The only Bears player to generate anywhere near as much hype as quarterback Caleb Williams this offseason was tight end Colston Loveland.
The consensus has been that he’ll be top-five at his position, the go-to man in the passing attack and a breakout star. Then he got just two targets in the season opener, both in the third quarter, and finished with no catches, no yards and — very importantly, to many — no fantasy points.
Sound the alarm! Push the panic button! Demand a trade!
“Yeah, yeah, that’s what everyone thinks,” he told the Sun-Times as he laughed about the reaction to his stat-less game. “No, not a big deal at all. Whatever the role, as long as we get a win, that’s the only thing that matters.”
All the zeroes next to Loveland’s name in the box score are less cause for concern and more an indication of just how much coach Ben Johnson can still unpack as the season rolls on, continuing Sunday at home against the Vikings.
The Bears are coming off a blowout win over the Panthers in which they piled up 59 points, the fourth-highest in franchise history, including the playoffs and did so without utilizing some components of the offense that likely will be prominent over the course of a full season.
Loveland tops that list, though he was proud nonetheless of playing 87% of the snaps in the scorching heat — more than any other skill player — and when he looked at the Bears’ 7.5 yards per carry in the ground game, “I’d like to say I was a little part of it.”
On running back D’Andre Swift’s goal-line touchdown run late in the third quarter, Loveland helped clear a path by putting Panthers linebacker Jaelan Phillips on his back.
The upside is that Loveland was open on both of Williams’ throws to him, and a little better execution on both their parts would’ve led to connections. It won’t take much to fix it.
Loveland critiqued his own “route detail,” so he might not have been exactly where Williams expected, and Williams’ throws were off-target. He brushed those aside as “just a little miscommunication” and was confident they’d cash in on those opportunities against the Vikings.
Loveland ran unattended across the middle for what could’ve been a huge gain with plenty of open space ahead of him, but Williams threw well behind him. Later in the drive, from the Panthers’ 11-yard line, Loveland had a step on cornerback Mike Jackson in the end zone, but Williams threw too far ahead of him.
“There were a number of other times where he was the primary [receiver] and the ball just didn’t find him,” offensive coordinator Press Taylor said. “The great thing about Colston is that’s not a guy you worry about at all.
“When you’ve gone through three quarters and you have no touches and you continue to fight and continue to help others get in the end zone — You wouldn’t have known if he had 10 catches or zero catches at the end of the game in the locker room.”
Williams also threw for Loveland at the goal line in the fourth quarter, but that pass was tipped and intercepted by defensive lineman Bobby Brown, and the play was negated entirely by the Panthers’ Derrick Brown getting flagged for offsides.
No matter. Williams hit wide receiver Jahdae Walker for a touchdown two plays later.
The Bears pretty much scored at will without Loveland contributing as a pass catcher and kept several other weapons mostly on the shelf:
– Wide receiver Luther Burden had only five targets, catching five passes for 63 yards.
– Rookie speedster Zavion Thomas didn’t play a snap on offense.
– Swift got one pass, a 10-yard catch.
– The Bears ran only 12 plays in 13 personnel, which are formations with three tight ends.
“You’re still talking about last week, aren’t you?” Johnson said Friday with his signature irritated smile.
Only a little.
And only in the context of what could be coming next.
“You just don’t know where the ball’s going to go,” Johnson said. “We certainly look to involve all of them, especially when they’re as selfless as they are. They care about nothing more but to win… The selflessness, I commend them for that because it’s not everywhere.”
If it stays that way, it just adds to Johnson’s unpredictability as a play designer and caller. Imagine the work the Panthers put in on Loveland only for him to be used mainly as a bulldozer. The roster and the offense itself are built to give defenses too much to keep track of, and Johnson has plenty more to unveil.