Bears and Jets In-Game Blog

In-game analysis and reporting on the Bears and Jets game as Chicago attempts to end a four-game losing streak without injured QB Justin Fields.

Fourth Quarter

• Jets falling on the ball. Final score: Jets 31, Bears 10
• Montgomery 14 runs for 79 yards on the day.
• Mooney had caught a pass in all 44 games he had played but his streak came to an end today as he had no receptions before his ankle injury.
• This game is pretty much what you would have thought without Fields, without Brisker, without Gordon and with Darnell Mooney and Eddie Jackson getting hurt during the game. 
• Jets power running and killing off the clock. Ty Johnson running simple tosses off tackle or counters. TWO-MINUTE WARNING!!! 
• Good news. Carolina winning over Denver by 20. That puts the Bears in the second spot for the draft at the moment.
• Siemian played like he has throughout his career. Has a 75.2 passer rating, 14 of 25 for 179 yards with a TD and INT. Those are backup numbers and that's what he has been.
• Linebacker C.J. Mosley picks off Siemian inside the 5 on a throw to Kmet.
• Larry Borom leaves the game with an injury on Montgomery's run.
• Siemian hanging in against a tough rush, took a hit the oblique and delivered hard throws over the middle to Pringle and to Dante Pettis. Bears at the Jets 22 and Montgomery breaks four tackles for a first down.
• Jets working the clock and Zuerlein misses from 53 but they wound the clock all the way down to 8:05 in the process.
• They try to throw deep to Claypool in double coverage. Claypool broke it up like a DB when it would have been picked but he would have been better off letting them pick it off because then they would have been pinned back inside the 5-yard line.
• Pettis lays out for a first-down catch but can't hang on so Bears are stuck going for it on fourth-and-5 at the 27.
• Darrynton Evans around left end for a first down at the Jets 32.
• Kmet fumbles after a reception but somehow gets it back following a short gain. Third-and-2 now.
• Montgomery powers off left guard for the first down
• Penalty flag wasn't on Bears so first down at the 41. 

Third Quarter

• Fourth-and-1 toss to Montgomery works for the first down but the officials throw a flag as the quarter ends. Jets 31, Bears 10
• Siemian with a Fields spinning run and then dives at the sticks but comes up inches short. Must have been a good pain-killing shot because his oblique was definitely exposed on that one.
• Montgomery still running hard. A Braxton Jones holding negates a big gain and then he comes right back with a 14-yard run. Bears have third-and-6.
• Ty Johnson breaks off a 32-yard run, breaking three tackles and going in for the TD. Jets are turning it into a rout now. Jets 31,  Bears 10
• TE Tyler Conklin gets open deep against zone and Jets are at the Bears 46.
• Gill averts disaster as snap hits the ground but he picks it up and he gets off a great punt.
• Drive dies after one first down when Siemian overthrows sideline route and Bears punt it. 
• Mooney's injury is an ankle and his return is doubtful. 
• Finally Cole Kmet gets on the ledger with a slow-developing bootleg pass for a first down. 
• White finds Moore on third-and-4 for the TD pass from 22 yards. Elijah Hicks didn't get over in time.  Jets 24, Bears 10
• Three straight runs, including an 12-yard Braxton Berrios end around and the Jets are at the Bears 28.
• Jets blitz and Larry Borom can't find Huff to block him. An ugly sack. They wasted the timeout and came up with that play. Naked backfield, no back to help on a blitz.  A second bad third-down call by Getsy.
• Again on third-and-3 the Bears are confused. Dante Pettis or Claypool seemed confused or both. Most likely it was the QB who was at fault. Bears got a timeout call before the penalty.
• After a Velus Jones 7-yard run, Siemian overthrows Kmet on the sidelines on a back-shoulder throw.
• Left leg injury for Mooney. He was rolled up from behind while blocking. 
• Darnell Mooney suffered a leg injury on the play. This field was blasted by the players association as one of the most dangerous artificial surfaces. This is the second Bears player down. The injury to Jackson very easily could have been the result of the field. 
• Tremendous running by Montgomery and blocking in the middle by Mustipher and the receivers and tight ends. He gains 14 on first down from the 1.
• Vildor steps up and makes a pass breakup on third down against Davis on a slant. But the Jets get a huge break as a 56-yard punt stops like a wedge on a wet green. Bears take over at their own 1.
• The Bears only had 31 rushing yards in the first half but ran it efficiently early. They should have stuck with what was working.
• Again they took too much time in the huddle and left themselves no time to look at the defense. They set up a great play with an underneath crossing route to Montgomery and he would have needed to beat only one player with about five steps on him but Siemian overthrew it. Disappointing start as they go three-and-out and punt. The defense is going to be forced to step up again.
• Bears come out trying to throw and that was predictable. Siemian sacked. Total jailbreak with no one open. They should have started out running it.

Halftime

• Siemian 8 of 11, 127 yards, 1 TD, 141.1 rating. White 16 of 20 for 235 yards two TDs, 149 rating.
• The game changed on the third-and-1 call by Getsy when he had Siemian try to run it off tackle like he was Fields. That wasn't working if Siemian was healthy but with an oblique strain he didn't have a chance. Then Jackson's injury on the TD pass to Wilson was the other big blow.

Second Quarter

• Bears take a knee. Halftime: Jets 17, Bears 10
• Surprisingly, the Jets are trying a 57-yard field goal in the rain. Zuerlein makes it. Great kick. They couldn't even get the snap right earlier and then he makes the long one. Jets 17, Bears 10
• They merely tried to draw the Bears offsides and failed. Good discipline by the Bears defense. If not for Jackson getting hurt and going to the turf, this would be a good half for the Bears defense.
• Denzel Mims gets back 11 on the completion and Jets might be going for it on fourth-and-2 from the 39.
• Jets facing third-and-13 with 23 seconds left in the half. Bears are getting the ball to start the second half. 
• Armon Watts with a well-timed first Bears sack, bust up the middle and slammed down White at the 50.
• Sanborn stuffed a second-and-1 run from the Bears 38 but officials flagged Jets for illegal motion. They actually had two people moving at the snap.
• Corey Davis a third-down catch beating Jaylon Johnson at midfield, not one of the inexperienced DBs. Johnson has to step up there.
• Not sure why the Jets don't just start heaving it downfield but there is no Bears pass rush and they're down three starting defensive backs. The only starters in the secondary are Jaylon Johnson and Kindle Vildor. 
• After a first down, Jack Sanborn makes a nice tackle on Elijah Moore for loss on a pass in the backfield. TWO-MINUTE WARNING!!!
• Both starting safeties out for the Bears with Brisker and Jackson gone.
• Foot injury, not a knee or ankle for Jackson. Questionable to return.
• Elijah Hicks replaced Jackson.
• EQ gets 7 on the wide receiver screen but they had an illegal shift on the play. Officials haven't called that penalty all year. Then they call it now. Trenton Gill with a punt back to the 11 but they give up a 17-yard return. He outkicked the coverage.
• Mistake by Getsy. He came out passing right away again. Should have run it. Their running game is providing good yardage and lets them get past the momentum. They let the Jets tee off on first down and he had to throw it away, then Montgomery got stuffed. Third-and-9.
• TD pass went right through Matthew Adams' hands. Barely missed knocking it down.
• Vildor and Jackson were on the side where Wilson caught it but Vildor wasn't close enough to do anything about it and Jackson had gone to the turf after injuring himself. I would imagine DHC or Elijah Hicks will be at free safety now.
• Garrett Wilson for the 54-yard TD catch and it appeared Eddie Jackson was injured on the play. Limping badly. Jackson had suffered the injury before the ball even got to Wilson and was holding his leg. Jets 14, Bears 10
• Jets going back to their ground game and have third-and-2.
• Last time the Bears lost to the Jets was in weather at New Jersey just like this. James Allen fumbled three times and they lost. Allen had tears in his eyes afterward in the locker room. The guy was a gutsy, classic overachiever.
• Missed chance to steal away momentum by the Bears on that drive. Two nice Evans runs and a silly play call for the QB running off tackle. Someone tell Getsy that isn't Justin Fields playing QB.
• Siemian tries to run it on third down and gets slaughtered by three Jets. He tried running off tackle. Bears have to punt. Not the wisest play call when your QB has an oblique strain. We'll probably hear from Luke Getsy that he wasn't told there was an oblique strain. That's what he said about Fields' leg cramps last week. He spent half the game on the sidelines getting his legs massaged because of the cramps but Getsy "didn't know" and had Fields try to run it on first down when he got injured.
• Two runs by Evans put it inches from a first down. He has the speed, it's apparent. Jenkins with a pancake block on the play.
• Mann's feeble attempt to lateral it forward was considered an incomplete pass and not a fumble and the Bears get it at the original line of scrimmage, the 18.
• Bears benefit from a bobbled snap. They get to smear the kicker and keep the lead.  Zuerlein used to kicking in warm weather or domes all his career. But he didn't even get the chance to try the 36-yarder as punter/holder Braden Mann couldn't hold the snap. Bears tried a forward lateral on the return but it looked like the play was dead.
• Terrible play call by the Jets on third-and-11. White dumped it off over the middle for 3 or 4 and they'll try a field goal in teh heavy rain. Zuerlein kicking.
• DHC with the hammer to Wilson for an incompletion over the middle. They can always rely on him for solid play whatever they ask him to do.
• Bears just missed Jaquan Brisker for the first time. Elijah Moore with a catch and run to the Bears 21 in the rain. Jackson whiffed in the open field. Brisker doesn't let that catch go past 20 yards.
• Mike Pennel joins the run-stopping parade with a stop for 1. The Bears run defense has really improved over the last five games but they need to put it all together.
• Bears brought the heat and White stood in and delivered for the first down. They blitzed Morrow. Sanborn with a solid open-field tackle on Carter and it's third-and-6.
• Eddie Jackson nearly with a pick and really, it would have been tough to stop him from taking it back all the way considering the point on the field on the boot pass ehere he broke it up. Dropped it though.
• I don't want to say it but I have to, Siemian is trusting the Bears receivers already a good deal more than Fields does.
• Byron Pringle reaches over the top of D.J. Reed and steals away a touchdown pass.  Throw wasn't so hot but Pringle reaches up and hauls down the TD and Bears go 71 yards, nine plays. Bears 10, Jets 7
• Montgomery stacked up on second down at the 4. No room at all against that stout Jets middle.
• That's two more passes Siemian has lasted through than the last time he was in a game involving the Jets. He started and got knocked out for the season after six attempts playing for the Jets in 2019.
• Siemian finished first quarter 6 of 8 for 116 yards.

First Quarter

• After a 3-yard Montgomery run, the quarter ends. Jets 7, Bears 3
• Lofted deep throw to Chase Claypool for 31 yards beautifully done. Claypool fought through Sauce Gardner's interference for the jump ball catch. Flag was thrown too but not needed. First down at the 9.
• Velus Jones Jr. smeared for a yard loss as blocking on the right side behind Jenkins and Borom broke down. Then the Bears have to burn a timeout because they were mixed up and getting a delay-of-game penalty. It's easy to see how Siemian would be mixed up. He didn't even know if he was playing until a few minutes ago.
• Siemian sneaks ahead for the first down. Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom in together on the offensive line this week. The two kids. No Riley Reiff. No Michael Schofield.
• Montgomery doing plenty of work, with a run and a short reception and it's third-and-1 at the Jets 41.
• Claypool with a bootleg reception. Claypool's jersey is all smeared from hitting the paint in the end zone.  Bears at the 49.
• Not so much Bears PR

• Wonder what Nathan Peterman's heart rate was there for about 10 minutes when the Bears were announcing to the world he was starting.
• Defense rises up on second drive and a three-and-out so Bears get the ball back on a punt. Siemian in, unless he has injured himself looking at still photos on the sidelines.
• Michael Carter had his forward motion stopped and then put his hands on the official. That should have been an automatic ejection. Walter Payton was ejected once for that.
• Siemian 3 of 5 for 62 yards on the drive to the field goal. Jets 7, Bears 3
• Impressive drive by Siemian moving the Bears to a field goal by Cairo Santos. A 33-yard dump-off pass to Darrynton Evans set it up. Evans has 4.3ish speed but has been on the practice squad. Apparently they have more confidence in him than rookie Trestan Ebner.
• Now, despite the Bears announcement about Peterman starting, it's Trevor Siemian. Wow.
• There's a 52-year-old movie that describes this Bears visit to the Big Apple. The Out-of-Towners with Jack Lemmon. Their heads have to be spinning like Lemmon's in that move. 
• Kindle Vildor fouls up coverage on Garrett Wilson for an 8-yard TD pass. White goes 6-for-7 on the drive. Jets 7, Bears 0
• Both Kindle Vildor and Nick Morrow blocked on WR screen for 13 yards to the 8. Jets only slowed when Mike White throws another WR screen low incomplete.
• Probably it doesn't matter who is playing quarterback for the Bears as their defense looks like they're facing the 1969 Jets on the first drive. New York goes straight to the Bears 21 and has first-and-10.

Pregame

• Only the Bears. Trevor Siemian got hurt in pregame warmups (oblique). Apparently he had a pain-killing shot but can't start. Nathan Peterman starts 
• An hour before kickoff and at SI Sportsbook this game has been bet heavily on the Jets so much that the spread is all the way up to 6 1/2. Started at 3 1/2.
• Does Teven Jenkins get his starting right guard spot back now? It's not like Michael Schofield lit it up at right guard last week. Really struggled, actually.
• Without Fields, it will be interesting to watch the timing between receivers and Trevor Siemian. Does Chase Claypool fit in better with the ball coming out of the pocket in time? Or does it look much the same?
• Kyler Gordon has had an up-and-down season but trying to play an NFL game without a really experienced slot cornerback or even one with 11 games of experience is extremely tough. It will be interesting to see how they handle this. Will Jaylon Johnson move down into the slot?

• N'Keal Harry being inactive again, last week they said it was because of illness. He's just caught in the squeeze this week.

INACTIVES

Bears

• QB Justin Fields

• WR N'Keal Harry

• CB Kyler Gordon

• S Jaquan Brisker

• OL Ja'Tyre Carter

• LB Sterling Weatherford

• OL Alex Leatherwood

Jets

• QB Zach Wilson

• WR Jeff Smith

• TE Kenny Yeboah

• RB James Robinson

• DL Sheldon Rankins

• CB Bryce Hall

• S Tony Adams

• Justin Fields did throw a few passes on the field when players were stretching prior to actual warmups as coach Matt Eberflus took his pretense down to the wire.

TICKETS TO SEE JUSTIN FIELDS AND BEARS AVAILABLE THROUGH SI TICKETS

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