In Loss, Bears Attain New Level of Disfunction
The only thing about the Chicago Bears more certain than thousands of empty seats at Soldier Field for the remaining three home games is the inconsistency of their offense.
Finding steady, incremental success within a game offensively this season for the Bears has been like trying to catch a fly in your hand.
In Sunday night's 17-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, they located it for one series, and then it was gone, just like it was gone after three series against the Lions in a win the previous week.
The Bears were a team without a bonafide tight end but with a running back slowed by an ankle injury, a running quarterback who refuses to run and had a secret hip injury in the second quarter, a placekicker who can't make field goals, a coach who didn't realize his quarterback was hurt and doesn't have confidence in a shaky kicker.
Their grades from the game reflect total disfunction in at least two of the game's major areas.
Running Game
Tarik Cohen found a way to gain more than 10 yards on a rushing attempt for the first time this season by running outside, but for some reason they continued to run their 5-foot-6, 190-pound back between the tackles. With an ankle injury, it was apparent David Montgomery lacked the extra bit of explosion that allows him to break tackles. They averaged 3.1 yards a rushing attempt and for the eighth time this season failed to go over 90 rushing yards. GRADE: D
Passing Game
Normally off the mark a bit anyway, Trubisky's passes became less and less accurate and with less zip as the game went on and later it was revealed to be due to injury. One play summed up the total chaos within the passing attack. Trubisky threw a poor, high pass off the mark toward the sideline and Anthony Miller can't reach it, but throws one hand up just enough to tip the ball into the air so it could be intercepted. Allen Robinson was held to 15 yards receiving on five catches and the Bears had one reception for 8 yards from a tight end, Ben Braunecker. The passing game worked occasionally laterally but downfield throws were nonexistent and eventually was a major reason they had their second-lowest point output of the year. Amazingly, the pass blocking held up against Aaron Donald and the Rams for only one sack of Trubisky, although Chase Daniel came in at the end of the game and got sacked twice. One stat alone is enough to cause failure: 3.9 yards a pass attempt. GRADE: F
Run Defense
The Rams converted their running game to more double-team or power type of blocking instead of the zone scheme they usually use and the Bears had trouble with it at first, much like they have in every game since losing Akiem Hicks to injury. However, they adjusted with a 6-1 front and eventually found a way to slow Todd Gurley. They forced a fumble and gave up 3.2 yards a carry. Gurley eventually had 97 yards on 25 attempts, but the Rams could run for only 37 yards in the second half. GRADE: C+
Pass Defense
The pass rush did enough to rattle Jared Goff early even with Khalil Mack failing to show up with a stat line. Roquan Smith played his best game of the year and came away with a first-quarter interception, and the defense kept the game from becoming difficult early. They held Goff to a 69.9 passer rating, which should win any game. The 9.6 yards per pass attempt more reflected the defense gambling to prevent the run or to create a big play in lieu of no offense than it did a failure of their pass defense. GRADE: B -
Special Teams
Cordarrelle Patterson's dumb unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for removing his helmet and missed field goals of 47 and 48 yards from Eddy Pineiro made for a complete failure in this area of the game. Pineiro's missed chances kept the Bears from leading late in the game, which would have meant an entirely different scenario. Instead, Goff would have been under pressure and the Rams wouldn't have been able to stick with the running game. The Bears were burned by Johnny Hekker's long punts (54-yard average), although they couldn't do much about this. GRADE: F
Coaching
Matt Nagy's refusal to give Pineiro a second shot at a 48-yard field goal and to go for a fourth-and-9 was a major coaching snafu and he never really offered much of a satisfactory explanation for it after the game. The lack of confidence after only one missed kick couldn't have sat too well with Pineiro when he lined up and missed a 47-yarder after that. Too many lateral pass plays, an odd failed third-and-1 option play and the way the Trubisky injury situation was handled reflected an inability for the coaching staff to adequately communicate with the most important player on the roster. Chuck Pagano's defensive scheming was far and away the game's greatest coaching positive. He found a way to get the run leakage stopped, although eventually the Rams countered by throwing deeper. GRADE: C-
Overall
It was much like watching a repeat of the season opener, with the Bears remaining in the game without points and ultimately never getting it done. GRADE: D -
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