3 Bears to blame for humiliating loss to the Chiefs
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1970-01-01 08:00
The Chicago Bears took a devastating defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3, extending the longest losing streak in franchise history. So who's to blame?

The Chicago Bears have looked bad for quite some time now. But they took things to an entirely new level on Sunday, taking a 41-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

And for those who didn't watch, the score legit makes it look closer than it actually was. No, seriously.

Look, nobody expected Chicago to come into Arrowhead Stadium and upset the defending Super Bowl champs. But Bears fans had to be hoping for their team to at least put up some sort of fight.

But that simply didn't happen.

After surrendering just seven points in the opening quarter, things took a turn for the worse in the second as the Bears gave up 27 points and found themselves down 34-0 at halftime.

Sure, Chicago "won" the second half, 10-7, but that's only because Andy Reid yanked Patrick Mahomes and the majority of the Kansas City starters in the third quarter.

So, who's to blame for the Bears' franchise-worst 13th consecutive loss? Let's take a look.

Bears to blame for Week 3 loss to the Chiefs: Matt Eberflus

Simply put, head coach Matt Eberflus didn't have the Bears ready to compete. Truth be told, they have yet to look sharp in really any facet of the game all year.

And the man running the show has to be held accountable, as there's been no evidence that Chicago has improved anything following a league-worst 3-14 season in 2022.

Yes, Eberflus had a rough week with defensive coordinator Alan Williams' abrupt resignation on Wednesday, leaving him to call the defensive plays against the vaunted Chiefs offense.

But while Kansas City can put up points in a hurry against anybody, the Bears made Mahomes & Co. look like they were scrimmaging against a really bad practice squad. In the end, the Chiefs recorded 456 total yards, 303 through the air, and another 153 on the ground.

After forcing Kansas City to punt on the game's first possession, the Chicago defense allowed the Chiefs to score the next seven times they had the football. I know Eberflus doesn't deserve all the blame here, but this loss certainly puts him on the hot seat, don't you think?

Bears to blame for Week 3 loss to the Chiefs: Justin Fields

Sorry, folks. It has to be done.

Like Eberflus on defense, Justin Fields can't be saddled with everything that went wrong with the Chicago Bears offense against the Chiefs on Sunday.

But No. 1 undoubtedly deserves a significant portion of it.

As the game progressed, I saw some on social media saying how great it was to see Fields finally getting a chance to run the football. And, sadly, he did lead the Bears in rushing on Sunday with 47 yards on 11 carries.

But that's just two more carries than he had in Week 1 against the Packers. He also gained more yardage that day, rushing for what's still a season-high 59 yards. So, I'm not sure why people were so jacked about Sunday's running stats.

As for Fields' passing, it was statistically his worst performance of the year as he completed just 11 of 22 passes for 99 yards with a touchdown and an interception. But don't let the touchdown get you excited, as that came against second- or third-stringers in the fourth quarter.

Unlike Eberflus' defense, the Kansas City defensive unit came ready to play and once again looked like one of the best in the NFL. They overpowered the Bears' lackluster offensive line and never allowed Fields to get comfortable. Surprisingly, the Chiefs registered just three sacks, but it felt like a lot more.

Perhaps Fields will be able to do a little more next week against a Broncos defense that just allowed 70 points to Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins.

Bears to blame for Week 3 loss to the Chiefs: Bears receivers

Yep, I'm going to lump all the Chicago Bears wide receivers into one group here. My apologies to those individuals who played decently enough against the Chiefs.

As an overall group, however, this unit needs to step up and give Justin Fields some help.

Again, Fields deserves a lot of the blame for the Bears' lackluster performance at Arrowhead, as he made plenty of terrible throws and plenty of bad decisions overall.

When he did make the rare accurate pass, however, he often wasn't rewarded for his efforts.

Early in the game, when Chicago actually still had a chance, Fields threw a perfect deep ball to D.J. Moore down the sideline, only to watch the former Panther let it slip right through his hands. That's a head-dropping, shoulder-slumping kind of a moment.

There were several others throughout the afternoon, but that one easily stands out the most.

Justin Fields has a long way to go before being considered even close to being a decent passer. But if he makes a good throw and the guys who get paid to catch them can't do their job, it's going to be a long season in the Windy City.

On an unrelated note, I think I deserve a little credit for getting through an entire Bears-Chiefs recap without mentioning the fact that Taylor Swift was in the building to see Travis Kelce light up the Chicago defense.

Dang it -- almost made it.

Tags dj moore matt eberflus justin fields chicago bears