With Caleb Williams sidelined by a hamstring injury, the Chicago Bears are turning to backup quarterback Case Keenum - and that means the burden doesn’t stop with the man under center. Several other players have to carry more weight now, and the margin for error just got a lot thinner.
Garrett Bradbury is one of the first names that jumps out. He had a strong training camp, but that hasn’t translated cleanly once the games started.
Bradbury brings value because he can communicate well and see the field, but when bigger defenders come after him, he has struggled. That has to change with Keenum in the lineup.
His ability to keep the line organized matters, but the Bears need more than that. If he can’t hold up physically, Keenum won’t have the time he needs to settle in and operate from the pocket.
Colston Loveland also needs to get going. The second-year tight end has had a frustrating start to the season, with just one catch for three yards over the first two games.
Now he’s working with a new quarterback who doesn’t have the benefit of built-in timing with him. Even so, Loveland has been slow out of the gate before - he also started slowly as a rookie - and this is the moment for the Bears to lean on his talent.
Keenum should be looking for his top playmakers, and Loveland has to find a way to become a bigger part of the passing game.
Luther Burden is the other pass-catcher who needs to be featured in a different way. If Loveland is the obvious target, Burden should be the one the Bears design easy touches for.
He’s at his best when the ball is in his hands. So far, though, his production has been modest: eight catches for 95 yards, with only 32 of those yards coming after the catch.
He’s also had one rushing attempt, and that went for just two yards. The Bears need to manufacture more chances for him to create, because that would make things much easier for Keenum.
Then there’s D’Andre Swift, who figures to carry a bigger load with Williams out. Chicago is going to have to lean on the run game more than it did over the first two weeks.
Swift was electric in Week 1, piling up 18 carries for 124 yards and three touchdowns. Week 2 looked far more ordinary, though, as he managed 16 carries for 45 yards.
Sure, the defense was tougher and keyed in on him more, but now the attention will stay on the Bears’ freshly extended running back. Swift has to be even better from here on out.
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Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles have both offered only limited information about where things stand, and Johnson did not give much away when asked about Gordon at a recent press conference. For a defense that expected Gordon to be a central piece, the uncertainty now matters almost as much as the injury itself, especially with no clear answer yet on when he might practice again or whether his return will come soon at all. [Read more 🡒]
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Instead, injuries and uneven play have put that role in doubt. Johnson managed only seven games last year, and in the first two games of this season he has already been beaten for multiple completions without a pass breakup or interception to show for it, leaving him near the bottom of NFL cornerbacks in PFF ratings and turning one of Chicagos most important defensive bets into an early concern. [Read more 🡒]