Report Card: Bears Position Grades after loss to Colts |
The Bears have had a bumpy start to the season offensively and are now 1-2 after a hard watch in Indianapolis.
So, let’s hand out our grades after the loss to the Colts: QUARTERBACK B Caleb Williams has gotten off to a rocky start, but this was by far the best he has looked as a passer. Williams was 33-of-52 for 363 yards (a Bears rookie record) on Sunday against the Colts with two TD passes. Williams — as has been the case for Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky — was under heavy pressure and was the victim of a few drops from his receivers. Williams was sacked four times. But Williams did throw two costly interceptions and was strip-sacked. He added just 8 yards on the ground. RUNNING BACKS F D’andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, and Khalil Herbert combined for just 25 touches and 59 yards — it was not a great outing. The Bears were behind chains a lot, which made it difficult to run the ball, and some of the playcalling was atrocious. Swift averaged 1,5 yards per carry, and Johnson led the group with 30 rushing yards. Swift and Johnson combined for six catches and 54 yards through the air. Not much to report here, and that is an issue. A rookie QB’s best friend is a run game. RECEIVERS A- The WR trio of DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Oduzne were much better in week 3. But Allen sat again with an injury. Moore had eight catches for 78 yards and Rome Odunze had six grabs for 115 years and a TD. DeAndre Carter also had three catches for 22 yards. Odunze and Moore each had a carry as well. Working Allen back into this mix should go a long way. TIGHT ENDS A Cole Kmet had ten catches for 97 yards and a TD, but Gerald Everett and Marcedes Lewis were victims of a few penalties. OFFENSIVE LINE F The offensive line was horrible, allowing heavy pressure on Caleb Williams and four sacks. Plus, they were unable to open up any holes in the run game. We will certainly need to see more from this unit if the Bears have any playoff aspirations. DEFENSIVE LINE B+ The Bears came away with one sack against the Colts and should have had a strip sack added to that had a play not gotten stopped with a whistle. Gervon Dexter Sr. had a very strong game, and the Bears will look to get Montez Sweat more involved soon. LINEBACKERS B+ T.J. Edwards had just two tackles, while Tremaine Edmunds poured in five tackles and an interception, which helped pace the Bears' excellent linebackers on Sunday. This unit looks poised to improve on its strong 2023. SECONDARY B+ Jaylon Johnson’s All-Pro journey is off to an excellent start, with his second INT in three games. The Bears allowed a few really big plays, but for the most part, they were able to keep the Colts out of the end zone through the air. This unit did a great job preventing damage all day. SPECIAL TEAMS C DeAndre Carter was quiet in the return game. A field goal from Cairos Santos and an extra point were solid, but he missed a 56-yarder that the Bears needed. A punt inside the 20 from Tory Taylor helped set the tone for a solid special teams unit. COACHING F The playcalling was horrendous. This team has a rookie quarterback and needs to do everything it can to make it easy for him. Patrick Mahomes could not have succeeded under those conditions on Sunday. However, the defense was strong, and the Bears stayed in it with a strong fourth quarter from Williams. Shane Waldron needs to improve his offensive gameplan and playcalling.
