Final Word: Chicago Bears offense proved a lot by taking care of business on Sunday
CHICAGO - The Chicago Bears discourse may not have been higher than after last week's loss in Indianapolis.
There was no faith in the offensive line, offensive coordinator and offensive run game. It was standing in the way of Caleb Williams' development, too.
But on Sunday, just the rainy clouds gave way to a bright blue open sky, the offense pieced together its best game of the year.
It wasn't a revival of the Greatest Show on Turf or anything of the sort. The Bears just took care of business in a 24-18 win over Sean McVay's Rams. No turnovers. Three touchdowns.
It was growth.
"You've got to be steady," Eberflus said. "That's what you've got to do as an NFL coach and NFL player."
D'Andre Swift needed this one. So did Matt Pryor. As did Shane Waldron, Caleb Williams, Nate Davis, DJ Moore and Keenan Allen.
No need to stop there. The entire Bears' offense needed it. They got it on Sunday against Los Angeles.
A 24-point outing served as a deafening silencer to those who believed these Bears, simply, didn't have it. I was one of them, to be clear. The offense in Indianapolis was too messy to see the light at the end of any proverbial tunnel. But, the best part about it is sometimes eating your words.
The Bears served it by getting what they were looking for all season long. Swift put it simply, the offense got solid execution from players on all units.
It wasn't perfect, but it didn't need to be. The Bears' defense being on the other end allows some margin for error.
"We just had to hold up our end," Swift said.
Waldron was under the biggest microscope.
The first-year offensive coordinator said Thursday he had a meeting with the offensive leaders on the team – Williams, Kmet, Moore and Marcedes Lewis – and the consensus from Williams and those involved was the conversation got the offense on the same page.
That showed on Sunday. There were no turnovers and only one throw to a receiver running a different route; but there was a cohesive running game plus an efficient and accurate passing game.
In Chicago, the topic of offensive coordinators is so sour that it didn't take long for those, at the very least, to raise an eyebrow at Waldron. Eberflus said Waldron shook off any of that displeasure.
"You win a couple games, and you're all that and a bag of chips. You lose a couple, and you're the other thing," Eberflus said. "So it's water off a duck's back. You've got to make sure that you're focusing on your job, focusing on what you do, and making corrections. Either way, you can't get too high. You can't get too low. You've got to be steady."
Jaquan Brisker delivers show-stopping number, filling stat sheet in Chicago Bears win over Rams
Filling the stat sheet, Brisker acted as a one-man wrecking ball on Sunday against the Rams and head coach Sean McVay's vaunted offense. On a defensive roster of standouts, Brisker stole the show.
Swift was another recipient of that line of questioning. He responded with a 93-yard game and had more yardage on Sunday and he did in his first three games combined.
His 36-yard touchdown run felt like a "eureka!" moment for a running game that took four weeks to shift into its drive gear.
"I know who I am," Swift said. "I know what I can bring to this team."
The Bears know this too. Guard Matt Pryor, who moved from right guard to left guard when Teven Jenkins exited with a rib injury, was one of the players who sprinted down from the line of scrimmage to celebrate with Swift in the end zone.
"I almost pulled my hammy," Pryor said. "It's ecstatic to see him be able to get out there and put what he does best on the field."
Left tackle Braxton Jones said the Bears faced adversity, which is part of the game.
"We were all on the same page and had a good level of execution today," Jones said. "You're going to face adversity, this is football, somebody's going to get injured here and there. So, hats off to those guys who came in and did the thing."
The Bears' offense as a whole did it Sunday. They scored points, moved the ball, found an offensive identity and saw it all come together in the process.
Now, they've picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and are ready to keep the momentum going.
Moore said it earlier in the week: the offense just needs to see it all happen once. When the unit clicks, it'll be about continuing the offensive success in the coming weeks and perfecting it before divisional games begin in the second half of the season.
"We needed that jump shot to see it go in," Moore said. "Now it's off to the races."