Bears' Declan Doyle admits there's no 'magic answer' to Red Zone failures

With his team scoring TDs in the Red Zone less than half of the time, Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator Declan Doyle admits to not having a "magic answer."

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears' offense is much better. But, according to NFL Red Zone efficiency, it's still not good.

A year ago led by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and head coach Matt Eberflus, the Bears managed only 18 points per game and 2.2 Red-Zone trips per game. With Williams in his second season, an offseason devoted to upgrading his offensive line, and the arrival of offensive whiz Ben Johnson, those results have drastically improved.

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However, the Bears still rank in middle of the pack in the NFL in Red-Zone chances per game (15th with 3.3) and points (15th at 24). Where they're still struggling is the efficiency. The Bears score a touchdown on less than half (47.8%) of their Red-Zone possessions, ranking 26th.

This bug bit them big-time in last week's loss to the Baltimore Ravens, when they left two early opportunities for points on the field. When touchdowns get downgraded to field goals, upsets happen.

The Bears' opening 13-play drive stalled because of a false-start penalty on rookie Colston Loveland at the 8-yard line and then a sack of Williams. The next possession was cut short by consecutive incompletions. Two long drives netted only six points, and the Bears trailed soon after.

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As frustrating as it is for Bears fans, it sounds equally exasperating for offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. He attempted to explain the Red-Zone struggles Thursday morning at Halas Hall, but wound up sounding like merely a fan.

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Said Doyle:

"The red-zone struggles have been on all of us. As you look at them sequentially, pulling up that last game, you might look at it and say, ‘Hey, there’s one play,’ I look at it and say there’s four plays that if our precision and our detail is better on any one of those four plays, we probably come away with seven points in both of those first two drives. And that’s the thing that we have to really hone in on. There’s no magic answer. If there was, we’d be going out and doing it. It’s really our ability to execute, be precise on details, with what we’re asking guys to do in those critical moments are going to lead to sevens rather than threes."

We mean, he's not wrong. But none of that word salad sounded like a solution. The Bears should get plenty of Red-Zone chances against the Bengals' NFL-worst defense Sunday in Cincinnati.

David Banks-Imagn Images

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