Mistakes again doomed the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, and the Indianapolis Colts capitalized to pull off a 21-16 victory.
Quarterback Caleb Williams committed three turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble — as the Bears dropped to 1-2. Williams completed 33 of 52 passes for 363 yards and threw his first two NFL touchdown passes, but the Colts scored twice off his turnovers.
The deciding play came late in the fourth quarter. Colts defensive end Laiatu Latu barreled around tight end Cole Kmet and hit Williams’ arm from behind to force a fumble. Nose tackle Grover Stewart recovered at the Bears 16-yard line.
Four plays later, running back Jonathan Taylor scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to put the Colts ahead 21-9.
The Bears bounced back to put together a scoring drive, capped by Williams’ 6-yard touchdown pass to Kmet to cut the Colts lead to 21-16. But that was too little too late.
Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson completed 10 of 20 passes for 167 yards with two interceptions. Taylor rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
Williams threw his first career touchdown pass, a 1-yarder to Rome Odunze, with 8:21 to play. The play, which was also Odunze’s first touchdown catch, capped a 70-yard drive. Williams’ 2-point conversion throw was incomplete, and the Colts led 14-9.
The Bears got the ball back with a chance to go ahead, but Williams fumbled to make the comeback difficult.
The Colts also put together a scoring drive off Williams’ first-half interception in an ugly offensive half. The Bears were scoreless at halftime despite on one drive running 10 plays inside the 20 and four plays inside the 4.
The second half started well when cornerback Jaylon Johnson intercepted Richardson on the first play of the third quarter, giving the Bears the ball at their 48-yard line. They turned it into points with Cairo Santos making a 53-yard field goal to cut the Colts lead to 7-3.
The Bears punted on their second drive of the half, but the Colts’ Tyler Goodson was called for roughing punter Tory Taylor and the Bears got the ball back at their 23.
On the next play, Williams threw his second interception to cornerback Jaylon Jones on a ball that bounced off Odunze’s chest.
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The Colts didn’t score on that drive, but they did take advantage of a later Bears mistake. Late in the third quarter, the defense forced a punt, but Daniel Hardy was called for a neutral-zone infraction before the punt, extending the drive.
The Colts capitalized with a touchdown drive, capped by Trey Sermon’s 1-yard run for a 14-3 lead.
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Here’s how the game unfolded.
Inactives: Velus Jones Jr. a healthy scratch again, while Nate Davis is active
Bears right guard Nate Davis is active Sunday against the Colts after he battled a groin injury in practice during the week, but how much he plays remains to be seen.
In practice Wednesday, Davis aggravated the injury that bothered him during training camp. Coach Matt Eberflus indicated Matt Pryor would start in Davis’ place if he can’t go and also left open the possibility of a rotation.
Pryor has played in 77 career games over six NFL seasons, with 24 starts from 2020-22 with the Philadelphia Eagles and Colts. The Bears signed him to a one-year contract in March and have touted his versatility to play both tackle and guard.
The Bears previously declared out wide receiver Keenan Allen (heel), defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (groin) and fullback Khari Blasingame (hand/knee). Allen did not travel with the team to Indianapolis because of a personal issue, Eberflus said Friday.
The Bears placed running back Travis Homer on injured reserve after he had surgery on his finger.
Wide receiver/running back Velus Jones Jr., defensive end Dominique Robinson and linebacker Noah Sewell are also inactive.
For the Colts, defensive end Genard Avery, guard Tanor Bortolini, quarterback Sam Ehlinger, offensive tackle Blake Freeland and tight end Will Mallory are inactive.
Halftime: Red-zone failure the lowlight as Bears trail 7-0
The Colts shut out the Bears in the first half Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium and took a 7-0 lead into halftime.
The Bears’ offensive problems reached a new low late in the second quarter when they ran 10 plays inside the Colts 20-yard line — and four inside the 4 — and didn’t score.
Quarterback Caleb Williams sparked the drive with a 27-yard pass to Rome Odunze, and a 7-yard pass to DeAndre Carter got the Bears to the 19.
After Williams’ pass to Cole Kmet on third-and-5 was inches shy of the first down, running back Roschon Johnson gained the needed yard on fourth-and-1 to get to the 4. But Khalil Herbert gained 2 yards, 1 yard and was stopped for no gain. Williams’ fourth-down option pitch to D’Andre Swift was stopped for a loss of 12 yards.
The Bears got the ball back in the final minute of the second quarter. On a Hail Mary with one second to play, wide receiver DJ Moore caught the deflection of a 44-yard pass at the 1-yard line, and the Bears went into halftime scoreless.
Williams completed 16 of 27 passes for 213 yards with an interception. But the Bears’ run game issues continued as they totaled 19 carries for 41 yards.
The Bears and Colts traded interceptions early in the second quarter. Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds picked off Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson in the end zone to help keep the game scoreless.
On the ensuing drive Williams threw a 47-yard pass to Odunze, but three plays later he was intercepted by Colts cornerback Jaylon Jones.
The Colts needed three plays to turn Williams’ interception into a touchdown. Richardson threw a 40-yard pass to Kylen Granson, and Jonathan Taylor scored on a 29-yard run for a 7-0 Colts lead.
Bears kicker Cairo Santos’ 56-yard field-goal attempt on the opening drive fell short. The Bears converted a third-and-6 and a fourth-and-1 on the drive. But on third-and-6 from the Colts 38, Williams avoided pressure and then overthrew Odunze, who was open heading toward the end zone.
Colts safety Nick Cross got called for a 21-yard pass-interference penalty while defending Carter on the Bears’ next drive. But Swift gained 2 yards and Williams threw incomplete on the next two passes, and the Bears punted.
Bears defensive end Montez Sweat got his first sack of the year on the Colts’ second drive. He nearly forced a turnover when Andrew Billings grabbed the ball out of the air, but the officials ruled Richardson’s forward progress was stopped.
Backup cornerback Terell Smith left with a hip in jury in the first quarter and is doubtful to return.
Catch up on the rest of our coverage.
Our predictions — and what to watch in Week 3
Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen will miss his second straight game with an ongoing heel injury that has bothered him since training camp. Coach Matt Eberflus said Allen’s heel is getting better, but he won’t travel with the Bears to Indianapolis for personal reasons. His continued absence is a blow to a Bears offense that was going to feature him heavily along with DJ Moore.
The Bears also declared out fullback Khari Blasingame (hand/knee), defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (groin) and running back Travis Homer (finger). Eberflus said Homer had surgery on his finger and will go on injured reserve.
Rookie receiver Rome Odunze, who played against the Texans after spraining his knee, practiced in full Friday and is expected to play. He said he was sore after Sunday’s game and is still taping the knee but is ready to go.
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Eberfus said Odunze has displayed “mental and physical toughness” in battling the injury. Read more here.
How to fix the offense
Coming off two sickly offensive performances to open the season, the Bears head to Indianapolis this weekend seeking remedies to enliven a unit that ranks last in the NFL in passing yards, sacks allowed and touchdowns scored while also sitting in the bottom five in yards per play and rushing offense.
For a team with 2024 playoff aspirations and a franchise with a history of underperforming offenses, the first two weeks of struggle were not what the doctor ordered. A highly contagious case of Here-we-go-again-itis has spread rapidly through the fan base.
As the Bears work to keep that contagion from infecting Halas Hall, we offer a six-step prescription to help the offense get back on its feet quickly. Read more here.
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Tracking Caleb
First things first, Caleb Williams said he is still a little bruised up from the many hits he took from the Texans defense, but his movement throwing and running around felt good, at least in the before-practice walk-through Wednesday.
So Williams is properly physically recovering from the seven-sack, 11-hit night he had. He and the Bears now need to figure out how to prevent that from happening again, beyond just better play from the offensive line.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Texans blitzed on 41.7% of Williams’ dropbacks and generated 12 pressures and five sacks when blitzing. The stats service said Williams completed 3 of 12 passes for 15 yards and an interception on blitzes. The Texans had 23 team pressures overall.
“Having better communication between myself, coaches and the offensive line, making sure that we’re on the same page and that we’re making adjustments we need to in game,” Williams said. “You obviously have adjustments that you practice throughout the week, but the other team’s job is to try to confuse you and throw different things at you, different looks. Being able to adjust quickly in game is the most important thing. It starts with communication.”
Wide receiver DJ Moore said the rest of the Bears offense also has “to be on it” to help. Read more here.
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Remember him?
Justin Fields doesn’t want to get involved in any sort of quarterback controversy. One might be coming anyway.
The Steelers are 2-0 after a 13-6 win over the Broncos. So is Fields for the first time in his career after another four quarters of mistake-free if not particularly flashy football.
Fields’ numbers are serviceable if not spectacular. He has thrown for 273 yards and a touchdown through two weeks while taking care of the ball, a solid formula for a team built to win on the strength of its star-laden defense.
Yet there were also signs of growth from Week 1 to Week 2 for Fields. Read more here.
Chicago community groups join forces to oppose new Bears stadium
Friends of the Parks, which opposes private development of the lakefront, led the effort to organize about 20 community leaders and more than a dozen groups, including the Bronzeville Historical Society, Chicago Bird Alliance, and the Sierra Club.
“While we would love the Chicago Bears to stay in the city, we object to the site they have selected and the ultimate cost to the city’s residents,” Friends of the Parks interim Executive Director Gin Kilgore said. “Ensuring Chicago’s lakefront remains forever open, clear and free is not the responsibility of one group, but the work of many.”
Friends of the Parks is a non-profit group that has experience in this arena, having filed a lawsuit to successfully fight off the plans of Star Wars creator George Lucas for a museum on the same site.
Asked if they would file suit in this case, Kilgore said, “You never start with a lawsuit, but you don’t take it off the table either.” Read more here.