Colston Loveland — Week 3: Four for Four, a Score Reversed

Seven to nothing, Bears, 14 55 left in the second quarter, first and goal at the Philadelphia six, one snap after an illegal-contact penalty on Philadelphia. Case Keenum threw short right to Colston Loveland, two yards past the line, and Loveland was ruled in for the touchdown. The replay official reviewed whether he broke the plane and reversed it: down at the one, five yards. +0.5 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position. From the one, D'Andre Swift lost two, and Keenum threw incomplete to Rome Odunze on third down and to Luther Burden on fourth. Chicago had taken over at the Philadelphia 15 after a fumble and came away with nothing.

The line: four targets, four catches, 31 yards, three first downs, four air yards and 27 after the catch, +1.7 expected points on the targets. The catches went four, five, 12 10. The four was second and three at the Chicago 41 on the game's second snap, short left, a first down on the drive Burden finished with the first touchdown. The 12 was second and one at the Chicago 41 with 12 51 left in the third quarter, up 10 to seven, short right, pushed out at the Philadelphia 47, on the drive that ended in a 48-yard field goal. The 10 was second and one at the Chicago 38 with seven 59 left in the third, short middle to the 48, three snaps before Kalif Raymond's 41-yard touchdown. Two targets before halftime, two after, none on third down.

Four targets were fourth on the Bears, behind Burden's 11, Raymond's seven and Odunze's six; Cole Kmet and Sam Roush had one each. Keenum threw all 34 Chicago passes, with Caleb Williams out with a hamstring strain suffered in the Week Two loss to the Vikings, per the Bears' team site.

Back in June the preview's read on Loveland was a rookie season that showed the role was real — 58 catches, the team lead in receiving — with the caution that tight ends make their second-year jump slowest, and the target share, toward eight a game, as the September watch. Week One was two targets and no catches. Week Two was three targets, one catch for three yards, and a 14-yard catch wiped out by a penalty. Monday was four targets, four catches, 31 yards, and a touchdown wiped out by replay. Three games: nine targets, five catches, 34 yards, no touchdowns. Four is the most he has had in a game this season, and three a game is not eight; a flag or a review has taken his best play in each of the last two. Chicago hosts the Jets on Sunday the fourth.

_Data via nflverse._