As is typical for the Chicago Bears this year, their offensive performance was far from enough.

The Bears fans had traveled well and came to the Lucas Oil Stadium in nearby Indianapolis, but the team itself did not show nearly the same enthusiasm as the spectators. Chicago ended up losing 21-16 to the Indianapolis Colts and came in 1-2 in the regular season.

The running game was nonexistent against the NFL’s worst run defense to start Week 3. There were some poor decisions made throwing the ball, and even more obvious were the questionable plays on offense as the game went on. As strong as the Bears defense looked at times, it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the weak offensive performance.

Here are some of the key takeaways from Sunday’s loss.

Ups and downs for Caleb

Williams eclipsed 300 passing yards in the loss to the Colts, a huge improvement from his first two weeks when he didn’t even reach 300 total yards in the two games. He threw two touchdowns after failing to score a single one in the first two games. Some of his throws down the stretch looked very good, especially the throws to Rome Odunze, DJ Moore and Cole Kmet that looked precise and decisive, with plenty of momentum behind his throws. He ended up breaking the record holder for most passing yards by a Bears rookie quarterback in a game, surpassing Mitchell Trubisky’s 314 yards against the Lions in 2017.

Still, Williams has been inconsistent in his third NFL stint. Some of his passes have seemed forced, his pressure has been inconsistent, and his accuracy on long passes isn’t quite where it should be. All of these shortcomings have made him look like a rookie, but all in all, he’s looked like a pretty solid rookie. It may be clear that this isn’t going to be the “best season ever by a Bears QB” as some fans were expecting earlier this year, but the approaches are extremely impressive.

Shane Waldron…why?

The Bears offensive coordinator called a lot of questionable plays on Sunday. His reliance on wide receiver screens that didn’t work and his decision to run the ball five times in a row in a goal-to-go situation ended up costing his team points. Given the way his offense operated down to down, he missed an opportunity that could have made the difference between winning and losing.

D’Andre Swift needs to turn things around

I’m writing this paragraph with 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Maybe that will change, but I’m too lazy to update it after the fact. At the time of this writing, Swift has averaged 1.5 yards per carry on 13 carries. His longest run of the game was 4 yards. The offensive line play hasn’t been great, that’s true. But watching him, it’s abundantly clear that Swift isn’t the type of running back to make the most of the opportunities he gets. He relies on his protection to give him opportunities, and that doesn’t mean he’s a terrible NFL running back. A lot of backs are like that. But those aren’t the players you pay $8 million a year to.

Montez Sweat is getting hot

Sweat had his first sack of the season on Sunday, adding a tackle that resulted in a loss of yardage against the run. His quickness off the side helped put pressure on the Colts’ offensive line. He had 12.5 sacks last year between his stints with the Bears and Commanders, and to see him on the scoreboard in Week 3 is an encouraging sight.

Taking advantage of poor quarterback play

The Colts got the win, but Anthony Richardson is not a good NFL quarterback. Sometimes low pass completion rates can be deceptive, as can a performance with no touchdowns and two interceptions. But this one wasn’t deceptive at all – it was truly awful. Jaylon Johnson and Tremaine Edmunds both benefited from poor accuracy and decision-making, and Kevin Byard also provided a crucial coverage break in the fourth quarter. Outside of Chicago, though, people don’t talk about it.

Come by now and watch Mason’s Wear and Tear Bears postgame show and talk about the Bears with us.