Penalties and missed execution plague the Bears offense. Rome Odunze reveals how self-inflicted mistakes sabotage their red zone success.
The Chicago Bears are one of the most penalized teams in the NFL heading into Week 9, with 64 penalties called on them so far, which ranks fifth.
The Jacksonville Jaguars (65), New England Patriots (65), Dallas Cowboys (67) and Denver Broncos (68) rank higher than Chicago in penalties.
Another area that the team has struggled to capitalize in is the red zone. Fans saw that in full force in Sunday's 30-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Bears scored one touchdown in their three red zone trips.
The team as a whole has scored touchdowns in five of their last 16 red zone appearances in their last four games.
Second-year receiver Rome Odunze weighed in on what has been causing the red zone and penalty issues, believing the team has been hurting itself more times than not.
"I think definitely the majority is shooting ourselves in the foot," Odunze said. "You know, penalties, missing alignments, missed execution on a play. I don't think ever been an instance where we've not had a penalty and executed a play properly where we haven't scored a touchdown in the red zone."
Odunze has really stepped into his role on the Bears, as he leads the team with 473 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He recorded 114 receiving yards on seven catches in Sunday's loss to the Ravens.
The team hit a new low in terms of its penalty struggles on Sunday, as Chicago was called for 11 penalties totaling 79 yards. In the 26-14 win over the New Orleans Saints, the Bears still struggled, as they were called for 10 penalties for 92 yards.
Whether it is the result of some new pieces at offensive line, or just a first-year head coach who is still learning, something needs to change soon. The Bears have moved around some pieces this season on the offensive line, especially at left tackle.
Braxton Jones was the starter at the beginning of the season but was benched for 2024 undrafted free agent Theo Benedet. Benedet has played in seven games with four starts and is still an unfinished product.
Chicago is facing a team in Week 9 that has done relatively well at limiting self-inflicted mistakes, the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals have been flagged 40 times this year.
Chicago and Cincinnati face off at Paycor Stadium this Sunday at noon CT on CBS as the Bears attempt to get back to winning ways.