How we graded the Chicago Bears in the loss to New England
CHICAGO - There’s not much to make of the Chicago Bears loss to New England Sunday.
The offense was bad, the defense held as much as it could and the Bears’ rookie quarterback fought for his life in the 19-3 loss at Soldier Field.
Here are our grades from the loss.
Caleb Williams
Much like last week, it’s hard to put most of this square on the shoulders of a rookie quarterback in his ninth NFL game.
There are some parts of it that leap off the tape, such as how Williams struggles to get the ball out in a timely fashion, leading to sacks on his part. If no one is open, he has to take the check down, throw it away or scramble for whatever yardage he can get.
For the second straight game, it felt like Williams was completely unable to find rhythm to keep the offense moving when it needed to. Against Washington, Williams was able to do that in the final two drives.
On Sunday, it was nowhere to be found.
Much of that was not on Williams, however. He had an offensive line that struggled mightily and had play calling that didn’t allow him to find his form.
The biggest upside to Sunday was that Williams did not force any passes. He didn’t try to do too much. He did not turn the ball over. That saved Sunday from turning a terrible loss into a terrible blowout loss.
Williams’ final stat line from Sunday: 16 completions on 30 pass attempts for 120 yards with no interceptions but no touchdowns.
Grade: C-
The Chicago Bears’ defense
The Bears won the turnover battle 1-0. They never truly broke. That might be the glass half full argument for the defensive unit, but it’s the one that makes the most sense for the saving grace of this team.
As a unit, the Bears’ defense allowed 328 total yards to the Patriots. Of all those yards, only one score was a touchdown. Keeping opposing players out of the end zone remains a skill the Bears have.
The issue in allowing plenty of yards also doesn’t fall solely on the Bears’ defense, as the offense was consistently putting the defense back on the field with little time to rest or adjust.
Getting to rookie quarterback Drake Maye was a key to the game. The Bears did get to Maye, but they didn’t get him to the ground.
They sacked him just once, as his mobility allowed him to get around the pocket and just have the Bears running in circles.
Allowing 19 points to a 2-7 team isn’t optimal, especially with the kind of defense the Bears have, but the defense was the only reason this game was an epic blowout.
Grade: B-
The Chicago Bears offense
Against a 2-7 team, the Bears could only muster three points of offense.
It was a clear sign the Bears’ offense had no answer. There are very little signs of optimism with a team that has a banged up offensive line, little to no cohesion in its play calling and has not scored an offensive touchdown in two straight games for the first time since 2004.
Still, the Bears offered no kind of answer.
When the Patriots were consistently getting home against the Bears’ pass protection, they didn’t adjust. That led to nine sacks on Williams Sunday. The Bears were already among the league worst in sacks allowed entering Sunday.
After all the slates of games end, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Bears at the bottom when it comes to protecting their quarterback. Injuries are a big reason, but scheme and playcalling can help protect the quarterback. Those two things did not exist on Sunday.
Instead, the offensive continues to call plays with no rhyme or reason. Not one aspect benefits the other. There are no running plays that set up play action, or deep shots that keep the safeties honest. In fact, the best plays of the day were play action roll out throws to Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet, which gained positive yards on first down.
Those plays at least allowed the Bears to gain positive momentum on first down before a sack or penalty negated that momentum.
In three weeks since the bye week, there have not been any tangible or visible changes in the offensive scheme.