How the Chiefs should gameplan for Week 3 vs. Bears
Matt Eberflus is in his second year as Chicago’s head coach, as is offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. The base of their offense is a zone rushing attack with West Coast passing concepts. They rely heavily on the running game and short, high-percentage passes to set up potentially explosive plays downfield.
AP Photo-Kamil Krzaczynski
Bears’ defensive coordinator Alan Williams suddenly resigned on Wednesday. Eberflus will now take on more responsibility with the defense, including calling plays. He is a former defensive coordinator and Williams basically ran Eberflus’ scheme, so there shouldn’t be many changes.
Eberflus runs a 4-3 Tampa 2 system. In a Tampa 2 defense, the middle linebacker drops deeper into coverage than he would in a traditional Cover 2, allowing the safeties to play with a little more width.
Despite beefing up their front seven in the offseason by bringing in linebackers T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds as well as defensive end DeMarcus Walker, the Bears’ defense hasn’t shown much improvement through two weeks. It has surrendered the fourth most total yardage in the league and has yet to record a takeaway.
The Chiefs’ offense has also had its struggles. Its young wide receiver corps has struggled with route running and consistently getting open and the lack of chemistry with quarterback Patrick Mahomes is clear. One silver lining is that the running game got going last week, specifically with Isiah Pacheco, who averaged 5.8 yards per carry.
The Bears allowed 92 rushing yards in Week 1 and 120 in Week 2. Getting Pacheco in a rhythm early and controlling the line of scrimmage could open things up for Mahomes and the passing game. Having early success against a Bears’ defense that is struggling with confidence could help get the K.C. offense finally firing on all cylinders.