Grading the Bears

Sunday's 41-10 defeat by the Detroit Lions was one of those cases where it's difficult to say the Bears didn't quit, especially their defense.

Matt Eberflus didn't think they quit and talked about watching on film, but to the naked eye they had a white flag waving one drive into the second half.

"I don't see that, I don't see that," he told reporters after the embarrassing loss. "You know, of course we count loafs and all those things for every single play and we've always done that we'll continue to do that but I don't see that.

"It's more about guys, you know, being where they're supposed to be in the right spot."

One man's loaf is another man's mis-fitted gap.

The Bears defense didn't have a clue on Sunday and were going against a well-oiled passing machine with Jared Goff throwing for three touchdowns without an interception.

The Bears didn't need to quit, so trying to find out if Eberflus thought they did seemed a bit excessive. They just weren't in the same class with Detroit's offense, just like they weren't with Buffalo's offense in the second half last week.

The best thing to be said for the Bears Sunday is the only have one more of these to endure until they won't have to see many of these players in uniform again.

Here are the grades from Sunday's loss to the Lions, and calling it that is being generous.

Running Game: C+

Fields 60-yard run and 31-yard run were two different situations, one a scramble and run for his life and the shorter one a well-designed work of art. They made possible a 200-yard rushing day, but beyond Fields' big plays the backs were limited. Khalil Herbert had 31 yards and David Montgomery 24. By the time they were down 38-10 there wasn't much point to running it.

Passing Game: F

Their worst passing game since the blowout loss to Cleveland in Fields' first career start. This was much like that game except the Bears couldn't run in that one and could in this one. They targeted Chase Claypool only once, although Eberflus says this was only because he is still trying to get over a knee injury. Byron Pringle had four targets and no receptions. Two catches by Equanimeous St. Brown and one by N'Keal Harry and no other receivers had one. Blame Fields for not seeing them breaking open, blame them for not being open. In the end, it didn't work and 7 of 21 for 75 yards was awful. The only thing they did well in the passing game all day was set up the pass for a 14-yard TD to Cole Kmet when they took a 7-0 lead.

Run Defense: F

The third-and-18 run by Jamaal Williams for 40 yards on a simple draw play pretty much said all that needs to be said here. It sealed the game and came on the first drive of the third quarter. The Bears let a team that has found it very easy to forget to run or doesn't run well and turned them into the 1972 Miami Dolphins. A day with 265 yards on 39 attempts testified to the fact the Bears need six new players in their front seven for next year. Allowing 6.5 yards a carry and 7.1 to backs is only acceptable if they had a run or two. Jamaal Williams had 22 for 144 and D'Andre Swift 11 for 78 as the Lions had their best rushing day since Jimmy Carter was president.

Pass Defense: F

Losing Jaylon Jones didn't help, but he's an undrafted rookie backup cornerback so let's not get carried away. One man's Jaylon Jones is another man's Harrison Hand. For comparison's sake, Amon-Ra St. Brown had four catches for 62 yards going mostly against undrafted rookie nickel Josh Blackwell and earlier this year had 10 catches for 119 yards working against rookie second-rounder Kyler Gordon. The pass rush actually produced two sacks but no pressure when they weren't getting those two sacks. The two sacks represented the first multiple-sack game for the Bears defense since their Nov. 13 game against the Lions. The Lions were running so well that they really only needed to throw 26 times, which is nine below their average per game.

Special Teams: C+

Velus Jones' 69-yard kick return was exciting yet wasted because when it ended there were only seven seconds left in the first half. It also was the only kick return of the game as all the rest went for touchbacks. Three times Trenton Gill punts left the Lions starting inside their 20. On one they simply drove 92 yards for a TD anyway.

Coaching: F

They should have pulled Fields to start the fourth quarter. Many Bears fans probably would say earlier, but at that point there was no sense in playing him with injury being too great a risk behind an offensive line with two guards missing, one that was being beaten every other down by pass rushers who haven't been that effective the rest of the season. Luke Getsy gets credit for great ingenuity with the toss play to Fields for 31 yards and for lack of creativity when they were in the red zone on their second drive and settled for a field goal. Eberflus should have gone for the TD on fourth-and-goal at the 5 before the short first-quarter field goal by Cairo Santos. What's the difference at this point if they don't get it? Defensive coordinator Alan Williams last week said they could correct all their run defense's mistakes in a week. Guess again.

Overall: F

Earlier, they were playing strong for a half. Now it's down to playing strong for one quarter. It's a good thing only one game remains. Expect they'll have a strong kickoff against Minnesota and then nothing else positive. It's also possible Minnesota may not even try to play starters in the final regular-season game at Soldier Field because they're seeded third and can avoid playing Green Bay again in the playoffs if they have the sixth spot. They could take home field for the second round and second seed if they can win and the 49ers lose to Arizona.

TICKETS TO SEE JUSTIN FIELDS AND THE BEARS AVAILABLE THROUGH SI TICKETS

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

Add us as a preferred source on Google