INDIANAPOLIS – Caleb Williams didn’t immediately know how many passes he threw over the course of Sunday’s 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

“Did I throw…I threw the ball 52 times?” Williams said during his postgame press conference. “Jeez.”

Yep. That’s a lot.

And not ideal for a Bears offense trying to find balance and establish an offensive identity. It’s also a side effect of the Bears being down multiple scores in the fourth quarter while furiously trying to come back.

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The box score breaking down 395 yards of total offense over 84 plays is not how the Bears drew it up. They wanted to run the ball far better than the 2.3 yards per carry earned over 28 attempts. They don’t want to create the negative plays big and small from runs for a loss to interceptions to sack fumbles. They want to take better advantage of short fields. And while they sustained drives on Sunday with good third/fourth down performance, the Bears don’t want to go scoreless on a 17-play drive after four failed rushing attempts inside the Colts’ 5-yard line.

Thus, we have completed a third straight game without the Bears establishing their offensive identity.

They say they would like to be a balanced, attacking offense that runs the ball well, stays on schedule and provides windows for Williams to be special.

That’s the utopian view. We just haven’t seen that yet.

When things get tough, the Bears have no offensive bedrock to fall back on, tried and true elements they can always execute well.

They need to find it fast, considering quality defensive performances are being squandered by offensive struggles.

“The first win, the defense and special teams brought us that win and lately they’ve been holding it down and we haven’t,” receiver DJ Moore said, via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “We’ve got to figure out our identity — like, now — for the sake of them.”  

The Bears offense was better than weeks past but light years from perfect in terms of efficiency and staying away from the negative play.

“We’re going to look at the film and see a lot of steps taken offensively,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “I thought we were effective for the most part on first and second down and we were moving the chains there, but we’ve gotta be a whole lot better if we’re going to win the amount of games we want to win this season.”

Kmet is right. The Bears must be a whole lot better, as we’ve stated. But, to his point, the Bears showed some flashes of quality in Week 3. The Williams-Rome Odunze connections were certainly examples of that, especially on deep shots that became explosive plays. While they don’t add shimmer to a loss, they’re moments for the Bears to build on as they progress.

Odunze also looked toward the end of the game and Chicago’s effectiveness operating with tempo and aggressiveness throwing the ball down the field. There’s value, he said, in seeing that play out.

Even if it didn’t change the outcome of the game, it suggests the Bears are getting a bit closer to the offense they want to be.

“Those plays build confidence, and they give us a spark when they’re made,” Odunze said. “They allow us to be on the attack. It’s not about what a defense gives us and figuring that out. It’s about attacking what they’re trying to get done and exploiting them on those things. It’s a step in the right direction.”

The Bears must be careful, however, not to take long finding themselves offensively. Can’t stack too many losses waiting for that to happen, especially against this soft spot in the schedule.

“We didn’t execute to a caliber that meets our standard,” Odunze said. “There are things to improve on, but we’re making steps.”