearly 15 years ago. This has been a losing franchise that, honestly, didn’t know how to win. When things went wrong, they would tuck their tails, hang their heads, and accept the loss. This team fights until the final seconds. They believe in each other, they believe in the coaching staff, and they’re having results on the field. The Bears won a last-minute game against the Raiders, they won a wild game against the Bengals, the Commanders came down to a last-minute field goal as well. They are winning close games, and for the past few years, those are always games they have almost always lost.
Bill: The returns on Caleb have been far more positive this year. There are certainly some things to iron out. His accuracy has been questionable, and his decision-making certainly isn’t perfect. But the way he is operating in Ben Johnson’s offense is far better than it was last year. His sack numbers have been cut by more than half, his pressure to sack rate is very good, and his numbers are reflecting a quarterback that’s growing into Ben Johnson’s offense. Ben has gotten Caleb to play more in structure and play more on-time. It’s not perfect, but it has vastly improved. It feels like Ben has told Caleb, look, play it my way, play in structure, and do it 80 to 90% of the time, and if it’s not there, spin out of the pocket, buy some time, and do your thing and try to make a play.
I think it’s too early to tell if Williams is going to fulfill his number one pick potential, but things are certainly pointed in the right direction now.
Ed: If you could take one player off the Giants’ roster and put him in Chicago’s lineup, who would it be? Why?
Bill: I think for me, this is pretty easily Brian Burns. I love Abdul Carter, but I want to take a player that I know is already productive and playing at an elite level, and it’s definitely Burns. The Bears biggest issue in my opinion is the lack of a pass rush, especially coming off the edge. Montez Sweat is a good pass rusher, but he’s not great. He’s a much better run defender than he is a pass rusher. If the Bears had an elite pass rusher opposite Sweat and suddenly Sweat is their secondary pass rusher off the edge to complement someone like Burns, that addition would elevate the entire defense.
Bill: Rome Odunze had a decent rookie season, which is saying something considering what a dumpster fire the 2024 season was for the Chicago Bears, but his rookie season certainly wasn’t stellar. Plenty of Bears fans were peaking at Brian Thomas, Jr after his rookie season and wondering if Ryan Poles had selected the wrong receiver. But Odunze has really blossomed in year two under Ben Johnson.
Odunze could be better at seperating and doing a better job at 50-50 balls. He also has had a couple of bad drops. That being said, Odunze runs crisp routes that allows him to get open and Caleb Williams regularly looks for him. Odunze has emerged as the team’s WR1 above DJ Moore and is on pace to go over 1,000 yards and have over 10 touchdowns. The other thing Odunze does really well is block. That may not seem like a big deal, but it’s a huge deal in Ben Johnson’s offense who stresses to all the receivers, “No block, no rock.”
Ed: If you were game-planning AGAINST the Bears, how would you attack them? On both sides of the ball?
Bill: On offense, you need to attack left tackle Theo Benedet on passing downs. Benedet is a 2nd year UDFA and he’s doing an excellent job in run blocking, but he is by far the weakest pass blocker on the Bears front five. I would send waves of Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, blitzes, anything you want, I would attack him relentlessly and get to Caleb Williams. Force Caleb to get out of the pocket and play off schedule. Yes, he’s going to hurt you with a few big plays, but it will get the offense feeling disjointed and create opportunities for the defense to get the Bears into 3rd and longs.
On the defense, I would pass against them. The Bears have been doing a good job stopping the run, but they can’t rush the passer. Don’t be afraid to tell Jaxson Dart to hold onto the ball a tick longer and wait for something to open up intermediate and deep. You can pick on Nashon Wright and have success. TJ Edwards also might not play. If that’s the case, use your running backs and tight ends and throw short in the direction of Noah Sewell who is a far weaker pass defender than Edwards.
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