WHEN THE BEARS HAVE THE BALL
After the offense stagnated for the second consecutive game and Caleb Williams was sacked seven times against the Texans, the Bears plan to go back to the basics — establishing a running game — to get Williams and the offense on track.
The opportunity appears to be there against a Colts defense that has allowed 474 rushing yards and 5.1 yards per attempt in two games — including 53 rushes for 261 yards against the Packers last week.
But just as the Bears are trying to ignite their run game, the Colts will be trying to shore up their porous run defense. It’s a showdown of the moveable object vs. the repressible force.
“The opponent will be the opponent each week,” Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said. “For us, it just goes back to focus on ourselves, focus on our fundamentals, hit the blocks the correct way, and we’ll be rolling.”
The Bears’ offensive line has struggled in the first two games, particularly center Coleman Shelton, but might have caught a break this week when Colts three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner was put on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain. Rotation tackles Raekwon Davis, Taven Bryan and Northwestern product Adetomiwa Adebawore filled in against the Packers. None of them is DeForest Buckner.
But unlike the Packers with Malik Willis last week, the Bears won’t be using the run game to cover for their quarterback, but to give him opportunity to do what he does best. So if the Bears can establish the run early, it will be up to Williams to make the most of it.
WHEN THE COLTS HAVE THE BALL
Colts second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson presents a challenge for the Bears’ defense with his ability to run and hit the big play.
Richardson had three pass plays of 50 yards or more out of 19 attempts against the Texans in the opener — a 60-yard touchdown to wide receiver Alec Pierce, a 54-yard touchdown to wide receiver Ashton Dulin and a 57-yard pass to Pierce. He also has five rushes of 10 or more yards.
“[Richardson] is really the featured runner,” Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. “When they start to transition to some of the college-style plays — the option plays — he’s capable of running. So we’ve got to do a good job with our assignments [to defend] the option portion of their running attack.”
For the Bears, it all starts with a defense line that has been productive with balance and depth in the first two games. Defensive tackle Andrew Billings, a noted run-stopper, has two quarterback hits in two games — as many as he had in 17 games last season. But he has the key matchup this week against Colts guard Quenton Nelson, who has made the Pro Bowl in all six of his NFL seasons and was All-Pro in the first three.