Grades: Miller, A-Rob disappoint in win over Giants
I came away from re-watching the game feeling like neither of Mitch Trubisky’s two interceptions were primarily his fault. On the first one, Anthony Miller – his first read – was jammed by a defensive back and fell to the turf. Allen Robinson was second in the progression and the timing of the throw, yes, was a little off, allowing the ball to be tipped and picked off by cornerback Julian Love. That could’ve been better, but credit also should go to the Giants’ defense on it.
The second interception was both a catch Robinson should’ve had and a tremendous play by cornerback James Bradberry. Maybe Trubisky could’ve placed the ball a little better but his decision to give Robinson a playmaking opportunity was good. Bradberry is a tough corner but it’s a play Robinson, in all certainty, would like to have back.
Otherwise, Trubisky played an excellent first half, and should’ve had three touchdowns had Miller come down with the “dime,” as Matt Nagy put it, he threw in the end zone.
How tough is David Montgomery? First, he doesn’t miss a game after an August groin injury, then he comes back from a scary-looking neck injury to grind out 82 yards on 16 carries and lead the Bears in receiving (three catches, 45 yards, 1 TD). Forty-five of those yards came on the Bears’ final offensive drive, which was almost enough to successfully execute a game-ending four-minute offense. He’s playing like a running back Nagy can trust all season long.
There’s a contrast in expectations here: Darnell Mooney and Javon Wims played above expectations, with Mooney snagging his first career touchdown and Wims doing some good, tough things to pick up a pair of first downs and unleash some powerful downfield blocks. But Anthony Miller (two drops, including one in the end zone) and Allen Robinson (beat by cornerback James Bradberry for Trubisky’s second interception) played below expectations.
The Bears will take what Mooney and Wims gave them every day; they needed more from Robinson and Miller – who, by the way, was short on his route depth on his second drop, Nagy said.
While the Bears didn’t get much receiving production from their tight ends again – one catch by Jimmy Graham and Cole Kmet apiece – their usage suggests Nagy was, again, happy with how they played (and he said so himself on Monday). Graham played 60 percent of the Bears’ offensive snaps, Demetrius Harris 55 percent and Kmet 34 percent. These guys – not Wims or Mooney – are the ones boxing out Miller for playing time. And Nagy seems like he wants to stick with heavier personnel, which has helped with the run game early on this season.
This was another solid game for Juan Castillo’s offensive line, which had its hands full against a Giants team built around interior defensive line play. The last drive of the game was, in particular, impressive – especially from the interior of the Bears’ line. It’s only two games, but the early returns on this group are a lot more encouraging than I expected a month ago.
Akiem Hicks made some standout plays, including a sack and a tackle for a loss, while Bilal Nichols, Roy Robertson-Harris and Brent Urban all put in solid, workmanlike afternoons. It still feels like the Bears need some long-term help at the nose without Eddie Goldman, but Week 2 was a big step in the right direction for Jay Rodgers’ group.
Robert Quinn roasted rookie left tackle Andrew Thomas on his first snap with the Bears, forcing a fumble recovered by Khalil Mack. Mack later got into the sack column for the first time in 2020, and Barkevious Mingo was noticeable with a couple of pressures, too. Dinging this grade was this group not locking things down on the Giants’ final drive – it’s a high bar, but it would’ve been nice to see an effectively game-ending sack from an edge rusher.
Roquan Smith played well both against the run and pass, and didn’t come off the field at all – he and safety Tashaun Gipson were the only defensive players to play all 65 snaps. Danny Trevathan, though, struggled again – he only played 31 snaps, with defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano calling on Deon Bush quite a bit to replace the veteran inside linebacker.
Kyle Fuller and Jaylon Johnson had excellent games – Fuller nearly single-handedly forced a three-and-out in the first quarter, while Johnson had a couple of pass break-ups in another strong showing for the rookie. Buster Skrine chipped in with five tackles, too. A big challenge awaits next weekend with Julio Jones and the Atlanta Falcons’ offense.
Bush notched his first career interception as part of the sub package that gets Trevathan off the field, and Eddie Jackson had a pick-six called back for a controversial pass interference flag (fair or not, it seems like officials nowadays are going to penalize early contact, even if a defensive back is playing the ball). Both Jackson and Gipson tackled well, as they should’ve with Saquon Barkley out for most of the game.
Cairo Santos couldn’t connect on a 50-yard field goal late in the fourth, which gave the Giants only a 60-yard field to cover to win the game. But Cordarrelle Patterson had a nice game on kickoffs and Pat O’Donnell and Sherrick McManis teamed up to down a punt at the five-yard line in the third quarter.
The second half certainly was disappointing, and I would’ve liked to see a little more aggression from both Nagy and Pagano as the Giants scratched and clawed their way back into the game. But Nagy continues to build an identity with this offense, and it feels like he’s starting to find a nice rhythm as a playcaller – a rhythm that was not present for most of the 2019 season.
Still, the Bears should’ve won this game by more than four points, and the outcome never should’ve came down to the last play of the game. The Falcons, even at 0-2, will be a much, much tougher challenge this coming weekend for both Nagy and Pagano.
