Bear Digest

Chicago Bears report card for flawed win over Las Vegas Raiders

It was far from perfect but the Bears' 25-24 victory showed their grit and resilience when the best laid plans fail.
Gene Chamberlain|
Daniel Carlson's 54-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Josh Blackwell and the Bears escaped with a 25-24 win.
Daniel Carlson's 54-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Josh Blackwell and the Bears escaped with a 25-24 win. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

In this story:

Chicago Bears

Winning football in the NFL doesn't always look beautiful or fluid.

Sometimes it doesn't even look like teams know what they're doing, such as when the Bears tried to stop Maxx Crosby Sunday in the first half.

"I know it's an ugly game at times," Bears coach Ben Johnson said.

More than anything else, the Bears showed they can adapt when those magnificent Johnson play calls/designs and Dennis Allen's defensive scheming fail miserably. They had no pass rush, no run defense, little pass blocking and no ability to run the ball, yet they won 25-24 for the franchise's 800th victory mainly because of Richard Hightower's special teams and what little they could do on offense and defense.

"I could see where either side of the ball would get really frustrated," Johnson said. "I could see where the defense would get frustrated with the offense, and the offense frustrated with ourselves. That didn't happen."

The defense couldn't get frustrated with how the offense failed to take full advantage of four takeaways because they were too busy whiffing when they tried to tackle Ashton Jeanty while the offense was whiffing at attempts to stop Crosby.

"It's easy to get frustrated, but we don't panic," Johnson said. "We just don't, that's not who we are, and that's not what we do."

Josh Blackwell sure didn't and neither did Cairo Santos. The Bears are 2-2 because of persistence and Caleb Williams willing them down the field into the end zone when they needed it late.

Here are their imperfect grades for an ugly game.

Running game: D

D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai had nowhere to run but when Swift needed it most, at the goal line, there was plenty of room for Swift to gain 2 yards on a run for the winning points. It was really the only redeeming thing about their running attack, beyond 12-yard Williams scramble, a 13-yard Swift run  and one Monangai run up the middle for 9. The Bears knew they'd have trouble blocking Maxx Crosby. They treated the rest of the Raiders defensive line like they were Crosby, too.

Passing game: B-

There was little consistency, usually because of their issues with pass blocking. When Williams did have time and did set his feet, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet and Olamide Zaccheaus made plays. Odunze's 27-yard TD was strong route running and Williams refusing to give up on his favorite receivers. It would be stretching it to say Ozzy Trapilo handled the Crosby issue in the second half but he did slow down the onslaught and Theo Benedet then stopped Malcolm Koonce from looking like an All-Pro, which he did when he was facing Bears starting tackle Braxton Jones.

Run defense: D-

You can't allow 7.7 yards a carry in the NFL and win a game, except if safety Kevin Byard is there to stop Jeanty for a 1-yard loss behind the line and force a game-winning field goal attempt from 54 yards. Byard's tackle was as important as his two interceptions because the Raiders could have moved much closer for the kick with a first down and also run out all of the remaining time on the Bears. At 7.7 yards a carry, it sounds like they played without defensive linemen or linebackers. But there was that Byard stop and on by Andrew Billings on fourth down that salvaged the Bears' day.

Pass defense: B+

Byard and Tyrique Stevenson made three plays on the football straight out of textbooks for interceptions. The Bears have been incredibly effective on third down and held the Raiders to 2-of-8 on third down, 25%, and lead the NFL at 29.27%. The amazing thing is how effective their passing defense was Sunday and has been when they have very little pressure on the quarterback. With sacks for the second game this season, they were only slightly better rushing Geno Smith than they were tackling Jeanty. The Raiders had only 117 yards passing. Considering how effective their running game was, Pete Carroll should have tried to pass even less and run it even more.

Special teams: A

Santos' four field goals and two over 50 yards were clutch. He also suffered a quad injury and it's questionable whether he could have made one at the end of the game if called upon, but they didn't need it thanks to the biggest special teams play of the game, Josh Blackwell's blocked kick. Tory Taylor's punt stopping inside the 5 set up another Bears field goal.

Coaching: A-

The coaching staff had the guts to make the tackle swap at halftime and it worked. Johnson's trick plays didn't work and seemed ill timed but when something doesn't work it's always ill timed. Being able to adapt without a running attack is a difficult thing to do but Johnson has found ways to get wins without one—further testimony to his play-calling ability and the handle he has on the roster's capabilities. Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower gets special accolades for this one as he and the players themselves detected the flaw in the Raiders' snapper that helped Blackwell make the blocked kick.

Overall: B-

Against a better team like the Commanders, they'll have no chance playing the way they did Sunday, but Johnson and staff have two weeks now to correct things and get back key defenders who can help their run-stopping ability, like Grady Jarrett and T.J. Edwards.

More Chicago Bears News

X: BearsOnSI

Published
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.