Bears and Falcons Live Blog

Fourth Quarter

Fields 20 of 32 for 268 and 99.5 passer rating with one TD. He ran for 45 yards and Khalil Herbert for 124 yards on 18 carries.
A nice, safe dive play by Johnson and the Bears will punt with a running clock.
Third-and-25 for Bears at their 18. Suffice to say, they will not be doing that again with Atlanta out of timeouts.

For some stupid reason they had Fields trying to throw deep and a strip-sack is recovered by Braxton Jones. 2-MINUTE WARNING!!!!

Bears ball at the 33 after the interception and Johnson gains 3 up the middle.

Pick-4. Stevenson intercepts Desmond Ridder, who has come on at QB.
A 54-yard field goal try by former Packers kicker Mason Crosby of the Giants misses and the Bears are eliminated because the Rams won.

3:39: Bears 37, Falcons 17

Herbert busts a 38-yard run to the 1-yard line, then busts into the end zone for another Bears touchdown. Chants of "Green Bay sucks," in Soldier Field. It's the fans saying they hope to see something like this next week at Lambeau. A three-play 41-yard drive in 19 seconds. Bears 37, Falcons 17

Pick 3. Kyler Gordon with the third interception of the day on fourth down. Game, set, match. Right over the middle deep and no one was open as Heinicke had nowhere to go with it. They managed to get Heinicke out of his element, as I said before the game. They forced him to be throwing deeper all day and in desperation and he had nothing.
Second-down sack by Dexter and then a near pick and the Falcons have to go for fourth-and-17 at their 18

Giants had chance to take the lead on the Rams or tie it and they went for two and incomplete pass so they trail by 26-25 with 2 1/2 minutes left.
The seven-play drive in 3:21 didn't produce seven so it's not locked away yet.

He went for DJ in the corner and threw too long. Santos has a 42-yard field goal. Bears 30, Falcons 17

5:10

Fields throws deep for Tonyan at the goal line. He wasn't really open. Third-and-4 ahead.
On third-and-7 is nearly sacked, spins out of the tackle, finds he won't make it but puts his head down and plows through a tackler behind Roschon Johnson's block for a first down at the 30. It's the kind of play you appreciate but easily could have been injured doing it.

Fields nearly had his head taken off as he slid too late.

Bad punt of 39 yards and a nifty move up the middle for 15 yards to Atlanta's 44 by returner Trent Taylor.
Sweat on the back of Heinicke. He throws it and it comes up way short so Bears get the ball back with a chance to go put this one away.
Brisker won't get a PBU on the first-down incompletion but he played the pass so perfectly he made the angle impossible to complete one. Falcons face third-and-10 after two incompletions.

8:43

Touchback.

Roschon puts up a good fight on third-down dump down but comes up 6 yards short after 9 yards and Bears must punt from midfield.

Herbert stacked up for no gain on first down up the middle on RPO but Fields takes off on a scramble on second down and a holding penalty negates a huge gain to the 29 of Atlanta.Lucas Patrick called for holding and he didn't need to because Fields is so fast he was past the defender before he could have made a tackle.

Moore crossing route for the first down 21 yards and fantastic block by EQ downfield got him about 8 yards.

Falcons DB Mike Hughes evaluated for concussion and questionable return. He got hurt breaking up the pass Scott dropped in the end zone.

12:22: Bears 27, Falcon 17

Falcons face third-and-4 at the Bears 24. Heinicke scrambles all the way for a touchdown. Rasheem Green out of his pass rush lane and let him get to the edge.
On third-and-7 at the Bears 49 the Bears give up the short pass and leave Atlanta 2 yards short but a fight breaks out after the completion and it would appear the Bears will get a penalty. Justin Jones got called for yanking off Matthew Bergeron's helmet and it's a first down.
Falcons go to the ground for a 12-yard Robinson run and a first down and he tries right end but Edwards lights him up after only 3.
Tremaine Edmunds drops another possible interception. This one was right in his hands though. Was Heinicke seeing things? What on earth did he throw it there for?
Moore's eight catches for 138 yards have put him over a career best for receiving yards in a season.

Fields 17 of 27 for 233 yards and a TD against a top-10 pass defense (8th).

Third Quarter

Tyler Allgeier picks up the first down by breaking a tackle but the quarter ends after a 2-yard gain to the Atlanta 36.

Two Robinson runs leave Atlanta inches short of a first down.

1:10: Bears 27, Falcons 10

Eberflus in no mood for gambling now after a completion to Moore a yard short. On comes Cairo Santos for a 42-yard field goal and three-score lead. A six-play, 22-yard drive. Bears 27, Falcons 10
Spot-on pass down the middle seam to Scott in the end zone and Mike Hughes tackle on Scott and he can't hang on. Fields could not have placed that ball any better.

I told the Falcons not to take that penalty. Fields connects for a first down on a 23-yard pass to Moore crossing the field. Bears at the Falcons 33.
It's first-and-20 and Atlanta has its timeout restored now from a challenge it won. Apparently the officials didn't realize they actually won the challenge earlier even though it was a first down.

3:51

It looks like laundry day after Fields throws a bootleg pass incomplete as the Bears are called for Velus Jones Jr. committing offensive interference. He did it pretty blatantly too. Falcons should have taken the down and not the penalty. Fields has a way of making you regret taking the down.
Heinicke looks right, throws back left on an RPO and there's Tyrique Stevenson with the pick at the Bears 47. He returned it to the 46 of Atlanta.

Near pick-6 by Tremaine Edmunds. Heinicke's to Robinson pass was so bad even Edmunds couldn't get it.

There's a timeout ... on the field.
Fields throws deep when trapped for a possible sack and the Bears have squandered field position by not punting. Atlanta is at its own 39.
Bears face third down and 6 at the 38 after Herbert ran for 4 up the middle. The Falcons played a Fields run well and stopped it at the 39 for a yard loss but the Bears are acting like they will go for fourth-and-7.

6:07

Apparently the angle isn't going to convince anyone. It's a first down. The play is brought back to the 42 but it's a first down and he doesn't get the extra yardage.
Inches short actually, not a yard. Johnson was up from the practice squad last week and this week.
Replay shows him out of bounds a yard short. At least it seems that way. It's a poor angle for the play.

Welcome to Chicago Collin Johnson. A naked bootleg pass off a fake toss and Johnson turns upfield and goes 17 yards to Atlanta's 37 for a first down. Big receiver, 6-foot-6. Falcons want a replay to see if he stepped out before the first down.
Fields overthrows open Scott 25 yards downfield. After a Johnson 2-yard run, Fields does what he does best, spinning out of two would-be sacks and running 13 yards for a first down. Has to be frustrating to the defense.

Jaylon Johnson has a shoulder injury and his return is questionable.

Velus Jones a nifty move up the middle and the Bears start at their 33 instead of the 25.

Rams pulling away from Giants now by 10 and that will finish Bears playoff miracle. Saints were beating up on Tampa Bay too so it's likely to be a game for pride next week for the Bears.

8:29: Bears 24, Falcons 10

Blitz nearly gets Heinicke and he throws low so they bring Koo back for a field goal try from 38 yards. Snow has stopped and Koo makes this one. Bears 24, Falcons 10.
From the Bears 22, Tyler Allgeier got bottled up at the 20 by Stevenson. Then Stevenson with a great screen pass breakup on a throw back to Drake London.
On second-and-1, Robinson tried to cut it outside but Justin Jones had ... surprise ... come around the blocker and was there for a TFL. But Heinicke hit former Bear Mycole Pruitt for the first down on third down to the 37 and the Bears were flagged for Jones roughing Heinicke after the pass.
Falcons attacking outside with runs and short passes and the Bears in zone. Atlanta gets to the 50.

Panthers cooperating, down 16-0 to Jaguars. Young never did leave the game after he was hurt.

11:56: Bears 24, Falcons 7

Cairo Santos a 22-yard field goal. A seven-play, 71-yard drive in 3:04. Bears 24, Falcons 7
On third-and-goal from the 4 Fields hits Tyler Scott but he can't get both feet down. They acted like they would go for it on fourth-and-goal but logic prevailed.
Falcons overcommitting on one side and Herbert busts a run to the 3-yard line.
Fields comes out firing for Moore and a 28-yarder over the middle, then a 9-yard Herbert run and the Bears are at the Falcons 38.

Second Quarter

Bears nearly got Hestered. The 55-yard field goal into the wind came up short and Dee Alford returned it 96 yards before going to the turf at the Bears 13. That's always the risk on those. Falcons were arguing he didn't get tackled but apparently he did because they didn't look at the replay.
Fields slides and is hit again with no call as the clock runs down to four seconds. The Bears will try a long field goal into the wind. At least the weather report said it was blowing in their face. It swirls so much it's hard to tell. It's a 55-yard field goal try.
An incompletion and 2-yard pass to Moore and the Bears are in a tough spot at third-and-8. They take a timeout at the 35 with 35 seconds remaining. They should have been looking for shorter gains on both of those plays as they're really not in good field goal range.
Bears came in second in interceptions.
Rasheem Green rushes Heinicke into an incompletion on second down adn then T.J. Edwards in zone picks off a pass to London on third down and the Bears have it at the Atlanta 37.

1:40

Atlanta from its 27 to start the drive.
Falcons blitz up the middle goes without being picked up and Fields gets sacked so Bears will punt as Atlanta uses a timeout.

A 6F-yard toss around left end by Herbert with nice blocking out front but then Falcons stack him up for a yard on second down off left guard. TWO-MINUTE WARNING!!!

Tyrique Stevenson returned when Johnson went out and broke up the third-down pass so Falcons punt. Another three-and-out for the Bears defense.

Jaylon Johnson got hurt making a tackle on Bbijan Robinson and left the field.

As far as playoffs go, Rams tied with Giants 7-7 two minutes before halftime.
Fields 12 of 15 for 164 yards and a TD, a 134.4 passer rating.

4:02: Bears 21, Falcons 7

Roschon Johnson the 2-yard TD run up the middle with 4:02 left and it ends a drive of 12 plays, 75 yards in 7:06. Bears 21, Falcons 7.
Bears try the tush push and it doesn't work too well but he did get the first down. They don't have the center or the type of pushers the Eagles have.
Roschon Johnson stacked up and a Falcons player was injured on the tackle. Huggins hurt. A bad spot and they're inches short. They'll go for it. Johnson looked like he had it.

A second-down screen to Herbert after his 4-yard run and it comes up a yard short at the 3-yard line. Well executed but needed that one extra block at the end.
Great pass blocking and Fields has time to look downfield for 24 yards crossing to Robert Tonyan Jr. to the 12. First and 10.
Tyler Scott on a perfectly executed bootleg pass to the 36. Roschon Johnson with a key pass block on it in the open field.
Explosive run on first down by the team with the most explosive runs in the NFL. Khalil Herbert off left tackle for 12.
Moore looking pretty healthy to me. Has his fourth catch for 80 yards and a first down with a 9-yard catch over the middle in tight zone coverage.

Bears trying to get too cute. Had Collins at wideout for Moore and Roschon Johnson split wide on a Fields run off left guard. He only got 2 and then Herbert gained only a couple on a short pass over the mmiddle as things are bogging down again.

11:08

Sack time. Gervon Dexter on the sack for zero yards and Falcons punt. It was his first full sack. He had two half-sacks earlier this year. Bears get it at the 25 to start the drive.

Smith came off the edge like a rocket to stop a Robinson run on first down and then Kyle Pitts dropped a throw over the middle that was a bit to his left. So it's third-and-8.

12:37

A 41-yard punt into the wind OB and Falcons have it at their 28.
Bears called for tripping as Tonyan catches a 6-yard pass so it's declined but they'll have to punt.
Bears going into the lull they often have on offense after a couple big scores. Face third-and-10

Still snowing a tiny bit. But weather clearing. Bears take over at their 25.

14:00

Bears blitzed and Heinicke caught them with a screen on first down to Tyler Allgeier, who went the distance, 75 yards for the TD. Bears 14, Falcons 7

14:14: Bears 14, Falcons 0

A 9-yard Fields run that might have been an option run or draw for the TD after his 10-yard pass to Cole Kmet. An eight-play, 68-yar drive. Bears 14, Falcons 0

Fields 5-of-6, 94 yards in first quarter and a TD. A 158.3 passer rating, which is perfect.

First Quarter

Khalil Herbert on the toss left snuck around the corner for 3 to the 19 and the quarter ended.
Roschon Johnson picks up the first down behind Nate Davis block. Zach Harrison injured and leaves limping on the play for Atlanta. Walking it off on the sideline whatever it was.
Maybe the best pass play of 2023. Deep ball over the shoulder to Moore for 32 yards to Atlanta's 33. Field dropped it right where Moore wanted it. Then Fields scrambles for 9 to the Atlanta 24.
Fields' 3-yard run around right end leaves a third-and-7.
Official waves off a flag on a short run by Herbert of about a foot. Gets booed by fans like Koo was.

3:17

Of more importance, the Panthers have their QB out of the game against the Jaguars. Bryce Young got hurt.
Bear Weather
Koo doinked the left upright as the snow had actually let up greatly. Bears ball at their 32. Fans really letting him have it.

Falcons face third-and-5 at the 23. Drake overthrown deep in end zone.
Drake London play-action for 20 to the Bears 28 as Eddie Jackson can't get up the field fast enough to break it up over the middle.
It's obvious in the running game that coordinator Dave Ragone, the former Bears QB coach, sees the need to get the Bears out of their gaps. They're running a lot of misdirection.

6:33

Tyrique Stevenson with a shoulder or arm issue after the tackle on Robinson was laying on the ground moving around his right shoulder and arm but walks off with trainers as Terell Smith comes into the game. Falcons have second-and-6 at their own 44.

Heinicke showing off the wheels with two straight scrambles for the first down after Robinson got stacked up for a loss on first down. Atlanta then goes back to the ground with a nicely designed run for 6.
Falcons facing third-and-6 after a second-down scramble for 5.
Bears actually did the same thing Atlanta did and botched a shotgun snap in this snow but got a break with the false start on the big play of the drive, the pass to the 3 to Roschon. Fields couldn't recover it but the play never happened officially.

The TD catch by Moore is his eighth, a career high.

8:47

On third-and-goal from the 7, Fields pin-point pass from the pocket at the back corner for the touchdown. Ends a 60-yard drive. Santos does a good job on the PAT as the snap came low and Kendall Gill had to dig it out of the dirt to place it. Drive took 3:33 and seven plays. Bears 7, Falcons 0
The Bears brought in an extra lineman (who was announced eligible) but lost 3 yards on a Fields keeper on first-and-goal.
Botched snap goes for naught as Bears get called for a false start. So the Bears keep the ball and on third-and-9 Fields waits forever and finds Roschon Johnson in the open, no coverage for a 24-yard gain to the 3.
The bomb to DJ on the first play and it goes 32 yards. Apparently Moore was sandbagging. Got way behind the coverage and OB at the Atlanta 28.

12:20

Bear weather.
Kick was way short and left. Fans were hooting when it was halfway there.
A wildcat fumbled snap by Robinson left Falcons facing third-and-17 and they completed it to the 32. So thye'll try a 50-yarder into the wind. Younghoe Koo doesn't have the leg for it into the wind and snow. Bears get the ball at their 40.
A flea-flicker to open the game and London catches it for 25. Falcons show they mean business, then Bijan Robinson for 21 after changing direction and going the opposite way.
Atlanta starting at 25 after touchback.
Atlanta to receive. Pretty big because of the wind and choosing what to do when the second half starts.

Pregame

Now it appears the wind changed again. Just swirling. Coming out of northwest and west. Will it make up its mind? 32 degrees.
Snow continuing 20 minutes before kickoff but it's not sticking on the field at all. Heavier wind switched and is blowing out of northeast off the lake. It''s so strong that Falcons punter Bradley Pinion is kicking off in warmups and was having trouble getting it to the goal line.
Coaches who get replaced are losing constantly, also can lose the locker room, too. These Bears are as unified as a team can get and it's never wavered. The Bears got rid of Marc Trestman after a five-win 2014 and that was when they lost five straight to close the year and the team was bickering and fighting in the locker room and with their crying coaches. This has been nothing like that. The Bears would look pretty silly to let a coach go who has a team playing hard and united while winning three out of four after a total rebuild. Also, that 2014 team had the GM fired, as well, and that made a huge difference when they determined Phil Emery didn't know what he was doing.

Always gotta be careful about those "not expected to" be replaced but Ian Rapoport including Matt Eberflus among the coaches not expected to be replaced. This has been trending since week 5 and anyone who thought in the last few weeks that the three wins in four games hasn't mattered were only deluding themselves.

Here’s the exact quote from Ian Rapoport regarding Matt Eberflus’ future. #DaBears pic.twitter.com/CjJMWBH8Vt
— Harrison Graham (@HGrahamNFL) December 31, 2023

Younghoe Koo looking pretty cold out in the snow trying to kick in warmups. Hit the right upright from 35 and bounced down. The wind doesn't look like much judging by the flags on the upright but the ball is dying fast kicking at the south end zone.
It looked like Bear weather early as light snow fell at Soldier Field but by 10:15 it had dissipated to a few sporadic flakes and will clear up by game time. On second thought, it's been getting worse as things go on.

Cole Kmet out in warmups was doing sprints on the field to test his knee.

Wide receiver Collin Johnson was elevated to the Bears 53-man roster, giving them another big wide receiver. Darnell Mooney's injury and the ankle injury DJ Moore is playing through made it a wise move even though Equanimeous St. Brown will be available today. Johnson actually got into last week's game for 13 offensive plays and for the 10 runs he was in he was graded as their best blocker regardless of position by Pro Football Focus.
The Bears can clinch first pick in the draft because Carolina owns a huge tiebreaker edge over Arizona. All it takes is a Panthers loss against the Jaguars, who have lost four straight and are way overdue to beat the snot out of someone.

Many Bears fans have blinders on when it comes to Drake Maye, thanks to the last North Carolina QB the team drafted, but Maybe brings a different skill set to the table.

One pundit even has him as QB1 over Caleb Williams.

MORE: https://t.co/d7ogannEMn pic.twitter.com/oxzcUNa515
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) December 30, 2023

By 11 a.m. it was actually snowing much harder even though the prediction was for it to clear up for the game and be sunny. Lake-effect snow?

Silvy's tweet shows it best.

Happy New Year. 🎆🎈🎊
I love snow. 😂 pic.twitter.com/EIAP8sJuUO
— Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) December 31, 2023

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven