Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen had breakout games, the defense limited Ben Roethlisberger to an 82.7 passer rating, and Mike Glennon was along for the ride – despite a 74.2 passer rating – in the Bears’ 23-17 overtime win over the Steelers.
But don’t tell Howard there is a quarterback controversy.
During an appearance on PFT Live, Howard doesn’t think the Bears will make a quarterback change in the near future despite Glennon’s early season struggles.
“We don’t really worry about it too much,” Howard told Pro Football Talk. “Mike, we know he’s the starter, and as long as coach says he’s the starter, we’re all the way behind him. So we don’t really think too much about it.”
There might not be much to worry about after the team’s first win, but there are undoubtedly some concerns regarding Glennon’s performance. He averaged 4.6 yards per attempt in Week 3 to bring his season average to 5.8, which ranks 31st among 32 qualifying quarterbacks. Only Joe Flacco (5.3 Y/A) averages fewer yards per throw.
Glennon’s dink-and-dunk style has his numbers on the decline three games into a contract that could pay him up to $45 million over three years, but has just one year and $18 million worth of guarantees. Pro Football Focus ranks Glennon as the league’s 19th best quarterback with a 74.8 grade, which could be an accomplishment of sorts because of the lack of talent at the receiver position. However, it’s hard to dissect what the Bears have in their receivers when their targets have been few and far between.
Change will come at quarterback, and it just might be a matter of time.