The Chicago Bears (0-4) were defeated by the Denver Broncos (1-3), 31-28, where Chicago choked away a 21-point lead in the second half.
Things couldn’t have gone better for the Bears in the first half, where quarterback Justin Fields was perfect (completing 16 straight passes and his only incompletion being a Hail Mary at the end of the half) and the defense managing to hold the Broncos to just an opening-series touchdown.
But, as things usually do with this team, things spiraled out of control in the fourth quarter as Denver made adjustments and Chicago stopped attacking. That resulted in a heartbreaking three-point loss to another winless team they should’ve blown out.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during the game and how we graded the Bears in this loss.
Quarterback: B+
Justin Fields had a career day with the Bears, recording his first 300-yard passing game (335 yards), throwing a career-best four passing touchdowns and a 132.7 passer rating. While Fields did commit two costly turnovers in the fourth quarter, those weren’t on him. The fumble, which was returned for a touchdown, can be attributed to the coaches and the play call; the interception, which sealed the game, was a miscommunication between Fields and tight end Cole Kmet.
Running backs: B+
Chicago finally committed to the run game for the first time all season, where they rushed for 171 yards — a season-high. Khalil Herbert took full advantage of his opportunities, rushing for 103 yards on 18 carries with 5.7 yards per carry. He added four catches for 19 yards and a touchdown. Roschon Johnson didn’t have his best day, recording five carries for 13 yards with 2.6 yards per carry.
Wide receivers: A
DJ Moore had his best game as a Bear on the heels of Fields’ perfect first-half performance. Moore had eight catches for 131 yards and an impressive 29-yard touchdown. With Chase Claypool inactive, Darnell Mooney saw an increased role, where he totaled four catches for 51 yards. Equanimeous St. Brown, active in place of Claypool, had one catch for 21 yards on his lone target.
Tight ends: A-
Cole Kmet had a solid outing for the Bears, where he had his best game of the season. Kmet had seven catches for 85 yards, second to Moore, and two touchdowns on the afternoon. Robert Tonyan had a pair of catches for 18 yards, and even Marcedes Lewis got in on the action with one reception for eight yards.
Offensive line: C+
Credit to the offensive line, they actually gave Fields time to throw the ball at times in this game. But they continued to struggle in pass protection, as Fields was sacked four times. It was an especially rough day for tackles Larry Borom and Darnell Wright, who accounted for five-plus penalties and had their struggles. That included Wright missing his block on the failed fourth-and-1 at the end of the game. The run game finally got going, as well, as Herbert was the beneficiary of some solid run blocking.
Defensive line: C-
The Bears did it — they finally got a sack after going two games without one, bringing their season total to two. Dominique Robinson and rookie Zacch Pickens shared the sack. But, for the most part, Russell Wilson didn’t have to deal with much pressure from Chicago’s defensive line. Justin Jones led defensive linemen with four tackles, DeMarcus Walker had two tackles, including one for a loss and rookie Gervon Dexter added one tackle.
Linebackers: C
T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds led the Bears with eight tackles apiece. Edwards added two quarterback hits, including one on third down that forced a Broncos punt, and Edmunds had one tackle for loss. Still, Edmunds hasn’t lived up to the sizable paycheck he received this offseason. Jack Sanborn added five tackles, and he was flagged for a roughness penalty on a hit where he led with his helmet.
Secondary: C
The Bears were down three starters with cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon (IR) and safety Eddie Jackson, and they still managed to pitch a decent game through three quarters. But rookie Terell Smith was beat by fellow rookie Marvin Mims for a 48-yard reception in the fourth quarter, and it was the beginning of the end. But Smith had five tackles, including one for a loss, and a pass breakup. Greg Stroman Jr. had a tackle for loss and Jaquan Brisker played a tough game with five tackles. Still, Chicago didn’t record an interception.
Special Teams: B+
Cairo Santos never got an opportunity to kick what would’ve been a short field goal at the end of the game to give the Bears back the lead. So Santos’ only action was connecting on all four of his extra points. Trenton Gill had two punts for 90 yards (45.0 average), including one inside the 20-yard line.
Coaching: D
The only reason this grade isn’t an F is because offensive coordinator Luke Getsy actually called a solid game for three quarters, where he put Fields in a position to have a career day. Unfortunately, he failed to make adjustments (as the Broncos defense did) and there were some questionable play calls, including giving the ball to Herbert on fourth-and-1 when everyone in the stadium knew that’s where the ball was going. Then there’s Matt Eberflus, who is one more Thursday Night Football loss away from probably getting axed. Eberflus continues to have poor game management, a terrible defense, failure to put his players in a position to succeed and pretend that just one win will fix everything.
