Bears 2024 offense: Inside the numbers of what went wrong, what provides hope

The 2024 Chicago Bears’ offense was not supposed to go backward.

They went from Luke Getsy to Shane Waldron at offensive coordinator, Justin Fields to Caleb Williams at quarterback, Darnell Mooney and Tyler Scott to Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze as the Nos. 2 and 3 receivers, Khalil Herbert to D’Andre Swift at running back and Robert Tonyan to Gerald Everett at No. 2 tight end.

They also swapped out interior offensive linemen Lucas Patrick and Cody Whitehair for Coleman Shelton and Ryan Bates, while adding the versatile Matt Pryor and third-round rookie Kiran Amegadjie.

After all of that, the Bears gained fewer yards than any team in football, fired Waldron midseason and saw all facets of the offense regress.

(EPA: Expected points added, per TruMedia)

The inconsistent nature of the 2024 Bears offense meant 68 penalties, the most the franchise has had since at least 2000. They were tied for the third-most false starts in the league, fifth-most illegal formation penalties and fourth-most illegal shifts.

Earlier this week, we did a deep dive on Caleb Williams’ stats. Here’s what we learned about his supporting cast by going inside the numbers.

Running backs

After back-to-back seasons in the top 13 in rushing EPA (expected points added) per TruMedia, the Bears dropped to 23rd. They were 27th in yards per carry.

Swift had as many games with 90-plus rushing yards (three) as he had 20 yards or fewer. He was too boom-or-bust, averaging 3.5 yards per carry or less in 10 of 17 games. He was durable and had a few, “Oh, that’s why they signed him” runs (a 56-yard touchdown in Washington, a 39-yard score against Green Bay).

Three of the six leading rushers in football were also free-agent acquisitions last spring — Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs. Swift finished 18th. Among the 50 runners with at least 100 carries, Swift ranked 48th in EPA and 45th in success percentage.

One thing I looked at late in the season regarding the Bears’ slow starts was what Swift did on first down in the first quarter. He had 42 carries for 120 yards on first down in the first quarter. His success percentage of 14.3 ranked 50th out of 50 qualifying backs. His longest first-down, first-quarter run went for 9 yards. He averaged 2.9 yards per carry. Seventeen of those 42 carries went for 2 yards or fewer (40.5 percent). That hindered the offense early in games by putting the Bears in third-and-long scenarios too often.

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A big theme in training camp was Swift’s impact as a receiver. He did finish 10th in the league among running backs in receiving yards. He had five catches go for at least 20 yards, which tied for third in the league among running backs. He was productive at times in that role and did have a few strong rushing games, but overall, a new coach needs to find a better way to employ Swift to avoid inefficient runs.

Roschon Johnson didn’t necessarily take a “second-year leap” as a running back. He wasn’t utilized at all in the first two games before getting 25 carries over the next three. He did score six touchdowns as the goal-line back. He also missed multiple games with a concussion.

Two of Williams’ first-down throws on fourth down went to Johnson, who had 10 catches on third down — four moved the sticks.

Johnson should stick around the NFL for a while because of his work on special teams and abilities as a pass protector, but he didn’t show he could be a lead runner this season. The Bears had a lot of faith in Travis Homer as a third-down back, but he had only six carries. Khalil Herbert fell out of favor and finished his season with the Bengals.

While Swift and Johnson are both under contract for 2025, there’s room for the Bears to add to the backfield.

Bears receiver DJ Moore’s production improved after the team changed offensive coordinators. (Luke Hales / Getty Images)

Wide receivers

The Bears’ best trio of receivers since at least 2013 didn’t put up stunning numbers individually, a consequence of a passing offense that never really got going. But the offense did have three wideouts haul in more than 700 receiving yards for the first time in franchise history.

In fact, in the previous four seasons (2020-23), only three Bears wide receivers had at least 700 yards — DJ Moore in ’23, Darnell Mooney in ’21 and Allen Robinson in ’20.

Moore finished 11th in the NFL in receiving yards and fifth in yards after the catch. His production changed after the play-caller switch, reminding everyone why he got his contract and providing some hope for what he and Odunze can do next season.

Allen had the least productive season of his career (discounting 2015-16 when he played in only nine games). We still saw enough examples of Allen’s abilities to get open and be a quarterback’s best friend, like his touchdowns in London and some of his plays on third down, but he also had the lowest catch percentage of his career (57.9).

Odunze finished sixth among rookies in receiving and had a catch percentage of only 53.5 — Malik Nabers’ was 64.1, Brian Thomas Jr.’s was 65.4 and Ladd McConkey’s was 73.2. Marvin Harrison Jr. had a catch percentage of 53.4. Odunze finished with the most receiving yards in the league on fourth down (90) and five of his six catches on fourth down went for a first down. There’s more to unlock from Odunze as a downfield threat.

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Allen tied Drake London for the league lead with nine targets on fourth down — all six of his catches moved the sticks.

Obviously, there was a big drop-off for the Bears after “the big three.” Fans wondered why Tyler Scott could never carve out a role. It’s hard to take Moore, Allen or Odunze off the field, but a bigger jump from Scott after his rookie season would’ve earned him more reps. We’ll see what the Bears do with the No. 3 receiver spot (re-sign Allen? Draft or sign a player?) and how Scott does with a new staff.

Tight ends

Cole Kmet had the best catch percentage of his career (85.5) and his highest yards-per-target (8.6) but his second-fewest receptions, targets and receiving yards.

When the ball went to Kmet, he caught it at a higher rate, and for more yards, but it didn’t go his way enough. He went from 90 targets in 2023 to 47 in 2024. He was 29th in the league among tight ends in targets, and his average salary ranks eighth at the position.

The Bears shouldn’t target Kmet more because he’s paid more, but there was clearly a gap between scheme and what he’s capable of.

Speaking of a gap between talent and production, Gerald Everett finished with eight catches for 36 yards. He barely played down the stretch, while making $6 million. That signing did not work at all, as the Bears have gone another season lacking a No. 2 receiving threat at tight end.

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Marcedes Lewis continued to be the league’s ultimate iron man, playing Year 19 as a blocker. He did have three false-start penalties, however, though all took place in Waldron’s offense.

This is a position that could be a priority for the next coaching staff to find another pass-catching threat. The Bears haven’t had two tight ends with more than 250 yards receiving in the same season since 2015 (Martellus Bennett and Zach Miller).

In the four seasons since Kmet became the primary tight end in 2021, his backups have combined for 460 receiving yards.

Offensive line

What if I told you in June that Coleman Shelton would lead Bears offensive linemen in snaps and be the only one who started all 17 games?

The Bears wound up with seven starting combinations, and that doesn’t include all the in-game substitutions for injuries.

General manager Ryan Poles has plenty of “what-ifs” for this year’s offensive line. What if Ryan Bates didn’t get hurt in camp and could’ve started Week 1? What if they moved on from Nate Davis sooner? What if Bill Murray didn’t get hurt?

Analytically, this group wasn’t as bad as perceived. Per ESPN’s “team win rate” rankings, the Bears ranked 15th in pass blocking and eighth in run blocking. But a lack of cohesiveness and pre-snap penalties hurt the performance.

The big question for 2025 is, how many starters return? We should feel confident that Darnell Wright will be the right tackle when practices begin in April, but after that, we could see plenty of changes.

(Top photo of D’Andre Swift: Mike Dinovo / Imagn Images)