There has been no playoff appearance for the Chicago Bears since 2010. What players need to step up this season for the team to end its postseason drought?
For the first time in a few years, there seems to be a little excitement surrounding the team from the Windy City. The Chicago Bears have finished dead last in the NFC North each of the past four seasons. Their combined win-loss record over that span is a dismal 19-45. They’ve gone through a pair of head coaches in Marc Trestman and John Fox over that stretch. And now former Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Matt Nagy has the job.
The good news is that the Bears have one of the better defenses in the league. So it’s the other side of the football that needed some help and general manager Ryan Pace provided some new pieces. Meanwhile, there’s obviously a lot of room for improvement when it comes to this offensive unit.
And as it turns out, all five spots on this list will focus on the Bears’ offensive attack. So which performers need to play a whole lot better in 2018? Let’s take a look…
5. Bradley Sowell
This past season, the Chicago Bears finished 30th in the NFL in total offense and dead last in the league in passing. The club managed only 26 offensive touchdowns and the Bears’ 13 scores through the air were tied for the fewest in the league with the Indianapolis Colts. While the team has a pair of solid running backs in Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen, Chicago averaged only 111.8 yards per game rushing (16th in the NFL). Hence, more help is needed from the offensive line.
This past season, Bradley Sowell played in all 16 games for the Bears and started the final two weeks, first at left guard and then at right tackle. In any case, his overall grade via Pro Football Focus leaves a lot to be desired. For now, he’s the man at left guard but he needs to bounce back from a couple of shaky years with the Seahawks and Bears, respectively – most of that at tackle. Meanwhile, Ryan Pace used a second-round pick on University of Iowa guard James Daniels in April. Stay tuned.