The Bears’ offense literally dropped the ball from the start last season.
On the opening offensive play against the Packers at Soldier Field, the Bears shifted out of a wildcat formation and quarterback Mitch Trubisky pitched the ball to running back Tarik Cohen. But the pitch was too tight as Cohen was too close to Trubisky and it hit Cohen’s hands and fell to the ground.
Cohen scrambled to recover the ball for an apparent four-year loss. A holding penalty on Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark negated the negative play. But Cohen’s bobble — along with an early third-and-1 when wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson was dropped for a two-yard loss — still served as a red flag and harbinger of more difficult times in 2019.