Bear Digest

Bears' Week 17 grades reflect an effort minus defensive involvement

Chicago Bears report card: Sickness hit the Bears' offensive side hardest Sunday but it was the defense that was made to look ill by Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey.
Gene Chamberlain|
T.J. Edwards tries to bring down 49ers tight end Jake Tonges, a former Bears player, in the first half Sunday night.
T.J. Edwards tries to bring down 49ers tight end Jake Tonges, a former Bears player, in the first half Sunday night. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Bears will have cold truth to deal with in the next few days as they look for a way to retain second seed in the playoffs.

Losing a 42-38 shootout to the 49ers doesn't end the season, and if they approach it right the Bears think they can prevent something like it from happening again. Whether they have the healthy manpower and time to get that done before postseason play begins is the real question.

"We'll go back, we'll figure it out, we'll be truth tellers to ourselves because we've  got a great shot at the end of the season to put ourselves in a good spot, but also to get back on a roll, get back on a run here through the playoffs," quarterback Caleb Williams said. "That's what you're focused on."

The grades for their failed attempt at a seventh comeback victory  reflect the offense's ability to pick up their faltering defense and carry them to within 72 inches of a win.

Passing: A

The 49ers had the NFL's worst pass rush coming into this and it helped make coming back a possibility. Williams had the patience for most of the game to find receivers coming open for a season-high 330 yards on 25 of 42 for a 100.3 passer rating. Except for a drop here and there, they found ways to make up for DJ Moore playing with an illness and Rome Odunze still being out. The offensive line didn't allow a sack and Darnell Wright's pass blocking also deserved high praise as he battled through an illness affecting the team. When your own defense is giving up six plays of 20 yards or more, you've got to do something to match it. The Bears' passing attack nearly did it with seven passes of 22 yards or longer. They just needed 2 more yards.

Rushing: C

Most teams could accept 110 yards rushing and be happy if their quarterback threw for 330, but the Bears' offense is designed to be run-oriented. Their 5.0 yards per carry wasn't an issue. They didn't run their backs only 17 times because it was impossible to run. It was because they couldn't keep pace with San Francisco's high-powered offense unless they were throwing. They scored on five of six possessions at one point, including four TDs, but simply couldn't do enough when the 49ers were moving it so easily. D'Andre Swift's big 22-yard TD run up the middle let them stay in the game in the second half. Sporadic run-blocking breakdowns resulted in four tackles for loss, hurting the offensive flow and forcing the Bears into even more passing.

Pass defense: D-

It was like they all decided to go to sleep after the pick-6 by T.J. Edwards on the first 49ers play. The pass rush was almost non-existent even after 49ers All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams left with an injury at the start of the third quarter. Interior pressure never materialized. San Francisco was without George Kittle but replacement Jake Tonges, a former Bears player, led them in receiving with seven catches and had 60 yards. The 49ers didn't have an abundance of deep throws come open but they beat the Bears' blitz and also found soft spots in their zone, largely because of no pressure on Brock Purdy. The end result was a 118.6 passer rating on 24 of 33 for 303 yards and three TDs. Only in the blowout loss at Detroit and the free-for-all at Cincinnati did the Bears allow more passing yards this season.

Run defense: F

The 49ers came into the game gaining only 3.6 yards a rush, next to last in the league. The Bears' front succeeded it bringing the ground game back to life for San Francisco. Christian McCaffrey gained a season-high 140 yards rushing. They did shut it down eventually, as McCaffrey had 121 yards before halftime. Only against the Raiders and Ashton Jeanty did the Bears' run defense look this porous. McCaffrey had runs of 16, 17 and 41 yards.

Special teams: B

The 49ers had a formidable return group but never started after a kickoff better than their own 35 and three times were at their 25 or worse. Tory Taylor pinned them deep just before halftime to help keep the 49ers from mounting a late scoring drive. He also had a touchback on a Bears' kick returners averaged 2.5 more than the 49ers' 23.0 yards per return. A holding penalty on 64-yard punt when something in the range of 50-63 yards could have pinned the Niners deep. Travis Homer put the Bears in a hole at their own 20 near the end of the first half and hurt their chances for back-to-back touchdown drives to gain the lead.

Coaching: C+

The use of time on the final drive again became an issue with the Bears never choosing to spike the ball to stop the clock until after their hook-and-ladder to the 2-yard line with only 2 ticks left. They had 24 seconds run off the clock after Williams' 14-yard first-down completion to Luther Burden on third-and-10, when spiking the ball on first down could have saved time needed later. They also used a timeout before a third-and-4 on the drive. Williams wound up junking that play and scrambling anyway. They could have done that without stopping the clock.  Johnson was questioned about is use of the hook-and-ladder and also the fact D'Andre Swift chose not to run out of bounds, but at the time they were on the 13 and a TD pass in the end zone isn't easy from that far out on third and fourth down. Whatever Dennis Allen's game plan was, he needs some gasoline and place to set it on fire because it barely slowed down Purdy even without Kittle. Then again, playing zone or man coverage, blitzing or playing a light box, it didn’t seem to matter.

Overall: C

While talking heads on TV and the internet rave about the excitement of the game and thirst for a playoff rematch, it was fun football but not winning football for the Bears. Ben Johson knows the difference.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.