Stock up, Stock down after Bears loss to 49ers |
After former head coach Matt Eberflus was fired, it seemed like the Chicago Bears could not reach a new low. However, that was accomplished when San Francisco put up a league-high 319 yards in the first half. Chicago put up a league-low of four yards in the first half. Does that mean the Bears’ new head coach, Thomas Brown, is worse, and his stock is down?
Thomas Brown - Stock Unchanged His stock is not down, but it is not up either. One game is not enough to decide whether he is deserving of remaining Chicago’s head coach. Eberflus left the Bears in shambles - they had a six-game losing streak, morale was horrible and the run defense was one of the worst in the league. It is hard to turn that into a winning team in just a little over a week, especially when going against a physical team like the 49ers. A better test of Brown’s head coaching capabilities will be when the Bears play the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football on Mon. Dec. 16 (7 p.m. / ABC). Caleb Williams - Stock Up In a 25-point loss, it is hard to see how the stock could go up for the starting quarterback. Against the 49ers, he completed 17 of 23 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. His quarterback rating was 116.9 and it marked his second game with a completion percentage over 70 percent and the Bears have lost. The fumble was obviously costly, but it is understandable why he thought that was an incomplete pass. Williams has shown signs of improvement and his touchdown passes to fellow rookie, Rome Odunze, were elite. At this point, Chicago is looking toward signs of the future and Williams is showing promising signs to be the Bears’ future quarterback. Defense - Stock Down It was not even just the run defense this time. The entire defense was atrocious, especially in the first half. Giving up over 300 yards in one half is unacceptable. Tight end George Kittle had one of his best games of the season with a season-high of 151 receiving yards while receiver Jauan Jennings had his first multi-touchdown game since week 3. Maybe it is the play calling with defensive coordinator Eric Washington, but something has to be dramatically different with this defense when they play against Minnesota next Monday or Chicago will not have a chance. D’Andre Swift - Stock Down Generally, general manager Ryan Poles has been good with his free agency signings. However, running back D’Andre Swift was a miss. Personally, I did not agree with this signing from the start because of concerns about Swift’s consistent productivity. That has been a glaring issue as Swift has not put up over 100 total yards since Chicago’s loss to the Washington Commanders back in week eight. His 40 scrimmage yards against the 49ers was his lowest since the season opener. Particularly when your backup running back is out with a concussion and the third-string running back exited the game in the third quarter with a head injury, Swift should have had more production. Furthermore, he was on the field for 79 percent of the offensive snaps, his highest percentage of the season. Despite being put on the field and being the unquestioned No. 1 running back, Swift barely did anything against San Francisco. Chicago may want to consider eating some cap and cutting Swift because he is not the long-term answer at running back. Rome Odunze - Stock Up This year has been a whacky one for Chicago Bears fans for a lot of reasons. One of them is having a poor running game and a wide receiver to be proud of; the Bears are not accustomed to having multiple talented receivers. Rookie receiver Rome Odunze is a good complement to DJ Moore. Moore was Chicago’s leading receiver against the 49ers with 49 receiving yards, but Odunze ended up with both touchdowns. His first touchdown in particular was electrifying. Right now, Odunze is second in receiving yards and tied for third in receiving touchdowns on Chicago’s roster right now. Looking toward next year, Odunze has proven he is a reliable receiver that could make a real impact for the Bears.
