6 takeaways from the Bears' frustrating 21-16 loss vs. the Colts

The Chicago Bears had a chance to get back in the win column once again early in the 2024 season thanks to a favorable matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. Unfortunately, many of the mistakes that plagued them during the first couple of weeks were still showing up, such as questionable play calls, poor timeout usage, and the lack of a run game. Ultimately, those issues led to a 21-16 loss, dropping the Bears below .500 for the first time this year.

Offensively, Chicago struggled to establish an identity and went scoreless in the first half. The Bears missed a long field goal attempt and faltered at the Colts' one-yard line with an option play that had zero chance of working. Though quarterback Caleb Williams got things on track in the second half and had a much better performance overall, he was still responsible for three turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble). The Colts scored 14 of their 21 points off those turnovers, and the Bears weren't able to overcome that deficit.

Defensively, Chicago made quarterback Anthony Richardson's day stressful, forcing him into making poor decisions with the ball. Once the Colts decided to rely heavily on Jonathan Taylor and the ground game, though, they had more success and were able to keep the Bears out of reach late in the second half.

This game was viewed as a "get right" matchup for the Bears. Instead, they leave Indianapolis with a loss and still have to answer the same questions as they did a week ago. Here are our takeaways from Sunday's loss.

1. This was a very winnable game

For about three quarters, it didn't seem like either team wanted to win this game. The Bears struggled to move the ball and have a balanced attack, while the Colts were playing undisciplined football and had their quarterback making some of the worst decisions we've seen. It seemed like every time one team was gifted a chance to do some damage, they went ahead and squandered the opportunity.

This game was so winnable for the Bears. Chicago won the time of possession battle, had more total yards, and fewer penalties. But they lost the turnover battle, and some of their coaching decisions kept this one out of reach. They played down to their opponent and paid for it with a loss. Even if it's early in the season, that cannot happen.

2. Caleb Williams continues to progress

This was the most comfortable we have seen Caleb Williams in a Bears uniform, and even if it came against a bottom defense, it's still good to see the rookie quarterback progress as the season marches on. Williams finished the day completing 33-of-52 passes for 363 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also fumbled on a strip sack. His 363 yards set a new Bears record for most passing yards by a rookie quarterback.

Williams was much more decisive with his throws, and his accuracy looked better compared to the first couple of weeks. His yardage totals, completion percentage, and quarterback rating all improved from last week, and he finally got the deep ball working on passes to Rome Odunze and DJ Moore while relying on tight end Cole Kmet for the intermediate gains.

There is still a long way to go, like cleaning up the three turnovers he was responsible for, but seeing this kind of improvement from the No. 1 overall pick is very encouraging. Despite the issues surrounding him regarding the offensive line and lack of a run game, he's able to overcome those to an extent and continue to develop.

3. Matt Eberflus continues to struggle with in-game decisions

Let's separate out Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron because while both were bad on Sunday, they were bad for different reasons. In Eberflus' case, the third-year head coach still struggles with in-game assignments and managing timeouts. He is too far into his head coaching career to be dealing with these issues, and it made the Bears' chances for a win much slimmer.

The head coach wasn't prepared to go for two on the first touchdown of the game when the Bears were down by five points, resulting in him having to call a timeout. That would come back to haunt them at the end of the game when they couldn't stop the clock. He also errored in not going for an onside kick following the second score with just 2:01 left in the game and was only bailed out thanks to a mental lapse by the Colts returner.

Eberflus also doesn't seem to know when to throw the challenge flag. After being too loose with it last weekend, he should have easily thrown the flag when Kmet was stopped short on a third down in the first half thanks to a horrible spot by the officials.

It's these types of issues that shouldn't be happening this far into his tenure. It just feels like the same old mistakes and miscues from this staff, with Eberflus looking puzzled on the sidelines. He calls a great game defensively, but that doesn't translate to the rest of the team.

4. Shane Waldron needs to be put on notice

The good vibes of bringing on Shane Waldron as the team's offensive coordinator are officially gone. It was bound to happen eventually, but three weeks into the season is much earlier than I expected. Waldron has struggled to put together a cohesive gameplan up to this point, and while there were some positives on Sunday, the negatives easily outweighed them.

The Bears offense continued to struggle with the run, even against the team that had allowed the most rushing yards per game up to this point. The continued reliance on D'Andre Swift on early downs (more on him in a minute) continues to put this team behind the eight ball. Rushing for just 63 yards against this Colts team is brutal, and it starts with his balance of play calls and the personnel he uses.

Of course, his worst moment of the day came on the goal line sequence in the first half when he called three straight runs up the middle with Khalil Herbert, then went to a speed option play with Swift when the offensive line got obliterated on fourth down. It was disastrous, and it basically cost the Bears the game.

I'm not fully out on Waldron yet because three games is still too small of a sample size. However, it feels like he's still getting a feel for his personnel, and that should have happened during the offseason. It's frustrating because he started fast with the Seattle Seahawks when he was hired in 2021 but now struggles early with the Bears. It's too early to call for a firing, but he should be on notice with the talent at his disposal.

5. It's good to see Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet finally take off

Much has been made about Williams' performance, but how about two of the pass catchers who were on the receiving end of his passes? Rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet were noticeably absent from the box scores over the first two games but exploded in Week 3. Odunze caught six passes for 112 yards and a touchdown, while Kmet caught 10 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown. Both players led the team with 11 targets each.

Seeing a rookie wide receiver like Odunze have this much of an impact this early in his career has to make Bears fans excited. He and Williams have clearly been working together to establish more chemistry, and it shows. Odunze is the first Bears rookie wide receiver since Anthony Miller to have 100 receiving yards in a game.

Kmet, meanwhile, has been a staple on this team for a long time, but he hasn't been utilized up to this point in Waldron's offense. This week, he was a third-down merchant and was a viable option for Williams in the middle of the field. He likely took many of Keenan Allen's looks, as he missed his second game in a row, but made the most of them. Kmet is a better pass catcher than people give him credit for, and he deserves to be high up in the pecking order.

Though there are many issues to clean up, this was a positive development in Waldron's offense and Williams' development. The best receivers led the team in targets, including DJ Moore, who finished with eight catches for 78 yards on 10 targets.

6. D'Andre Swift needs to take a seat

It's stunning to see just how bad Swift has been in this offense. We know he has had the benefit of playing behind some elite offensive lines when he was with the Lions and Eagles, but he is a net negative when on the field. Swift has just 68 rushing yards on 37 attempts, averaging 1.8 yards per carry. He has as many 10-yard runs as negative 10-yard runs (one) and converted just one first down all season.

Even with the offensive line struggling at times, Swift has to take a seat on the bench, at least temporarily. The offense performed much more efficiently when Khalil Herbert and especially Roschon Johnson were in the game. Johnson rushed for 30 yards on eight carries and showed better ability to bounce off tacklers while keeping his feet moving. He was also a key factor as a pass catcher, making guys miss to get first downs. Swift seems to go down way too easily and misses the open areas.

Let's put it this way: Swift has just one rushing first down on 37 carries this season. Johnson and Herbert, meanwhile, both have three first downs on eight carries. The rushing offense can look better; it just needs to happen with a different back carrying the ball.

I had high hopes for Swift coming into the season, believing he had turned a corner and wasn't just a product of the offensive line when he was in Philadelphia. So far, I've been wrong. I think there is still hope as a change-of-pace back, but Johnson should carry the load next week to switch things up. He can't be much worse than what we have already seen, after all.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: 6 takeaways from the Bears' frustrating 21-16 loss vs. the Colts