QUARTERBACKS: B+
Given the snowy and cold conditions, Trubisky’s final stat line is fairly impressive (14/23, 193 yards, 87.8 passer rating). He showed good instincts on seven runs — five of which were scrambles — gaining 44 yards with a touchdown. The biggest ding to his game on Sunday was the five sacks he took, three of which came on third down in the first half. But more than anything, this was a game in which the Bears’ offense was successful because of Trubisky, and that was a positive development for the rookie quarterback.
RUNNING BACKS: C-
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Jordan Howard got in the end zone twice but didn’t do much else, gaining 44 yards on 22 carries. Tarik Cohen’s usage was limited again (two carries, nine yards; two catches, 12 yards), but Benny Cunningham caught a pair of screens for 40 and 22 yards to convert third downs on scoring drives. Howard, too, sprung an 11-yard scramble by Trubisky with a good blitz pickup.
WIDE RECEIVERS: C-
Josh Bellamy caught all three of his targets for 49 yards while Kendall Wright and Dontrelle Inman combined for six catches on 10 targets for 46 yards. It wasn’t a particularly impactful game for this group, but it didn’t need to be on Sunday.
TIGHT ENDS: B
NFL
We’ll give a solid grade to this group mostly for their work on Howard’s first touchdown, which featured Dion Sims, Daniel Brown and Ben Braunecker on the field in a power-against-power run. Sims caught a 24-yard pass to spark the Bears’ first touchdown drive of the game.
OFFENSIVE LINE: B-
Credit to the Bears’ offensive line for maintaining things despite not having Josh Sitton or Tom Compton, and missing Bobby Massie (knee) for a good portion of the game. Bradley Sowell helped spring Howard’s second score — a 16-yard run — though this group does get dinged for the number of sacks taken by Trubisky and the lack of reliable running success.
DEFENSIVE LINE: A-
While this group perhaps didn’t show up as strongly on the stat sheet, Jonathan Bullard and Roy Robertson-Harris each played well. Akiem Hicks (half a sack, two hurries) and Eddie Goldman (four tackles) played at a high level, too, and were key reasons why the Browns averaged just 3.8 yards per carry.
LINEBACKERS: A+
Nick Kwiatkoski played his best game as a pro, providing seven tackles and plenty of pressure on DeShone Kizer and helping force a late-game interception with a good rush at the Browns’ quarterback. Danny Trevathan forced a fumble just shy of the Bears’ end zone to keep Cleveland from scoring a touchdown, while Sam Acho had another solid game (half a sack, five hurries).
DEFENSIVE BACKS: A+
Kyle Fuller had a huge day, picking off Kizer in the end zone, racking up a whopping six pass break-ups and being the prime reason why Josh Gordon only caught two of his eight targets for 19 yards. Bryce Callahan picked off Kizer, too, while Prince Amukamara recovered a fumble in the end zone. Adrian Amos flew around in his return to the starting lineup. Overall, this group made life difficult for Kizer
SPECIAL TEAMS: B
Tarik Cohen sparked his team’s first scoring drive with a 28-yard punt return to the Bears’ 43-yard line. That was another explosive play on a punt return for the rookie, though Mike Nugent having a PAT blocked drops this grade down.
COACHING: B-
Credit offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains for adjusting to the Browns’ frequent third down blitzes of Trubisky by calling for a few screen passes early in the second half to alleviate some of that pressure. But that does beg the question: Why wasn’t that part of the offensive arsenal sooner? The Bears’ playcalling was productive near the goal line, too, without the benefit of Adam Shaheen for the second straight week: On the Bears’ first scoring drive, Loggains called for a Cohen run, a Trubisky draw and a Howard run to get in the end zone. Having Trubisky throw 23 times in some pretty rough conditions was a positive, too: That was his first snow game with the Bears, and it almost certainly will not be his last.