Tarik Cohen Urges Bears to Run Golden State Break
It was only three touchdown passes in a period of less than six minutes during a season of offensive futility, but the Bears hope their brief surge against the Detroit Lions indicated something greater is ahead.
Considering they play defensive tackle Aaron Donald and the Rams Sunday night in Los Angeles, they need to be right.
"I think it's a start," wide receiver Allen Robinson said Wednesday. "We've got to start somewhere. So I think we definitely can build off of it. We played well at times last week."
They played poorly far longer last week than they played well. Eight three-and-outs, including five out of their last six possessions, indicated lingering problems.
All this came against the 31st-ranked defense.
"I think we're not exactly where we want to be yet but a win definitely gives you confidence moving forward because at the end of the day no matter what you did you came away with the result you wanted," Trubisky said. "And that's a win.
"So we just, we've still got find ways to pull together, continue to work harder and get better and try to go 1-0 this week."
Trubisky went 16 of 23 for 173 yards with three touchdowns for a 131.0 passer rating. It all looked like the Redskins win earlier this year—a brief spurt against a struggling defense by an offense not fulfilling expectations.
They played their best during times when they tried to control tempo with no huddle or a quick huddle.
"I think it's, for me and I think for the other guys on offense, it's not as much thinking," Trubisky said of the no-huddle attack. "The plays are a little bit simpler. We don't have as much motions, the defense is usually a little bit more vanilla. They don't usually bring as exotic of looks.
"So we just go out there, we're playing fast, everybody's at their spots, everybody knows their job and we're not thinking."
They scored on three straight drives with no-huddle mixed in at times, causing running back Tarik Cohen to draw a parallel to the NBA.
"I feel like we just like to get on the ball and get going," Cohen said. "It's like in basketball, we're a team that likes fast breaks. You get the ball movement.
"We're really not a Spurs offense where we just sit there and do a lot of pick and roll. We're like the Warriors. We pass the ball around, and everybody active."
Actually, they've probably looked more like the Bulls through much of the season but the fluid, rapid pace definitely did make a difference in establishing a rhythm.
Playing with rhythm against the Rams defense this week will be far more difficult because of Donald and also because of new Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
At 6-foot-1, Ramsey is a good matchup with Robinson, who is 6-3. And the two were teammates with Jacksonville.
"It's going to be physical, it's going to be competitive, it's going to be fun," Robinson said. "I'm definitely looking forward to it."
Robinson, who had a six-catch, 86-yard effort against Detroit bouncing back from a season-low one reception against the Eagles, realizes the height edge he has on many defenders will not be as much of a factor.
"I think for him, about him being a longer corner, at some of the catch points you try to be a little more physical," Robinson said. "He's a physical tackler."
Whether the win over Detroit cleared up offensive problems remains to be seen, but it did relieve some pressure building over four straight losses.
"It did it for all of us," coach Matt Nagy said. "That’s why for all of us to kind of just feel, like, OK. We know there's gonna be good wins, there's gonna be sloppy wins. But in the end, when we all look back next—look back at that—remember how it kinda went. But really in the end we got the win. And it feels good to get that win.
"Do we want to be better? Do we know that we have a lot higher grades and values for how we play? Yes. But I think all of us, including Mitch, feel a lot better. And the confidence definitely, certainly gets higher."
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