Chicago Bears: 10 Keys to Beating the Chiefs

The Chicago Bears began life without Jay Cutler the hard way with a loss to the Oakland Raiders.  If anything, that loss showed them what they can and cannot do with backup quarterback Caleb Hanie.  They shouldn’t have a much of a problem beating the Kansas City Chiefs but anything is possible and the Bears need to be playing their best football again this weekend.

So how can the Bears beat Kansas City?  What can they do to ensure themselves a win?
Let’s find out as we take a look at 10 keys to the Bears being able to beat the Chiefs this Sunday.

Run the Ball

The Bears had some success running the ball against the Raiders the previous week and will need to do the same this week if they want to keep some of the heat off of Hanie.  Running the ball would be the best way for them to try to win this game, so look for them to get Matt Forte and Marion Barber involved early and often to help take the pressure off the passing game.

Short Controlled Passes

Short, controlled passes would work very well against the Chiefs and if Hanie and his receivers can connect with one another on those passes the Bears offense should find some success.  We have seen that Hanie has a good arm but his arm strength would be better used to zip some of those passes to receivers on shorter routes not only to ensure completions but to also control the ball and the clock.

Smart Thinking

This applies to Hanie for the most part.  We saw him make some poor decisions on the field throwing the ball last week and he will have to be much better about this in the game on Sunday.  If Martz can call plays that play into what Hanie is good at then that should benefit the offense.  Now that the Bears have some tape on Hanie they should be able to find some things that he does well and put him into some better situations.

Catch the Ball

Bears receivers have had some trouble hanging on or just flat out catching footballs at times this season.  The receivers need to make sure that they can catch everything that is thrown their way and with a second-string quarterback running the offense every single catch will count.  The receivers have to do their part.

Get Good Field Position

We saw what the lack of good field position can do in the Bears' game against the Oakland Raiders.  The offense needs the short field in order to have a good chance of getting into the end zone so both the defense and special teams need to step up and help out with field position. 

This may be a problem on special teams because the Chiefs have a very good punter and we have seen what happens when the opponent has a good punter (last week against the Raiders was a good example of this).

Eliminate the Turnovers

This goes hand in hand with Hanie making smarter decisions.  Hanie’s interceptions helped lead to the Bears' loss last week and so hopefully he’s able to play better in this game.  In any game, fewer turnovers are always better and if Hanie can eliminate them then the Bears will have a good chance of winning.

Generate the Turnovers

On the opposite end of spectrum, creating turnovers would be a good idea for the Bears' defense.  The Bears' defense has been very good at creating turnovers in the past and need to try as hard as they can to do this often against the Chiefs.  Being able to gain good field position by getting turnovers would do wonders for the Bears' offense and would give them additional opportunities to score.

Keep the Crowd Involved

Keeping things moving and making good plays in order to keep the crowd involved in the game would be a big step in the right direction for this team.  Chicago Bears' home crowds can be disruptive and if they are disruptive at the right times then the Bears will have the advantage.  The best way to get the crowd involved is to have success.

Watch the Run

The Chiefs may not have the strongest rushing attack in the NFL but the Bears need to be wary about them trying to use it to help take some of the pressure off of their beleaguered passing attack.  Shutting down the run will make the Chiefs one dimensional and force them to try to throw the ball which isn’t going so well for them right now.

Coaches Decisions

The Bears coaching staff is a good one and deserves a lot more credit than they get.  This is one of those games where smart decisions need to rule the day on both sides of the ball and the coaching staff will be responsible for making good decisions that help the Bears win the game.  The most important decisions that they can make have to deal with how they let Hanie execute the game plan.  They can’t afford to make bad decisions in this game.