Bears Special Teams Struggles Highlighted After Bengals Game

The Chicago Bears faced significant scrutiny regarding their special teams performance in their recent game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The issues began right from the opening kickoff, where the Bears allowed Charlie Jones to return the kick for a staggering 98 yards, resulting in a touchdown for the Bengals. Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower did not hold back in his criticism of the unit, stating, 'That is not our best brand of football and I take responsibility for it.' Hightower emphasized the need for improvement, saying, 'If we want to be [a good] team, we've got to get those things cleaned up.'

In addition to the kickoff return touchdown, the Bears had further issues in the game. Cairo Santos had a 47-yard field goal attempt blocked, which Hightower attributed to a failure in blocking cohesion and assignment maintenance. Specifically, he pointed out that Joseph Assai of the Bengals broke through the blocks of Darnell Wright and Ryan Bates. The situation worsened when a holding penalty by Jahdae Walker negated what would have been a promising 52-yard kick return by Devin Duvernay. Santos also missed another 47-yard field goal later in the game, but the Bears were given a reprieve when Bengals player D.J. Ivey was flagged for offsides.

Hightower further explained that the missed field goal was the result of a poor operational process that he took ownership of. He noted that Santos did not place the kickoff where it was supposed to be, leading to coverage unit errors that allowed for the long touchdown return. Hightower also discussed a critical mistake during an onside kick attempt at the end of the game. Daniel Hardy’s misstep, where the ball hit the back of his foot while he was blocking, turned the situation into a free ball, nearly jeopardizing the Bears' chances of winning. Hightower insisted that Hardy should not have been in that position and advised players to engage blocks straight ahead to prevent such mishaps.

The Bears' special teams struggles have raised questions about the overall effectiveness and strategy of the unit moving forward, highlighting the urgent need for improvement as they aim to establish themselves as a more competitive team in the league.