Bears Positional Grades after loss to Cowboys |
A week after a dominant showing in primetime, the Bears faltered a bit. Despite scoring, the offense showed growth, and the Bears dropped a high-scoring affair in Dallas. The Bears are now 3-5 after losing 49-29 in Dallas.
So let’s take a look and give out some grades based on the performances by position after the loss to the Cowboys. Quarterback A Justin Fields has shown some signs of improvement in the last couple of games, and that showed on Sunday. Fields was accurate, completing 17-of-23 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Fields ran eight times for 60 yards and a touchdown as well. Fields turned in his best passer rating and his first-ever three-touchdown game. This may have been his best game as a pro. Running backs B David Montgomery was great on the ground, carrying the ball 15 times for 52 yards, but a crucial fumble hurt the Bears' comeback chances. Khalil Herbert spelled Montgomery with 16 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown. Montgomery also had three catches for 22 yards out of the backfield. Trestan Ebner had a couple of carries as well. The Bears will hope to keep the running game involved as the season continues, as they are the NFL’s No. 1 rush offense. Wide Receivers B+ The passing game was fairly active, and third-year wideout Darnell Mooney caught five passes for 70 yards. Equanamius St. Brown caught one pass for six yards. Dante Pettis caught four passes for 18 yards. Former Patriot N’Keal Harry caught two passes for 24 yards and a touchdown. Finally, Velus Jones Jr. had three touches for a combined 39 yards. The Bears certainly have improved here. Tight Ends B This unit certainly has talent with Cole Kmet and Ryan Griffin, but they have not been that active. Cole Kmet led the Bears with two catches for 11 yards and a touchdown. That’s it from this unit. Offensive Line C The offensive line was not that bad, but they did allow four sacks of quarterback Justin Fields and allowed pressure on him all day. They need to do a better job of keeping Fields upright. They made up for it in the run game, opening holes for Montgomery and Herbert all game long. Defensive Line D The defensive line was not good. The D-line allowed big play after big play in the run game and did not muster up nearly enough pressure on Dak Prescott. Linebackers D Roquan Smith had just 5 tackles, and the Bears struggled to make tackles here. With Robert Quinn gone, somebody needs to step up. Secondary C+ This unit was not great on Sunday. Jaylon Johnson was solid, Eddie Jackson was far too active with 11 tackles and an interception, and Jaquan Brisker had nine tackles and a sack. It’s just hard to grade this unit any better when they were forced to make too many plays because of struggles up front. Special Teams B+ Kicker Cairo Santos made three extra points and a field goal. Trenton Gill nailed one of his four punts inside the 20 — and Velus Jones Jr. and Dante Pettis were okay in the return game. Playcalling B The playcalling was better in Matt Eberflus' eighth career game with the Bears. The Bears seemed to trust Justin Fields more, and it was nice to see him perform. We’ll see how the Bears respond in week 9. Nonetheless, week 8 is in the books, and the Bears are 3-5 on the season. Next on the schedule is the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
