Down and Distance Had Bears Down

Analysis: The Bears complained about tough down-and-distance situations due to penalties but was that really the reason they lost to Green Bay?

Khalil Herbert is no boat rocker.

The Bears starting running back isn't the type to complain about anything, especially carries. He's usually the first to say something positive about the team in any respect.

So his lack of total endorsement for the running back rotation didn't exactly say he's elated with how things went.

"I mean it's different but it's something we're still working on, trying to figure out," Herbert said.

None of the running backs can be too pleased with it and neither can the coaches considering they barely averaged 3 yards a carry and didn't get 20 carries combined.

Herbert didn't get the most plays as the starter. Instead, third back Roschon Johnson did. 

No doubt part of this had to do with the game getting out of hand, so they gave the rookie more plays than he normally would have. Coach Matt Eberflus admitted as much on Monday. Johnson had 29 snaps, Herbert 27 and D'Onta Foreman 21.

The backs, in general, produced little with 19 carries for 63 yards. The 19 carries didn't get any of the backs much time to build momentum and the offense had to stop running when they fell behind too far.

This lack of rushing yards from the backs was big in Sunday's game and it wasn't due to David Montgomery being in Detroit. They didn't get the run blocked well and they  committed penalties that prevented them from using the running game better. 

Herbert wasn't deflecting blame anywhere about any of this. It's about self-improvement to the players. He saw one thing he needs to do better against Tampa Bay.

"You know, specfically for me, finishing runs," he said. "It's different for everybody.

"Just being on the details, I don't know, snap count, different things. It's different for everybody. Focusing on those little details and corrections from this game, things that you want to get better at even if you had a good game, had a bad game, whatever it is there is always something you can learn from to get better at."

Another factor working against the run was the Bears didn't exactly have a roster geared toward rushing success or for yards after catch on wide receiver screen passes.

They used blocking tight end Marcedes Lewis only five plays. Possibly because he had a back injury and went on the injury report a day before the game, but Robert Tonyan Jr. got only four plays. So the number of plays when they used multiple tight ends in personnel packages was very limited. Those packages greatly enhance the running game.

The offense had wide receivers Equanimeous St. Brown and Velus Jones Jr. inactive, two of their bigger receivers. St. Brown is regarded as an excellent run blocker and also blocks well on wide receiver screens like the Bears used when DJ Moore scored in the first preseason game.

Like all players after the game, Herbert cited mistakes more than personnel usage.

"Once again, I feel like it was just stuff that we were shooting ourselves in the foot," Herbert said. "Penalties, MAs (missed assignments), different things here and there we gotta do better."

Almost all players and Eberflus blamed penalties as a major reason for the offense stalling out.

"We put ourselves behind on offense a bunch of times and I think that's why the third downs were not what we expected them to be," Eberflus said, after they went 3-for-13 on third down. "We've got to get that cleaned up because that's something you can improve on and being disciplined and not having those penalties. Last year we were third in the league in penalties."

The reality is three penalties on two drives in the first half did hurt. But the two most devastating plays to the offense besides the pick-6 Fields threw were sacks given up in the third quarter. 

One was the 11-yard sack on the first Bears play of the half after they had already fallen behind 17-6. The other was the strip-sack after they had fallen behind 24-6.

Both of those occurred before the next penalty against the offense, another one on Braxton Jones.

Face it, once a team gets down 24-6 in an NFL game in the second half, it's difficult to rally and win unless a team has a high-powered offense or Patrick Mahomes. 

The penalties definitely didn't help early, but they were down only 10-6 at halftime. Those two sacks left them facing long down and distance at a time when they had to respond to Green Bay's big plays. 

So it wasn't all on the flags flying. The Green Bay defensive line dominated the Bears offensive line most of the game. The Bears defense couldn't prevent big plays in the second half. Together, this determined the outcome.

When a team gives up 28 points in the second half—seven on a Fields' interception and 21 by their defense—then they can expect to lose no matter how many flags they have flying for false starts or holds.

The Packers actually had two more penalties for 29 more yards walked off against them than the Bears did, yet they overcame. The Packers went 9-of-16 on third downs to the Bears' 3-of-13. 

The Bears complained about the long down-and-distances they faced due to their penalties, but the Packers faced them, too, and simply converted. The picked up first downs on third-and-13, a third-and-10, two third-and-8s, a third-and-6 and third-and-5.

Executing blocks, throws, runs and catches rather than complaining about the burden of penalties can go a long way toward success.

The Bears have a lot more to work on in their running game, in their pass blocking and in the passing game itself before Sunday in Tampa.

Simply eliminating a few penalty flags isn't going to be nearly enough to end an 11-game losing streak.

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