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Bears Report Card: Grades after win over Panthers
Bears defense celebrates against Panthers (Bob Donnan - USA Today Sports)

Bears Report Card: Grades after win over Panthers


by - Staff Writer -

It was a crazy week for the Chicago Bears. It doesn’t really matter how they do it, but the wins keep coming for the first-place Bears. Quarterback Nick Foles said this team would rather win ugly than lose pretty, and win ugly they did.

Let’s give out our position grades for the Bears, who defeated Teddy Bridgewater and the Panthers in a 23-16 win.

Quarterbacks B-:

Nick Foles was not particularly sharp in this one, but he did enough for the Bears to win. Foles threw for 198 yards and a touchdown, as well as an interception. Foles and the entire offense still seems to look for a rhythm, but another W earns Foles a B-.

Running backs B-:

David Montgomery found the end zone and tallied 58 yards on 19 carries. Although he has been unable to break any big plays, Montgomery has been really consistent for the Bears. Montgomery also caught four passes for 39 yards out of the backfield. Patterson only tallied one carry and one catch, but this unit was solid enough.

Wide Receivers C+:

This unit performed admirably enough to earn a C+. Allen Robinson had just an okay game with 5 catches for 53 yards. Rookie Darnell Mooney caught three passes for 36 yards. Anthony Miller will look to be involved more, but he grabbed three balls for just 8 yards. Expect this unit to keep growing with more time to work with Foles.

Tight Ends B:

This unit, with an overfilled position room, had a solid day on Sunday. Rookie Cole Kmet caught his first career touchdown. Jimmy Graham continued to be a big part of this offense with another five catches for 34 yards.

Offensive Line A-

The offensive line did a solid job protecting against Carolina. The o-line gave up no sacks and did enough to protect the Bears. Not exactly a strong unit, but a decent game from the o-line.

Defensive Line A-:

The D-line was great on Sunday, pressuring and knocking Teddy Bridgewater around all game. The unite produced four sacks. Bilal Nichols and James Vaughters were involved, and a strong performance from Akeim Hicks helped.

Linebackers A-:

Khalil Mack was phenomenal for the Bears, dominating the game and coming away with a sack. Roquan Smith had seven tackles, and Danny Trevathan had six.

Secondary A:

The Panthers did not have hardly any big plays, and the receivers were mostly slowed down. Kyle Fuller was all over the place, and Tashaun Gipson and Deandre Houston-Carson came away with picks. Eddie Jackson had an interception returned for a touchdown that was called back. I loved what this unit showed.

Special Teams B+:

Cairo Santos made three field goals; the third was a 55 yarder. Santos is perhaps the Bears' long-awaited answer at kicker.

Playcalling B:

Adjustments still need to be made, but there were flashes of a formidable offense in there. It is up to Matt Nagy to find it. The offense was without a rhythm, but a win is a win.

Nonetheless, this team is 5-1 and looking to make it 6-1 on the road against Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night on ESPN.

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