Quick Hits: The Bears can't find offense in the first half
Chicago's 20 total points scored in the 1st quarter is the worst through 14 games in the NFL this season
The Bears were shut out at halftime for the third straight game this past Monday night, making it five first half shutouts in 14 games this season for Chicago. It dropped them to 4-10 after losing their eighth game in a row in a nationally televised, 30-12 beat down at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings.
The only teams worse in the first half from a point differential perspective have been the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers. The Bears’ problems have been acute in the early going especially — the offense has scored a grand total of 20 points in the first quarter all season, and haven’t scored a touchdown on any of their opening drives.
They’ve played better in the second half of games — they’re 24th out of 32 teams in total point differential. But Chicago’s seemingly better play late in games has often come when the game was far out of reach. In their Week 14 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, for example, the Bears gained just two yards of offense — let alone sniffed points-scoring opportunities — in the first half. By that time the Niners were up 24-0 going into the locker room giving the Bears fans in attendance at Levi’s Stadium no confidence in the team’s ability to make a comeback1.
If you include the Week 13 matchup against the Lions on Thanksgiving, they gained a cumulative 55 total yards and had three first downs while giving up 590 yards of offense and 32 first downs in those first halves combined. That’s so bad.
Other interesting tidbits that stand out to me when looking at the above chart2 include:
Detroit has a negative point differential in the first quarter. That’s pretty unexpected given they have the highest overall point differential in the NFL.
The Eagles have found themselves losing in the first quarter too, but have made up for it in the ensuring quarters. They have a 12-2 record.
The Bills are a second half team: they have the second best point differential in the fourth quarter behind the Lions. Those two teams played a fantastic game against each other this past weekend in what neutral fans hope will be a preview of this year’s Super Bowl.
The narrative around Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers’ inability to close out games is on display with a negative point differential in the fourth quarter this year.
I know because I was there.