After a week of hearing about the focus being on Arizona in the wake of the Fail Mary in Washington, Matt Eberflus and the Bears did their darndest to ensure that the Commanders’ game wasn’t the most embarrassing loss of the season.
Let’s hand out some instant grades.
Offense
QB Caleb Williams | C
Caleb Williams has some impressive throws but finished the game around 50 percent (his adjusted completion percentage will be much higher), was sacked six times, and had no touchdowns. He also had no turnovers, and the number of free rushers he saw today was another indictment on a banged-up offensive line that isn’t all that great, even when it’s healthy.
RB D’Andre Swift | C-
D’Andre Swift’s stretch of superb performances came to an end today. Swift managed 51 yards on 16 carries, didn’t find the end zone, and averaged 3.2 yards per carry. He added 31 yards on six catches as a receiver.
Roschon Johnson | N/A
Johnson was hardly involved in the offense today, seeing three carries (gained 13 yards) and two targets as a receiver.
WR DJ Moore | C+
Moore caught four of his nine targets for 33 yards on Sunday. It was a very meh performance for the Bears’ top receiver.
WR Rome Odunze | B
Rome Odunze had a nice day, catching five passes for 104 yards, including a 44-yard reception in the first half. It was nice to see Odunze get involved in the passing game.
WR Keenan Allen | D
Keenan Allen caught four of his ten targets for 33 yards on Sunday. He had a crucial drop on a ball on the numbers on third down and didn’t get two feet down on a nice ball from Williams on the sideline in garbage time.
TE Cole Kmet | N/A
Cole Kmet should be on the side of every milk carton across the country tomorrow morning. Zero targets for the Bears starting tight end on Sunday. ZERO.
Offensive Line | F
They are who we thought they wereโand maybe even worse.
Defense
Defensive Line | D
Montez Sweat missed this one, and his presence was missed dearly as the Bears’ front was gashed in the run game all afternoon.
Linebackers | D
See above.
Secondary | B+
A depleted secondary held Kyler Murray to 154 yards and no touchdowns, and rookie Reddy Steward did his best Peanut Tillman impression with a punch on the ball that turned into a takeaway. Tyrqiue Stevenson looked good today as well. Marvin Harrison Jr. was held to 34 yards on two catches.
Special Teams
K Cairo Santos | A+
Perfect on the day with a pair of 53-yarders.
P Tory Taylor | A
The rookie punter averaged 54.5 yards on four punts, boomed a 67-yarder, and had one inside the 20.
Coaching
Matt Eberflus | F
Matt Eberflus’ incompetence is off the charts. The team wasn’t ready today, despite him using readiness for this game as an excuse not to talk about the last game. Then we watched Chicago’s franchise quarterback limp off the field after Eberflus ran him out there to take more hits in garbage time. There’s not a haircut in the world that can save him this time.
Shane Waldron | F
Shane Waldron and Eberflus should be sharing realtor information in January. Awful again. The offense looks as broken as it has at any point this season.