Grading the Chicago Bears in their regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions
Chicago Bears' head coach Ben Johnson once used wavy hand motions to describe earlier games this season. The up-and-down nature of the Chicago Bears has lent itself to that.
On Sunday, though, the hand motion was a straight line. The Bears were as flat as could be. Not even the usual fourth-quarter magic would be enough to snatch a win from the jaws of defeat.
Here's how we graded the Bears in their regular-season finale against the Lions.
Bears’ offense
It took three quarters, but the Bears finally woke up.
After looking aimless and directionless, where the only thing the receivers could catch was the blame, the Bears’ offense had a shot of energy in the fourth quarter.
After zero total points in the first three quarters, the Bears put up 16 points in just under 10 minutes after the start of the fourth quarter. There’s no real way to describe how this offense goes from unalive to unstoppable when the sun starts to get low.
The Bears’ offense suffered from so many drops, it felt like one of those games the Bears couldn’t dig themselves out of. Yet, the offense used one stop and parlayed it into a score. They used another stop and tied the game up.
However, when the Bears needed a last-minute drive to win the game, the mistakes compounded with a drop, penalty and punt.
Grade: C
Bears’ defense
Dan Campbell played himself.
The Bears were getting diced by Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff. He was finding open receivers all over the field. Amon-Ra St. Brown had over 100 yards receiving at halftime.
So, why did Campbell try a throw-back play on third and short in the fourth quarter when his offense was in command and was taking whatever it wanted? That led to a punt and gave the Bears life.
The Bears’ defense looked like it was playing around 60 percent all game. Players who had spent time on injured reserve were playing like it. On the heels of allowing 42 points against San Francisco, the Bears’ defense were allowing plenty of yards to the Lions.
They were bent. But, they never broke. The defense rallied in the second half to force two key punts, allowing a field goal in the third quarter.
The defense rallied with a key interception in the fourth quarter that took Lions' points off the board. That curves the grade.
They still allowed the Lions to get in position for the game-winner.
Grade: C
Caleb Williams
This was a game where Williams had a chance to make some history.
He was 109 yards away from becoming the Bears’ single-season passing leader. Another 270 yards, and he would break the 4,000-yard mark for the first time in Bears’ history.
Instead, the quarterback didn’t get much help.
The Bears dropped a handful of passes on Sunday. The offense struggled all game, and all of the struggles took away from the quarterback position. Even the intentional grounding on Williams late in the fourth quarter wasn't all on him; he was trying to make a play in a moment where the pocket was nonexistent.Gra
Williams got to 109 yards passing, surpassing it on a 25-yard touchdown to Jahdae Walker. When the other players held up their end of the bargain, the Bears’ offense moved.
This team has certainly kept cardiologists employed all over the Chicagoland area. Williams is the main reason why that fire never goes away.
Grade: B
Colston Loveland
The Bears’ rookie is becoming the most trusted part of the Bears’ offense.
Williams goes to him often on second downs to make it third and short. He goes to Loveland again when the Bears are in gotta-have-it moments.
Loveland led all Bears in receiving on Sunday. He was a catalyst for a team that looked like it had zero offensive momentum for three quarters. Loveland was there for all four quarters, save for a drop on a contested catch.
Grade: A-