Grading the Bears Against the Jets

The Bears and Trevor Siemian operated the offense Sunday without injured Justin Fields about as close to the way coordinator Luke Getsy has designed it this year.

"Obviously, coming out there and really operating the offense the way we expected him to those first couple drives, it's realy a good sign that he was ready," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said of the Bears backup. "He was ready to go. Luke did a nice job preparing him to get ready to go."

The problem was, much of the Bears' improved scoring over five games had been accomplished not through Getsy's designed attack but through Justin Fields' individual brilliance.

Often Fields got them out of trouble on third down with scrambles to give them the chance to run more of Getsy's plays.

Without Fields cleaning up what had been left after first and second down, the Bears were left with the plays on paper and a backup quarterback trying to execute with a talent-deficient offense.

The end result against a good Jets defense was a predictable disaster in the second half and a 31-10 blowout loss.

Here are the grades from Siemian's debut as a Bears QB and a really tough day for the Bears from a health standpoint with injuries to Eddie Jackson, Darnell Mooney and two right tackles.

Running Game: C

David Montgomery broke tackles for 79 yards on 14 attempts and Darrynton Evans proved a much better counter to Montgomery with 34 yards rushing and a 33-yard reception than Trestan Ebner had been the previous week. The 127 yards on 29 carries normally is sufficient rushing to win in the NFL, but the Bears really missed the big plays on the ground Fields provides and the added threat of his runs on short yardage also was missed.

Passing Game: D+

Considering the Jets' powerful defensive front and the injuries the Bears had at right tackle, it's surprising Siemian was sacked only twice. Siemian showed early what can happen when you trust NFL receivers to make NFL catches as Chase Claypool pulled down a big jump ball catch and Byron Pringle plucked away a TD over a shorter defender. However, when the offense was predictable after falling behind, the passing game fizzled and Siemian went from 116 first-quarter passing yards to only 63 more for the game. As solid as the QB-to-receiver connection looked early, it quickly disappeared as wide receivers made only five catches for 75 yards on the day, 31 of the yards coming on Claypool's jump ball. The heavy downpour must be taken into account, but it's not like the Bears haven't seen worse this year.

Run Defense: D

Holding the Jets to 26 yards rushing on 12 attempts in the first half might have been the best effort against the run the Bears have had for one half all year. Justin Jones, Mike Pennel and Armon Watts were impactful at tackle and the ends kept plays contained. In the second half, everything changed as the Jets ran at will for 132 yards on 20 attempts. It was as though losing safety Eddie Jackson to a foot injury in the second quarter took the edge off the entire defense.

Pass Defense: F

They made third-string QB Mike White look like a Pro Bowl passer with their usual non-existent pass rush. White set up and looked for his targets, then strode into his passes without having his timing disrupted. Doing this with backup quarterbacks can often have devastating effects but even when the Bears blitzed they rarely had pressure, their only sack coming on a Watts charge up the middle. Bears defensive ends do not get sacks. The secondary's issue giving up 315 passing yards to White on 22 of 28 was more manpower than scheme. When their secondary at game's end is Jaylon Johnson, Kindle Vildor, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Elijah Hicks and Jaylon Jones, then it's obvious there will be problems.

Special Teams: C-

They gave up no negative plays and handled the rain better than the Jets on at least one field goal attempt. Trenton Gill averaged 48.8 yards on five punts in wet conditions. There were too many touchbacks on kicks that could have been returned by a team that had fallen behind and needed some big plays the kicking game could have provided. Also, allowing Braxton Berrios 22-yard and 16-yard punt returns said little for their coverage units after Gill got them out of trouble a few times. They also had a punt downed at the 1-yard line. The telling stat for special teams: The Bears started a drive outside their own 30 only once and that was on their final possession after they took over after a missed 53-yard field goal.

Coaching: C

This could have been a coaching nightmare and they did their best to keep it afloat despite the injury to Justin Fields, the pregame oblique strain to Siemian and injuries to Jackson, Darnell Mooney, safety Dane Cruikshank and tackles Riley Reiff and Larry Borom. Luke Getsy's approach was right, except for one play and it proved a turning point. He had Siemian take a planned run off right tackle on third-and-1 instead of simply giving it to David Montgomery or Darrynton Evans. Siemian is not Justin Fields and with an oblique strain he's even less able to operate like a runner. The game swung on that failed third-down run as the Jets took the ensuing punt, went down and scored on Garrett Wilson's 54-yard TD reception for the lead and never looked back. There are only so many adjustments defensive coordinator Alan Williams can make with his group and eventually their lack of talent catches up. It did in the second half.

Overall: D

Anyone who wondered the actual impact of Justin Fields on the Bears offense just saw it, as they proved incapable of competing against the same type of opponent they'd been able to challenge right down to the final possession through the first 11 games. Last week Justin Fields apologized to the defense and team after another late-game failure, and the apology wasn't deemed unncessary. This was wise because without Fields they showed Sunday they wouldn't even be close to winning games on their final drives.

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