Bears remain winless, fall to Kansas City for 13th consecutive loss going back to last season
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CBS/AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns, Travis Kelce hauled in one of them to the delight of Taylor Swift, and inept Bears were blown out Sunday by the Kansas City Chiefs.
The final score was 41-10.
Jerick McKinnon had a pair of touchdown catches and Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire added touchdown runs, helping the Super Bowl champion Chiefs (2-1) deal the Bears (0-3) their 13th consecutive loss dating to last season.
Kelce finished with seven catches for 69 yards and the 3-yard score, which made it 41-0 early in the second half. The All-Pro tight end celebrated by revving the engine of an imaginary motorcycle while Swift, whom Kelce had invited amid rumors of their budding relationship, joyfully pounded the glass of her Arrowhead Stadium suite and his mother, Donna Kelce, cheered alongside.
The game was so lopsided by the third quarter that Mahomes and most of the Chiefs' starters got the rest of the day off.
Embattled Bears quarterback Justin Fields was 11 of 22 for 99 yards with an interception and a meaningless touchdown in the final minutes. He also led the Bears with 47 yards rushing, a good chunk of that coming on a 17-yard scramble, as the league's 27th-ranked offense finished with just 203 yards against one of the NFL's fast-improving defenses.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus was left to call defensive plays Sunday, just as he did in last weekend's loss to Tampa Bay, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid proceeded to make the former Indianapolis Colts coordinator look utterly lost.
The Chiefs began their assault with the first of Mahomes' two TD passes to McKinnon, then Edwards-Helaire scored from a yard out to make it 14-0 early in the second quarter. When the Bears punted a third consecutive time, Mahomes hit McKinnon again to extend the lead, and Kansas City proceeded to score on its next four possessions.
As for Fields, well, the QB was not just robotic but inaccurate. When one of the league's most porous offensive lines wasn't allowing the Chiefs to pressure him, Fields was consistently missing open targets down field.
He was picked off by Mike Edwards late in the first half, leading to Pacheco's touchdown run. And when Harrison Butker added the second of his two field goals, the Chiefs were able to take a 34-0 lead into the break.
This was also a brutal end to a dismal week of distractions for the poor Bears.
For the Bears, of course, this is a story the team knows all too well. The losing streak continues, and the Bears are unable to shake it off.
Pretty much no one really thought the Bears would come into Kansas City and beat the Chiefs, but somehow this one went much worse than expected.
The sentiment in the locker room is that there's still time to turn this around - but at 0-3, the time to do that is quickly running out.
"It's a reality check, I mean, for all three phases – and you know, honestly, all I can do is just sit on the bus, and really just deep down, and think about like what I can do," said Bears defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker. "What can I do better?"
"With the outcome, no one wants this. I don't know if I would call it a reality check, because I do think the guys, every day, come in - and focus gets better," said Fields. "I think we've just got to keep working."
"I'm not disappointed – just know we need to execute better, even on my end, got to lock on in more; do more than what I am, so we've just got to take it to a whole 'nother level than where we are," said Bears receiver DJ Moore.
"I mean, I think we've got such great leaders in here that no one's really – no one's worried too much about the outside noise or anything like that," said Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards. "You can't miss business, because that's when, again, people are trying to pull us apart, and I think we've got the people in here that just understand that we've got to come together even more."
Edwards said nobody was freaking out – but Zahn asked if maybe it was time someone freaked out a little bit, so as to get the Bears going.
"Like I said, there's a sense of urgency for sure. We understand that we can't keep playing like this and keep doing these things, and that's something that is understood in this locker room," he said. "So it's not that anyone's calm by any means, but no one's also pointing fingers."
In the span of a few hours Wednesday, defensive coordinator Alan Williams abruptly resigned, citing the need "to take care of my health and family," and Fields had to walk back some comments he made blaming his "robotic" play through the first two weeks on the way he had been coached.
For the most part, players said they tried not to let the controversy interfere with the game.
"I'd like to think not, but I mean, there was a lot going on, and you know, we did our best, I think, as players to kind of block that out," said Bears tight end Cole Kmet. "And I do think we actually had a good week of practice, but not good enough that it showed up today on the football field."
"I could give a rat's ass," added Walker. "I mean, we're not the Kardashians, you know what I'm saying? This is football, and you know, we're able to get on the field, line up and play. That's all that matters."
However, the reality is that in NFL history, fewer than 2.5 percent of teams to start 0-3 have made the playoffs, and none since the season expanded to 17 games.
So do the Bears know how they're going to turn things around? If they did, they would likely already be doing it – but not a lot is working for this Bears team, and injuries are piling up too.
CBS 2's Matt Zahn says if the Bears could get the offensive line healthy and together, it could help a little bit. But right now, there are very few answers for this team – except for the schedule easing up in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Fields had less than 100 yards passing in the game.
"He's just not reading the defense. He's not seeing guys open when he can – and frankly, in this one, guys just weren't getting open that much," Zahn said. "The Chiefs' defense is pretty good. You've got to give them some credit. But the team is running out of time if they want to make a playoff push. Justin Fields is running out of time if he wants to be this team's franchise quarterback."
STATS AND STREAKS
The Bears have not won in Kansas City since Week 5 of the 2015 season. ... Reid won his 271st game, moving him past Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry into fourth place on the career list. ... Mahomes went over 25,000 yards passing for his career. He did it in 83 games, the fastest in NFL history. ... Mahomes had his 22nd game with three TD passes and no interceptions, tying Aaron Rodgers for the most by a QB before turning 30. Mahomes turned 28 last Sunday. ... Kelce needs three more TD catches to pass Tony Gonzalez (76) for second in Chiefs history.
INJURIES
Bears: Starting safety Eddie Jackson was inactive with a foot injury and cornerback Josh Blackwell was dealing with a hamstring injury, all before cornerback Tyrique Stevenson had to be evaluated for a concussion; he later was deemed to have an illness and did not return. Defensive backs Jaquan Brisker and Jaylon Johnson also were hobbled during the game.
UP NEXT
Bears: Host the Denver Broncos next Sunday.
Chiefs: Visit the New York Jets next Sunday night.