Bears Report Card: Playoff Reminder Is Below Average Fails Against Top Teams
The improvement in the Bears made by beating up three weak defenses became apparent when they drove straight down the field Sunday and took a 7-0 lead on the Green Bay Packers.
They weren't capable of that kind of scoring ease six weeks earlier at Lambeau Field. The Packers had been leading them 41-10 earlier this season in their lopsided 41-25 loss, so obviously they had moved up the food chain a bit.
However, the difference between a very good NFL team and a .500 team became entirely apparent when the Bears reached a fourth-quarter junction with a chance to go ahead.
They tried to pick up a first down on third-and-1 and then fourth-and-1 and failed. Then they suffered a cave-in.
The Bears came a long way from 5-7 and a six-game losing streak and still have a long way to go to be close to the Packers.
The important part is whether they've come far enough to beat another good team on Sunday in New Orleans.
Here are grades from the regular-season finale, which isn't really a finale now thanks to Leonard Floyd and former Bears assistant Brandon Staley, the Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator.
The Bears were said to have sent fruit baskets to the 49ers for beating Arizona earlier. Maybe they need to send something larger to the Rams and their defensive coordinator for getting them into the playoffs.
Running Game: C-
A BearDigest.com pregame projection was the Bears needed 140 rushing yards to beat Green Bay. They had 108 and got the result one would expect. If you play ball control, you need some bigger gains and they were getting a few yards here and there, nothing big. This is a Packers run defense very vulnerable and the execution the Bears had against bad defenses wasn't there against a so-so run defense. David Montgomery still ran hard and had 69 yards rushing. The Bears managed to convert five fourth downs and keep the ball, but when they really had to have a third-and-1 at the 25 of Green Bay in the fourth quarter and on three of their trips inside the red zone they couldn't block the run well enough.
Passing Game: C-
Mitchell Trubisky hit on a 53-yarder to Darnell Mooney, and hit on enough short passes to complete 79% against the Packers but when they needed the key passing yards in the red zone they couldn't complete passes. Allen Robinson did what he does sometimes against really good secondaries or cornerbacks—he caught two passes. Check out what he does against Jalen Ramsey and the Rams secondary for added proof. It's something to think about when they decide whether to make another offer in free agency. Mooney's extreme effort got him 93 yards receiving and also his injury along the sideline. Cole Kmet's second effort got him a fumble to set up a Packers touchdown. The mistakes more than balanced out their plays made and brought their grade down below average.
Run Defense: B-
The difference Akiem Hicks made in shutting down the run as opposed to the game in Green Bay becamne quickly apparent as the Packers went on to run for 103 yards less than they did in the earlier game. Then again, they didn't really need the rushing yards because Aaron Rodgers completed the passes he needed to complete. The Packers still gained 4.2 yards a rush, although they ran only 19 times. It was encouraging they were able to limit rushing yards even after losing Roquan Smith to an elbow injury because injuries of that type are unlikely to heal in time for a playoff game.
Pass Defense: F
Looking at Rodgers' final passing yardage would make the casual observer think the Bears enjoyed a strong day. This is a case where the passer rating number told the tale: 147.9. Rodgers was 19 of 24 and averaged 10 yards per pass attempt. The Bears used two inexperienced pass defenders and it showed. Their pass rush put on some decent heat in the third quarter to let them stay in the game, but not enough overall to keep them from needing to blitz and it was then that Rodgers burned them. You can't drop two interceptions against Rodgers on plays that could have both resulted in big game-changing returns without expecting to be punished.
Special Teams: C+
A brilliant but risky play by Cordarrelle Patterson earned them the 40-yard line for a start to their game-opening TD drive. Cairo Santos again was perfect (3-for-3) and set a team record for consecutive field goals made this year (27). They just would have liked to use his services a little less.
Coaching: C-
The plan of ball control worked to keep Rodgers off the field, but it has to be accompanied by a few more touchdowns and a few less big passing plays allowed. If the Bears are going to blitz a defensive back with little or no experience, it's strongly suggested in the future they leave a safety back to help Danny Trevathan try to cover the opponent's fastest receiver because that's just not going to work against Rodgers and won't against Drew Brees next week. Some of the disguises Chuck Pagano used in the third quarter had Rodgers confused briefly and made you wonder why they didn't do this earlier. Matt Nagy was left lamenting their failure on fourth-and-18 inches at the Green Bay 25 in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. In the future they might want to trash third-and-short or fourth-and-short from a shotgun formation. It serves absolutely no purpose in those cases. Sprintout passes out of shotgun without a play-action fake on fourth-and-inches shouldn't work, and the coaching staff needs to realize this.
Overall: C -
A below-average effort against a 13-3, top-seeded team gets you beat every time. This holds true against a 12-4 team seeded second, and the Bears need to remember this next week.
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