Positional Grades for Bears after win over Falcons |
It was a crazy week for the Chicago Bears. A quarterback change, another comeback, and most importantly, a win that was sealed with an interception leaves the Bears 3-0, one of only seven undefeated teams after three weeks.
Let's give out our usual position grades for the Bears, who defeated the Falcons 30-26 on Sunday. Quarterbacks A- This was a pretty solid game by the Bears QBs. Mitch Trubisky had a solid start where he drove the offense down, but they missed a field goal. His next drive produced a touchdown and a few drives later, a pretty bad interception while the Bears trailed big. Mitch was pulled with 128 yards, a score, and a pick, and the Bears made the change at quarterback to Nick Foles. Foles put together five consecutive drives where the Bears either scored a touchdown or thought they did, and the Bears ended up winning 30-26. Foles finished with 188 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception — enough to give the Bears a win and earn his job as QB. Running backs C+ The running backs had a solid game for the Bears on Sunday, but being down early offers a lousy game script for them to continue. David Montgomery led the way with 45 yards on 14 carries. Tarik Cohen and Cordarelle Patterson got in on the action with 34 yards combined, but Cohen suffered a season-ending ACL injury. Receiving wise, Cohen caught three passes for 20 yards, and Montgomery caught a pair for nine. If the Bears want to win without coming back, establishing these running backs early is a key for Matt Nagy and the offense. Wide Receivers A For the Bears, completing the comeback was as much the pass catchers as it was Foles. Allen Robinson had a phenomenal game, catching ten balls for 123 yards and a touchdown. Darnell Mooney caught a pair of passes for 29 yards, Ted Ginn Jr. got his first Bears catch for almost 30 yards, and Anthony Miller caught two passes for 41 yards and grabbed the game-winning touchdown. A solid effort from this unit that the Bears can build on. Tight Ends B This unit, with an overfilled position room, had a good day on Sunday. Although rookie Cole Kmet didn't get involved, Demetrius Harris caught three passes, and Jimmy Graham seemed to have solidified himself as a big part of this offense with six catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns. A lot to like about this unit. Offensive Line C The offensive line did a solid job protecting the pair of QBs the Bears had. The o-line gave up just two sacks and did enough to protect the Bears, who shifted to a pass-first attack in attempts of coming back. Not exactly a strong unit, but a solid game from the o-line. Defensive Line C The D-line did come away with two sacks but did not get enough consistent pressure on Matt Ryan to disrupt him until the final drive. The Falcons ran the ball well, with two different runners combining for over 100 yards and a touchdown. The Bears need more out of this unit. Linebackers D It was a quiet day from the linebackers on Sunday. Not many tackles, not many sacks, no picks but a lot of yards and points getting up. A unit that boasts Smith, Trevathan, Mack, and Quinn needs to do more. Secondary B They saved their grade this week when Tashaun Gipson intercepted Matt Ryan late in the game to clinch the Bears victory. Eddie Jackson and Kyle Fuller were heavily involved, but this unit was burned multiple times for significant gains — something they will look to fix. Special Teams C Another Cairo Santos missed field goal hurts this unit's grade, but a strong return from Cordarelle Patterson helps. Okay, performance reflects an okay grade for this unit. Playcalling B It is not easy to call a game, especially to orchestrate a comeback with a quarterback change — so I will give credit where it is due to Matt Nagy. The offense should be able to score before the 4th quarter, which should be the goal for Nagy and the Bears. Nonetheless, this team is 3-0 and looking to make it 4-0 against Indianapolis this week.
