3 Bears to blame for blowing their opportunity in Week 3 loss to Colts

Not many, if any, NFL teams received more hype entering the 2024 campaign than the Chicago Bears. I mean, they were chosen to be on Hard Knocks for a reason, right?

The hype felt justified. Their defense was much improved. They finally got themselves a franchise quarterback, selecting generational prospect Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. They even gave Williams one of the best skill position groups in the NFL.

Unfortunately, the Bears got off to a bit of a rocky start to begin their season, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Their defense stole a win in Week 1, but it felt like their offense had a chance to show up against an 0-2 Indianapolis Colts team fighting for its season. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be.

The Bears failed to score a single point in the first half, and were held off the board in excruciating fashion. Their defense played well throughout most of the game, but the Bears fell 21-16 to fall to 1-2 on the season. Here are three Bears to blame for this gut-wrenching defeat.

3) D'Andre Swift was a non-factor against a poor Colts run defense

The Bears signed D'Andre Swift to man their backfield after a solid season with the Philadelphia Eagles, but his first two weeks were anything but pretty. The 25-year-old amassed just 48 yards on 24 attempts through the first two weeks of the year, averaging a pathetic 2.0 yards per carry. Fortunately, he had a chance to break out against a Colts defense that looked extremely susceptible against the run.

The Colts gave up 159 yards to Joe Mixon in Week 1, and despite knowing that the Green Bay Packers were going to run the ball all game in Week 2, they allowed Josh Jacobs to run for 151 yards on the ground. No, Bears fans weren't expecting 150 or more yards from Swift, but he had to show something, right?

Well, on his 13 carries, all Swift managed was 20 yards on the ground. He entered the day averaging 2.0 yards per carry, and that average somehow went down against arguably the worst run defense in the NFL.

Sure, some of his struggles are offensive line-related, and some of his struggles in this game likely came from the fact that they were trailing the entire way, but he had to be better than he was. 13 carries for 20 yards is unacceptable in any scenario, especially in this kind of game against a Colts defense that was embarrassed on the ground two weeks in a row.

2) Caleb Williams wasn't as good as his stat line suggests

Caleb Williams completed 33 passes, threw for 363 yards, and threw for two touchdowns. With those statistics in mind, you'd expect that he just had himself a monster game, silencing the doubters and leading the Bears to a very comfortable win on the road. Unfortunately, those statistics do not tell the whole story.

He completed 33 passes, but did so on 52 attempts. He threw for 363 yards, but again, did so on 52 attempts. He also took four sacks, threw a pair of bad interceptions, and fumbled deep in the Bears own zone late in the game leading to what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

Offensive line is a problem in Chicago, but this was a play that Williams actually had time to make and he failed miserably. Failing to come through has been a theme for Williams who has mostly struggled to begin his NFL career.

Without his three turnovers, there's a good chance that the Bears would've won this game. If he had gotten going in the first half, the Bears likely would've won this game. Instead, Williams couldn't avoid turnovers and didn't generate much for most of this game.

1) The Bears coaching staff did not set the team up for success

It feels lame to blame the Bears coaching staff, especially when the team has clear faults, but what transpired on Sunday cannot be ignored.

The Bears had to know that the Colts could not stop the run at all in the first two weeks of the season. Yes, they had done a great job against Swift, but why not give guys like Roschon Johnson or Khalil Herbert more than a combined 12 carries? Why let your rookie quarterback throw the ball a whopping 52 times when they had a weakness on the ground?

On the defensive side, the Bears did not do a good enough job stopping the run. Jonathan Taylor ran for 110 yards and averaged nearly five yards per carry picking up key first downs and scoring two touchdowns on the day. Richardson didn't do much of anything in the air, as expected, but their inability to stop the run allowed the Colts to seize control and win the game.

The Bears were unable to expose Indianapolis' worst weakness and were unable to stop their biggest strength. The players have to play better, but it feels as if the Bears were not prepared to win a game that they really should have.