The Chicago Bears opened the Matt Eberflus era with a 19-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, where they scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to start the season 1-0.
Pro Football Focus handed out player grades for those who took a snap in the Bears’ Week 1 win, and we broke them down by offense and defense, analyzing the three highest- and lowest-graded players on each side, as well as some other notable performers.
There were a few surprises in terms of the highest- and lowest-graded players, both on offense and defense. Including a couple of our studs grading among the worst.
Top 3 offense
- WR Byron Pringle – 84.9
- RG Teven Jenkins – 77.9
- RT Larry Borom – 75.3
Pringle was the highest-graded offensive player for the Bears on Sunday. Pringle had just one reception for 22 yards on two targets, and he earned a 84.3 mark in the pass game but struggled in run blocking with a 54.0 grade. Jenkins and Borom also landed within the top-3 offensive players for Chicago. Jenkins rotated at right guard with Lucas Patrick, who earned a 65.9 grade, while Borom held down right tackle. Jenkins earned solid grades in pass blocking (71.7) and run blocking (74.4), as did Borom (72.7 in pass blocking and 74.3 in run blocking).
Bottom 3 offense
- QB Justin Fields – 44.2
- FB Khari Blasingame – 45.5
- RB David Montgomery – 45.5
From a statistical standpoint, this wasn’t Fields’ best game. And considering PFF is all about stats, it’s not surprising to find that he didn’t grade well. Fields was the lowest-graded offensive player at 44.2. Fields, who completed 8-of-17 passes for 121 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, earned a poor mark in passing (34.6) and so-so grades in the run game (65.9) and run blocking (60.0). Montgomery and Blasingame were the other lowest-graded Bears both earning a 45.5 grade. Montgomery had just 17 carries for 26 yards but he had three catches for 24 yards. Montgomery earned high marks in the passing game (74.6) and pass blocking (80.4) but lower marks in the run game (40.5) and run blocking (60.0).
Top 3 defense
- DE Dominique Robinson – 89.8
- CB Jaylon Johnson – 83.9
- S Eddie Jackson – 75.5
Robinson had a strong NFL debut for the Bears, where he racked up seven tackles, including one for a loss, 1.5 sacks, and two QB hits. So it’s no surprise that he earned not only the highest defensive grade but highest mark on the Bears roster. Robinson had strong marks in run defense (71.6), tackling (74.6), pass rush (77.4) and coverage (61.5). Meanwhile, Johnson and Jackson were responsible for Chicago’s two takeaways in the opener. Johnson had a Peanut Punch on Deebo Samuel, with the fumble recovered by Jaquan Brisker, while Jackson had a fourth-quarter interception that led to the game-sealing touchdown. Johnson earned a sensational 92.5 mark in run defense and solid grades in tackling (79.1) and coverage (72.6). Jackson didn’t earn high marks in run defense (40.0) and tackling (32.3) but he earned an impressive 84.3 coverage grade.
Bottom 3 defense
- LB Roquan Smith – 28.1
- DT Angelo Blackson – 30.1
- DT Justin Jones – 30.8
The folks at PFF just don’t seem to be fans of Smith. While Smith was far from perfect in his first live action since the 2021 finale, he had a strong performance in Week 1 with a team-best nine tackles, 0.5 sack, one pass breakup and one QB hit. Smith earned the lowest grade on the entire roster at 28.1, where PFF marked him down in run defense (28.4) and coverage (35.8) but he had more favorable grades in tackling (63.5) and pass rush (73.5). Blackson, who didn’t make the box score, earned a poor 32.4 run blocking mark, as well as a 67.3 tackling grade and 54.4 in pass rush. Jones, who had two tackles and a pass breakup, struggled in run defense (40.3) and pass rush (49.3) but earned so-so marks in tackling (69.6) and coverage (60.0).
Other notables
- CB Kyler Gordon – 62.8
- S Jaquan Brisker – 49.6
- WR Dante Pettis – 73.1
- WR Equanimeous St. Brown – 64.9
Robinson had the biggest standout performance of the rookies, but Gordon and Brisker also shined, although they weren’t without their mistakes. Gordon had six tackles, including one for a loss. He earned a 62.8 grade with decent marks in run defense (64.7), tackling (64.0), pass rush (60.0) and coverage (61.4). Meanwhile, it’s surprising to find Brisker grading out at 49.6. Brisker recovered a Deebo Samuel fumble and added four tackles, including one for a loss. Brisker earned poor marks in run defense (32.1) and tackling (26.7) but solid marks in pass rush (66.7) and coverage (61.1).
Pettis and St. Brown each caught a touchdown pass from Fields, and they earned solid grades of 73.1 and 64.9, respectively. Pettis, who had a 51-yard touchdown, earned strong marks in the passing game (71.8) and run blocking (60.2). St. Brown also earned solid marks in run blocking (68.0), passing game (61.8) and pass blocking (62.2).
