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Bear Necessities: Matt Eberflus said fixing passing game will be group effort

alyssa barbieri
·2 min read
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The Chicago Bears passing game has been abysmal through the first three games of the season, where they’re averaging 78.3 passing yards per game. That’s far and away the worst with the Carolina Panthers just ahead of them at 161.3 passing yards per game.

Quarterback Justin Fields had a rough outing against the Houston Texans, where he completed 8-of-17 passes for 106 yards with two interceptions for a 27.7 passer rating.

Fields was uncomfortable, inaccurate and indecisive in Sunday’s game, and he was a big reason why the passing game stalled. But head coach Matt Eberflus was quick to note it’s going to take everyone — not just Fields — to fix the passing offense.

“It’s everybody,” Eberflus said, via ChicagoBears.com. “It really is. It’s the receivers, it’s the tight ends, it’s the running backs, it’s the quarterback, it’s the protection. All of those come into play with the timing and the rhythm of the passing game. It’s all 11 of us. It’s all 11 of us and the coaches and everybody involved.”

Fields’ inaccuracy was a big concern on Sunday — and the reason for his interceptions — and it’ll be a focal point for him this week in practice.

While the pass protection wasn’t perfect, there were times when Fields had time to step up in the pocket and deliver a throw. He was simply inaccurate. Still, Eberflus insists on the offensive line doing everything it can to help their quarterback.

“A lot of that is the pocket, too, at times, when we were looking at the film,” Eberflus said. “We’ve got to make sure we have a clean pocket for him to ride the pocket up and then deliver the ball.”

Story originally appeared on Bears Wire