Andy Dalton: Distraction Blocker
Andy Dalton took the Bears downfield for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter for the second straight week, and this time it was for the win.
They made sure of it by keeping the ball for the final 8 1/2 minutes and picking up 69 yards en route to the 28-yard game-winning field goal by Cairo Santos.
"I mean you get in that situation, that drive was so important for us, however it happened," Dalton said. "It's all about getting points. But to go 18 plays and to run the clock out with 8 minutes left is huge.
"To get down and get into that position where we were able to kick the field goal at the end, it's just a testament to our guys' no-quit attitude and finding a way to get it done."
It's also a testament to Dalton, as he went 24 of 39 for 317 yards, the yardage total a Bears high for this year.
As a result, it wouldn't be hard to point at what Dalton has done in two games and say maybe coach Matt Nagy was on the right path when he started Dalton and eventually was going to bring in Justin Fields as starter. A Pro Football Weekly report by Hub Arkush says Bears owner George McCaskey forced the Bears to use Fields as starter beginning with Week 5.
What's done is done and in examining how the Bears played with Fields and who their losses came against, it's difficult to imagine them being more than one win better with Dalton starting all year.
In fact, they may have been worse anyway because Dalton isn't feet of foot like Fields is and that saved the Bears in some situations from drive-killing sacks.
Regardless, the Bears did manage to end a five-game losing streak.
If they do what they did last year after ending a six-game losing streak, it will be impressive. They won three straight after losing six straight last season, and if they do it now this would include wins over the Packers and Cardinals.
Here are this week's grades based on reality and projections of what they could have done with one quarterback instead of the other.
Running Game: D+
The consistency of blocking never materialized, which was disappointing considering Detroit ranked 31st against the run. The 2.3 yards per rush were disgusting but the total doesn't talk about the key yards David Montgomery had when they needed it, like with a 12-yard run for a first down. Montgomery had 46 yards on 17 carries and really hasn't gotten fully on track since returning from injury. What has been apparent is the offensive line still suffers from an inability to block the run if they don't have a mobile quarterback and the threat of bootleg runs or zone reads helping to keep the defense off balance. This happened last year repeatedly when Nick Foles was quarterback, as well but vanished when Mitchell Trubisky brought his mobility to the lineup. Then the running game picked up. It goes to show how their line really hasn't made the progress they like to claim.
Passing Game: B
Dalton's interception on a needless gamble was the only thing preventing the Bears from an A grade in passing, something unthinkable a few weeks ago. Dalton had the highest passing yardage total by a Bears quarterback (317) and highest net (310) while managing a very solid 7.8 yards per pass attempt. Darnell Mooney had another early drop but produced when necessary with a key 52-yard catch. Cole Kmet's career-best eight catches gave further indication of his drastic improvement over his rookie year. Losing Marquise Goodwin to a foot injury was a big blow, but Damiere Byrd has his best Bears game with four receptions for 42 yards and return man Jakeem Grant contributed two key receptions for 13 and 12 yards.
Run Defense: B+
The yards per carry weren't ideal at 4.0 but considering what was asked of the Bears defensive front they performed extremely well. They lost Roquan Smith to a hamstring pull, and didn't have Akiem Hicks available due to injury. So they were without their two key run defenders. But Angelo Blackson was a beast, and Bilal Nichols upped his game after Smith left.
Pass Defense: B
Giving up 40% on third down doesn't sound great but it's an improvement over what they've been doing. Artie Burns was burned early for a TD catch by Josh Reynolds but quick stepped up his game and eventually made the benching given to Kindle Vildor by coach Sean Desai look like a good move. Xavier Crawford also had extensive playing time and made four tackles. But they gave up too many completions as the Lions were taking the short stuff and not putting it at risk into the zone coverage, so there was a tradeoff. The Lions wound up with only 163 passing yards, the lowest total allowed by the Bears since Dec. 13 last season against Houston.
Special Teams: C
Santos said he "chunked" the 53-yard field goal miss, which was critical and obviously shouldn't happen. Fortunately he had a true drive through the ball on the three shorter field goals. Kick returners had an abysmal day, averaging only 19.7 yards a return, but punter Pat O'Donnell and the much-maligned punt coverage group had one of their better games. The Lions had only one drive in their last five start outside their own 21-yard line, and O'Donnell had two punts downed inside the 20, including the final one at the 10.
Coaching: A
It's almost impossible to give anything else considering what Matt Nagy endured, and his staff as well, with the firing rumor. Playing without real practice and on essentially a day less practice than the Lions because of the road trip all made it difficult. It was a case where the dumb coaching mistakes were being made by the Lions and not the Bears. Defensive coordinator Sean Desai made some personnel switches to solidify the secondary.
Overall: B
Even in this game it was somewhat disturbing they had to pull it out on the end with a field goal because of two earlier missed opportunities on offense. Still, after five straight losses no one can complain.
Twitter: BearDigest@onFanNation
