Chicago Bears: QB Matt Barkley's Ceiling yet to be Determined

Dec 4, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Matt Barkley, right, and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert (2) shake hands after the game at Soldier Field. Chicago defeats San Francisco 26-6. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

QB Matt Barkley has been a pleasant surprise for the Chicago Bears.  Bears fans are cautiously optimistic.

When the Chicago Bears announced QB Matt Barkley would be their starting quarterback against the Tennessee Titans in week 11, it was bad news to most.  Prior to then, he didn’t have a very impressive track record.

Barkley was drafted in 2013 by the Philadelphia Eagles.  He made four appearances as a backup during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.  In those four games, he was 30 for 50 on his passes, threw 300 yards, and had a 60% completion rate.  Not terrible, but more alarmingly he threw 0 touchdowns, threw 4 interceptions, had 1 fumble, and averaged a quarterback rating of just 42.1.

The Eagles traded Barkley to the Arizona Cardinals in 2015, who later released him in September 2016.  The Bears moved quickly and picked him up to their practice squad the following day.

After QB Jay Cutler suffered a thumb injury in week 2, the Bears promoted Barkley to the 53-man active roster.  Barkley made his next NFL appearance in week 7 against the Green Bay Packers, where he stepped in for an injured QB Brian Hoyer.

Oct 20, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers linebacker Nick Perry (53) sacks Chicago Bears quarterback Matt Barkley (12) in the third quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

In that game, he was 6 for 15 on his passing attempts, threw for 81 yards, and had a 40% completion rate.  Similar to his prior outings, though, he threw 0 touchdowns, threw 2 interceptions, and had a quarterback rating of just 18.3.

Given Barkley’s prior performance, when QB Jay Cutler was sidelined with a shoulder injury and Barkley was named as a starter for week 11, many saw this as another disastrous turn for an already demoralizing, losing season.

To most people’s surprise, Barkley has given hope for optimism.  Despite a 1-2 start, he has shown potential to be a viable quarterback in this league.  Particularly, he’s shown the ability to improve and overcome adversity within the games themselves.

Tennessee Titans Performance

In his first NFL start against the Titans, he had his first full week of preparation as an NFL starter.

His start to the game was rough, as he threw two costly red-zone interceptions, one in the 2nd quarter and the other on the opening drive in the 3rd quarter.

But after the second turnover and a fumbled snap that lead to a punt on the next possession, his play noticeably improved.

Barkley took command and led the Bears on a fourth-quarter comeback.  He led the Bears to two consecutive touchdown drives to bring the Bears within 6 points.  On the final drive of the game, he brought the Bears to the red zone.  Barkley found WR Josh Bellamy in the end zone, but a costly drop cost the Bears the game.

Nov 27, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Matt Barkley (12) drops back to pass against the Tennessee Titans during the first quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the loss, Barkley led his team on a comeback run and put his team in a position to win.

According to Barkley, the game slowed down for him and he felt more comfortable as he played more snaps.  “I was seeing everything easier.  . . . I was seeing everything clean.  Our guys were getting open and I had all the time in the world, it felt like.”

In addition to seeing more, he started to feel the rhythm of the offense.  He said, “even seeing the different looks that we were getting on defense and they started playing off.  Just seeing their cuts and when they were getting in and out of breaks.  It did grow that second half.  One week was more than enough to get that rhythm down.”

Remember, the Bears signed Barkley to the Bears’ practice squad a week before the regular season started.  He didn’t have a training camp or preseason with the team.  Finding that rhythm with just one week of practice as a starter is impressive.

GM Ryan Pace noted of Barkley’s play, “there are a couple of things that stood out with his performance, especially in the second half once he settled down.  First, the moment wasn’t too big for him.  He played with calm and confidence.  I thought he was extremely accurate down the stretch.  He gets the ball out quick.  He played with good rhythm and instinct.  He battled thru some adversity in this first half with those turnovers, but his performance was solid, especially down the stretch.”

San Francisco 49ers Performance

That comfort and improved play translated to an impressive performance against the San Francisco 49ers, in his second start in week 12.

The week 12 matchup was in snowy and slushy conditions, making it much more difficult to throw the ball.

Similar to the Titans game in which he made improvements as the game wore on, he made adjustments to the slushy weather.  He said, “it took me a quarter or so to get used to throwing the ball with those conditions.  Really had to adjust my arm angle and almost push the ball out instead of flinging it, because your thumb will slip out.”

Dec 4, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Matt Barkley (12) drops back to pass against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

His adjustments again led to noticeable results.  At the end of the second quarter, he led the Bears on a touchdown drive to close the half, in which Barkley was 4 for 5 on pass attempts, for 64 yards.

That provided a spark and motivation for the team.  He said, “I think that really spurred both sides of the ball, just to be motivated to finish the game strong.  I can tell that we were playing for each other at that point.  Guys were striving for every yard.  They were winning on routes, I had great protection.  I think across the board I think that’s when we started really to gain momentum and we carried that thru the second half, especially that opening drive which I think helped the rest of the game.”

At the start of the second half, Barkley continued the momentum.  He led the Bears to two consecutive scoring drives to open up the half.

On the day, he was 11 for 18 and threw for 192 yards in tough conditions.

Notably, he was able to make NFL-caliber throws.  He was able to hit his receivers in stride, and 158 of those 192 yards were for deep passes, despite the difficult conditions.

Further, he didn’t throw any interceptions.  As opposed to the two interceptions against the Titans, Barkley didn’t force the ball and didn’t make any bad decisions.

Detroit Lions Performance

Barkley faced his toughest challenge in week 13 against the Detroit Lions.  It was his first start on the road and in noisy conditions.  He also faced a tougher Lions defense, which ranks #10 in the league, as opposed to the Titans and 49ers being ranked #20 and #32, respectively.

Barkley started the game fast with an impressive 12-play, 60-yard drive on their opening possession.  The drive resulted in a field goal, though, due to consecutive false-start and delay-of-game penalties.

Barkley was quiet for the rest of the half, due to the Lions’ front-7 pressure and the coverage ability of their secondary.

Notwithstanding the defensive pressure, Barkley turned it on in the third quarter.  On the second possession of the half, he led the Bears on a 4-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.

On the final play of the drive, he made an impressive throw to WR Cameron Meredith.  Barkley caught Meredith perfectly in stride for a 31-yard touchdown pass.

After a Bears’ defensive touchdown and a following Lions’ scoring drive, Barkley had the game in his hands, down just three points with 3:17 left in the game.

Starting from Chicago’s 25-yard line, Barkley led the Bears to Detroit’s 43-yard line, with 0:58 seconds left in the game.

With the game on the line, Barkley found Meredith past the field-goal target line.  Meredith caught the ball and cut inside to make a gain of 27 yards, to bring the Bears within Detroit’s red zone.

Unfortunately, the play was called back due to a holding penalty on OT Charles Leno Jr.  The penalty resulted in 37 lost yards (27-yard pass negated, plus 10-yard penalty).  The penalty left the Bears on their 47-yard line, with a 1st and 20 with 0:48 seconds left.

Despite the setback, on the very next play Barkley found WR Daniel Braverman up the middle for a 23-yard pass (see at 0:32 in the clip below).  The pass would have resulted in a first down and again put the Bears in field-goal range.

As fortune would have it, the play was called back due to a holding penalty, this time on OG Ted Larsen.  The penalty resulted in 33 lost yards on the play.

Barkley displayed legitimate mental toughness.  Despite 70 lost yards due to back-to-back penalties, Barkley again brought the Bears to Detroit’s 44-yard line.  The Bears had a 4th and 11 with 0:19 seconds left in the game, with one timeout remaining.

With the game yet again on the line, Barkley found Bellamy open up the middle.  Bellamy leapt to catch Barkley’s pass, which hit him in the chest.  Similar to the Titans game, though, the ball bounced off of Bellamy’s chest.  The incomplete pass resulted in a turnover on downs and a loss.

Barkley finished the day 20 for 32 for 212 passing yards, with 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions.  Despite the loss and perhaps less-than-stellar stats, Barkley overcame adverse conditions to again (and repeatedly) put the Bears in a position to win, or at least tie the game to bring it to overtime.

Barkley had a rocky start to his NFL career and had a history of being turnover prone.  The more NFL play and starts under center, though, he’s made a noticeable improvement.

Can Barkley become a legitimate backup in the NFL?  Can he grow to become a reliable starter in this league?

Before we can make an accurate assessment, we’ll need to see more wins under Barkley’s belt.  It’ll certainly be interesting to see what Barkley can do when WR Alshon Jeffrey returns next week against the Green Bay Packers.

Notwithstanding the 1-2 start, Barkley has earned the right to start for the Bears and the chance to prove himself as a viable NFL quarterback.

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