Bears Positional Grades after loss to Commanders |
There was some good and bad on Thursday night as the Bears lost their fourth game of the season. The Bears are now 2-4 after losing to the Commanders 12-7 in Chicago.
So let’s take a look and give out some grades based on the performances by position after the loss to Washington. Quarterback B+ Justin Fields has shown some signs of improvement in the last couple of games, and that showed on Thursday night. Fields was not terribly accurate, completing 14-of-27 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown and interception on Thursday. Fields ran 12 times for 88 yards and made some nice throws and a clutch run down the stretch. However, Fields’ receivers dropped some huge passes and the Bears' offensive line allowed Fields to get hammered all game. What topped off the struggles were three trips inside the five-yard line, and the Bears came away with zero points. Running backs C David Montgomery was back from injury but only was able to muster up 67 yards on the ground on 15 carries. Montgomery also caught one pass for 13 yards. Khalil Herbert spelled Montgomery with seven carries for 75 yards. The Bears will hope to keep the running game involved as the season continues. Wide Receivers C The passing game was fairly active and third-year wideout Darnell Mooney caught seven passes for 68 yards, including a tremendous catch. Equanamius St. Brown did not catch a pass, but he did have one carry. Velus Jones Jr. caught a ten-yard pass and had an eight-yard run. Ihmir Smith Marsette dropped a fourth-down pass in crunch time and had a carry. The Bears certainly have a weakness here. Tight Ends D This unit certainly has talent with Cole Kmet and Ryan Griffin, and Trevon Wesco, but they have not been active. Cole Kmet led the Bears with one catch for 15 yards. That’s it from this unit. Offensive Line F The offensive line was bad, allowing five sacks of quarterback Justin Fields, and allowing pressure on him all day. They need to do a better job of keeping Fields upright. They usually make up for it in the run game, but they struggled to open holes for Montgomery and Herbert as well — poor showing on Thursday night. Defensive Line B The defensive line was good. The D-line held Washington to under 250 total yards, and big plays were hard to come by. While it would’ve been nice if they pressured Carson Wentz a bit more, it was a nice outing. Linebackers B+ Roquan Smith had 12 tackles and was everywhere for the Bears — including a sack. Al-Quadin Muhammed also poured in a sack. But Robert Quinn was far too quiet. Need more out of this unit. Secondary A- This unit was good but not special on Sunday. The Bears allowed just 99 passing yards in Jaylon Johnson’s return to the field. Eddie Jackson was active, and Jaquan Brisker had a sack — this unit just could not force a big turnover. Special Teams D Kicker Cairo Santos made an extra point. Trenton Gill nailed one of his four punts inside the 20 — but Velus Jones Jr.’s muffed punt that may have cost the Bears the game is what hurts this ranking. Playcalling C The playcalling was okay in Matt Eberflus sixth career game with the Bears. The Bears seemed to trust Justin Fields more, and it was nice to see him perform, but they need to play to his strengths more. We’ll see how the Bears respond in week 7. Nonetheless, week 6 is in the books and the Bears open the season 2-4. Next on the schedule is the New England Patriots on Monday night.
