Bears grades: Straight A's for defense, F for O-line
The Bears improved to 5-1 with a 23-16 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, but it wasn't all pretty -- especially for the offensive line.
Nick Foles was quick to admit after the game his interception – which came right after Akiem Hicks recovered a fumble deep in Panthers territory – was “dumb.” He was under pressure, sure, but should not have thrown that pass in the field of play. It brings down his grade significantly here given the circumstances of it.
But Carolina did a good job copying what Indianapolis and Tampa Bay did against Foles in taking away any threat of deep shots. The only pass Foles threw that traveled at least 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage was nearly picked off (and probably should’ve been picked off – though Foles was hit as he threw after Charles Leno was beat on the play) just before Cairo Santos drilled a 55-yard field goal at the end of the first half.
Foles was generally accurate but needed to be more precise on a few throws – like the third-and-two incompletion that gave the ball back to Carolina with one timeout left – and his operation of the offense looked fine. This is not the offense the Bears hope to be with Foles, but for now, at least he’s generating enough points to support a great defense.
David Montgomery needs more help from his offensive line – and that he got 58 yards on 19 carries is actually kind of impressive with some of the blocking he had ahead of him. His four catches for 39 yards were a meaningful contribution, too. The problems with the Bears’ run game and offense do not fall on Montgomery.
“David’s doing a really good job,” coach Matt Nagy said. “I mean, he runs hard now. You see some of those runs in there where he’s breaking some tackles and getting extra yards and yards after contact. That’s what he’s always done. I love that about him.”
Allen Robinson ran a couple of great routes on third down to pick up key conversions, including a 23-yard snag in the fourth quarter that set up a Cairo Santos field goal. Darnell Mooney continues to play well. But doesn’t it feel like this wide receiver group is missing something? It’s just…off. Anthony Miller had eight yards on three receptions, one of which he caught at the line to gain on third down but darted behind the sticks, leading to a punt.
Cole Kmet caught his first career touchdown and added an 11-yard snag, but still played fewer snaps than Demetrius Harris (24 for Harris, 23 for Kmet). Although you have to wonder if playing time is finally shifting toward the second-round pick: Harris had an egregious drop on what would’ve been a first down in the third quarter.
How is Nagy supposed to commit to the run when he can’t trust his offensive line to follow their assignments and win their matchups? The Panthers were allowing 5.4 yards per carry entering Sunday and the Bears managed 2.5 yards per carry. Sheesh. Sunday should’ve been a get-right game for the Bears’ rushing attack. Instead, it felt like an ominous sign of things to come with James Daniels out for the year.
After Jaylon Johnson was beat on a 39-yard deep ball in the fourth quarter, Mario Edwards Jr. singlehandedly stopped Carolina’s drive in its tracks with a legit pressure, then a good pass rush on an incompletion, and then a sack to end the drive and force a field goal.
Bilal Nichols had an impactful game, with a sack that set up Teddy Bridgewater’s first interception – and then a pressure on that pass, too. He made a critical tackle on Mike Davis in the first quarter, too, which had he not made would’ve resulted in an explosive run for the former Bear.
And Akiem Hicks is still really, really good.
While Robert Quinn didn’t have a sack, he assisted on two (Nichols’ and Khalil Mack’s) while totaling six pressures, per PFF. Mack had another impactful game, but the Bears also got important contributions from James Vaughters, who played 33 snaps and more than held his own. Between Vaughters and Barkevious Mingo, the Bears’ outside linebacker depth has been better than expected in 2020.
This was Roquan Smith’s best game of the year. He made plays against the run, in coverage and as a pass rusher, and did so with a spotless tackling record. Davis entered Sunday second among running backs in targets, receptions and receiving yards but, thanks in large part to Smith’s play, managed two catches on three targets for three yards. Danny Trevathan tackled well in what was similarly his best game of 2020.
Bridgewater picked on Johnson all game, and the rookie struggled at times, but the pass interference penalty he was flagged for was a bad call by the officials. His sticky coverage early in the game led to a tipped pass picked off by Tashaun Gipson, too. I’m not worried about Johnson after re-watching Sunday’s game.
Kyle Fuller continued to play at an All-Pro level – and continued to get flagged for clean, big hits, seemingly just because of the force behind them (even if, again, they were clean). Fuller’s one-on-one tackle of a scrambling Bridgewater near the end zone was one of the most important plays of the game. Buster Skrine, while he got lucky when Bridgewater overthrew a wide open D.J. Moore in the fourth quarter, played well against the Panthers, too.
Another game, another touchdown dubiously taken away from Eddie Jackson. He had an impressive forced fumble in a one-on-on spot against Davis, and had he got to the ball before Hicks maybe would’ve taken it for a touchdown. Tashaun Gipson continues to be a solid addition to this defense, notching his second interception of the year – which already matches Ha Ha Clinton-Dix’s interception total in 2019. And DeAndre Houston-Carson’s first career interception sealed the win in another nice day for Sean Desai’s safeties.
Cairo Santos’ career-long 55-yard field goal – coming on the heels of a solid Week 5 – might’ve earned him a longer leash in Chicago as Eddy Pineiro remains on injured reserve. Another standout play from Chris Tabor’s group: A perfectly-executed Pat O’Donnell punt downed at the three-yard line by Sherrick McManis early in the third quarter.
There were too many sloppy moments, like the timeout Nagy called to avoid a delay of game on third-and-goal from the four, only to have the offense still get called for delay of game after the timeout. Even if some of the flags were bogus, having 10 penalties – including two too-many-men-on-the-field ones on the defense on the same drive – doesn’t reflect well on coaching.
But I thought Chuck Pagano called a tremendous game. And it’s not worth nothing that Nagy’s teams continue to find ways to win. That starts with the head coach.
