Bears grades: Mitch Trubisky ends his regular season on a high note

QUARTERBACKS: B+
 
Mitch Trubisky didn’t throw a touchdown — though he came close with a 40-yard strike to Taylor Gabriel — but he efficiently moved the ball against one of the league’s better defenses. On a game-shifting 16-play, 75-yard drive, Trubisky completed passes for four critical third downs, including two tough third-and-6/third-and-seven conversions to rookie Javon Wims. The Bears didn’t try to pad Trubisky’s stats by getting him touchdowns inside the 10, but 18 completions on 26 attempts without a turnover was more than enough for this team to comfortably beat the Vikings. He hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 14. 
 
RUNNING BACKS: A
 
Jordan Howard imposed his will on the Vikings’ defense, powering and juking his way to 109 yards on 21 carries with two touchdowns. His 42-yard run on the Bears’ second offensive play of the game was a tone-setter, proving to everyone at U.S. Bank Stadium that this team was there to win, and nothing else. Howard gained 55 of the Bears’ 71 yards on their opening drive, including a bruising six-yard touchdown. This was Howard’s best game of the season, and he’ll enter the playoffs with some positive momentum after an otherwise disappointing year for him. Tarik Cohen, too, pitched in with 24 yards on five carries, including a touchdown to end that 16-play drive in the second half. 
 
WIDE RECEIVERS: B
 
Gabriel’s route and grab on his 40-yard reception were both outstanding, and while it didn’t result in a touchdown it set up Howard’s plunge that put the Bears up 13-0 in the first half. He caught all four targets for 61 yards before exiting with a rib injury, while Anthony Miller exited the game with a shoulder injury on the first drive. So that meant Kevin White and Wims got some extended work, and they acquitted themselves well. Josh Bellamy didn’t make an impact through the air, but did contribute to Howard’s 42-yard run with a chip of safety Anthony Harris. Wims had four strong catches for 32 yards, while White hauled in a 22-yard grab to convert a third down. The holding penalty whistled against White on a screen to Howard was weak — if anything, it looked like White was held on the play — and White held up well as a run blocker, too. If either Wims or White is needed in the playoffs, what they did on Sunday should help not only their own confidence, but Trubisky’s confidence in them.  
 
TIGHT ENDS: B-
 
Trey Burton continued to be Trubisky’s “take what’s there” go-to option, catching all five of his catchable targets for 33 yards, with three of those receptions resulting in first downs. His excellent route and feel for open space paid off on a critical third-down conversion before Howard’s first touchdown. Adam Shaheen did some good things as a run blocker, though he was whistled for holding on the Bears’ third drive. Maybe we’ll count Nick Kwiatkoski in this group, too, as he made an impressive, not-all-that-easy catch in the end zone on “Lollipop,” the Bears’ two-point conversion play in the fourth quarter. 
 
OFFENSIVE LINE: A
 
Kyle Long’s return to the starting lineup, even if it only lasted a quarter and a half, provided a significant boost to this unit. Notably: 64 of Howard’s 109 yards came rushing to the right — where Long was lined up — including his 42-yard run, on which that side of the line did an outstanding job winning the point of attack and opening up a hole. For the passing game, Trubisky wasn’t sacked and was only hit once. Bradley Sowell did some good things playing a few snaps at fullback, too. 
 
DEFENSIVE LINE: A+
 
Akiem Hicks was outstanding again, dominating against the run and notching 1 1/2 sacks, two quarterback hits and one tackle for a loss. Eddie Goldman chipped in with a sack, too, which forced a punt on the Vikings’ second drive, while Bilal Nichols gave a “Viking clap” toward the remaining fans at U.S. Bank Stadium after bringing down Kirk Cousins in the fourth quarter (he had seven pressures too, per PFF). Roy Robertson-Harris was disruptive, too, with half a sack and two quarterback hits, while Jonathan Bullard had four pressures. This group wholly overwhelmed Minnesota’s offensive line and set the tone for the Bears’ dominant defensive showing. 
 
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS: A-
 
Leonard Floyd and Khalil Mack had strong games against the run, even if they didn’t hit home on Cousins (Floyd had one pressure, Mack had four). Isaiah Irving played well over his 24 snaps, nothing four pressures and a quarterback hit. Just the mere presence of Mack, though, again scrambled Cousins’ decision-making and timing, as it did when the Bears played the Vikings at Soldier Field in November.  
 
INSIDE LINEBACKERS: A-
 
Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith both played well, again, outside of what looked like a missed assignment on Minnesota’s only touchdown of the game. Nick Kwiatkoski plays 14 snaps on defense, too — and not all of them came after Nagy pulled his starters — and also caught that two-point conversion attempt. 
 
DEFENSIVE BACKS: A
 
Adrian Amos had another standout game, doing his part to help cover for the absence of Eddie Jackson while providing excellent support against the run. While this unit didn’t generate a turnover, Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara played well (save for the defensive pass interference flag thrown on Amukamara), and Sherrick McManis again held his own and looks to be an important contributor on this defense in the playoffs. 
 
SPECIAL TEAMS: D
 
Cody Parkey missed his third PAT of the year and 10th kick overall, only adding to a worrying trend about the Bears’ field goal unit heading into the playoffs. Cohen didn’t have a good day returning punts, either — he dropped the first one kicked toward him, fortunately recovering it, then lost two yards while dancing around on his next attempt. That second return was particularly brutal, as an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Bears’ bench pushed the Bears back another 15 yards, meaning the Vikings — punting from their own end zone — flipped 82 yards of field position on the punt. Pat O’Donnell did down two punts inside the 20, while Parkey hit a 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. 
 
COACHING: A
 
Question Matt Nagy leaving his starters in until midway through the fourth quarter of a game that didn’t matter for playoff seeding all you want — his entire team appreciated and fed off their coach’s approach. This is a team that didn’t just go through the motions with an eye on the playoffs: The Bears relished not just beating the Vikings, but beating the you-know-what out of them. 
 
And left tackle Charles Leno made this point after the game: The Bears hadn’t had a road test all year like the one they had Sunday. U.S. Bank Stadium was loud in a way no other road stadium in which the Bears played this year was. In that sense, the Bears handling the environment (outside of some operational issues with the offense in the second quarter) was important with an eye on the playoffs, which in the NFC will go through New Orleans and the raucous Superdome. 
 
The Bears will head into the playoffs with a ton of momentum, having won nine of their last 10 games and four in a row. The early feeling is that Gabriel will be fine to play, and Miller may be, too, both of whom were injured on Sunday. So there’s a good chance the Bears will come out of one of their most comprehensive victories of the year without having lost anybody for the playoffs, and will be better off for it.