Bears

Bears

In hindsight, maybe we should have known that playing the Redskins on Monday night (2-15 in their last 17 MNF appearances) was going to jumpstart the Bears’ offense. Mitch Trubisky and company finally shook off the rust, taking advantage of a couple timely turnovers and big plays en route to a 31-15 win over Washington. 

ARROW UP

Mitch Trubisky 

That sound you hear is the greater Chicagoland area collectively sighing in relief. After two abysmal performances, Trubisky showed up on Monday night, going 25 of 31 for 231 yards and 3 TDs. His third (!!) touchdown pass of the first half was a thing of beauty: 

There were still some throws he’d like back – a Tarik Cohen overthrow on the first drive of the game and a free-play deep ball to Anthony Miller come to mind – but all in all, Trubisky gave the performance that Chicago was looking for/demanding all week. He even set a personal best with 20 completions in the first half, going to eight different receivers in the process. 

Khalil Mack

It’s simply absurd how good Khalil Mack is. There’s no other way to put it at this point. You think Trubisky had a nice 1st half? Through the first two quarters, Mack had two sacks *and* two forced fumbles. It was awfully reminiscent of the Green Bay game from Week 1 of last year: 

Mack is one of, if not the, best players in football, and nights like Monday are a jaw-dropping reminder. 

 

HaHa Clinton-Dix 

Clinton-Dix picked a heck of an occasion to have one of the best games of his career. Playing in D.C. for the first time since signing with the Bears this offseason, Clinton-Dix opened the scoring with a 37-yard pick-six in the beginning of the first quarter. He’d add another interception in the second quarter, and is now only one away from his 2018 season total. His pick-six also ushered in the first defensive touchdown celebration of the season, which was, as usual, entertaining: 

ARROW DOWN 

Anthony Miller

The tough season for Miller continues; the second-year wideout had one catch on three targets for 15 yards. He has three receptions through the first three weeks, a far cry from what was expected from the Bears’ touchdown leader from last season. Miller and Trubisky have clearly been on separate pages this season, as the two missed on a handful of completable passes in the first half. He was also flagged (though who wasn’t) for a false start in the first half – something that Bears’ coaches have talked at length about wanting to see less as the season progresses. 

The running game 

Here were the stats for the Bears’ top 3 rushers on Monday night: 

David Montgomery: 13 rushes for 67 yards 

Cordarrelle Patterson: 4 rushes for 14 yards

Taylor Gabriel: 1 rush for 7 yards 

And that’s basically it. Trubisky had a two-yard scamper, and Tarik Cohen actually finished with a net negative (-2). With Trubisky finally looking in rhythm, you can understand the Bears wanting to keep going with the hot hand, but 90 rushing yards against one of the worst defenses in football isn't great. The lack of a reliable running game was especially evident for much of the second half, save for a couple late-game spurts from David Montgomery (which was good to see). For the most part, Washington’s defense was able to keep the Bears’ offense off the field as they flirted with a comeback bid in the third and fourth quarters.

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