GRADING THE BEARS
QUARTERBACK
B-
Mitch Trubisky (16-for29, 220 yards, two TDs, 0 INTs) was not at his best but was good enough to win. Made a nice touch pass over the top of defenders on the 70-yard TD to Tarik Cohen. And changed the route at the LOS on his TD to Anthony Miller. No turnovers and still standing after six more rushes for 51 yards. RUNNING BACKS
B+ Jordan Howard (22 carries, 81 yards, 1 TD) was not at his best but was good enough to win. Howard helped put the hammer down with 53 yards and a TD on 10 carries in the fourth quarter. Tarik Cohen (5-40) turned a one-yard pass into a 70-yard TD to give the Bears a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. RECEIVERS
B-
With Allen Robinson (groin) out, Taylor Gabriel (4 catches, 52 yards), Anthony Miller (3-37, 1 TD), Josh Bellamy (4-37) and Kevin White (1-6) were good enough by committee to get the job done. Miller’s route on a 4-yard TD pass showed improving chemistry with Trubisky. Miller also had a 23yard catch on a TD drive.
OFFENSIVE LINE
B
Bears seemed to be at their best when they were making concerted efforts to run the ball — early and especially late when they closed it out. Bears rushed for 179 yards on 34 carries (5.3 avg.) Kyle Long had a costly roughness penalty and suffered an injured right foot.
DEFENSIVE LINE
B
Akiem Hicks led the way as the Bears shut down the Jets’ short-handed running game, holding Isaiah Crowell (13-25, 1.9) and Trenton Cannon (6-10) to 35 yards on 19 carries. Hicks had a stuff on a third-and-1. Roy Robertson-Harris (4 tackles, 1 TFL), Eddie Goldman (4 tackles) and rookie Bilal Nichols (3 tackles) got the job done.
LINEBACKERS
B With Khalil Mack sitting out with an ankle injury, a workmanlike effort was good enough. Bears didn’t harass Sam Darnold much but didn’t give up big plays, holding the Jets to 207 yards on 54 plays (3.8 avg.). Danny Trevathan (7 tackles) and Roquan Smith (5 tackles, 1 TFL) led the way. Leonard Floyd had 2 tackles.
SECONDARY
B+
Nickel back Bryce Callahan (4 tackles) had a sack, a QB hit and 3 pass break-ups. Kyle Fuller nearly had a leaping pick, but Deontay Burnett made a nice play for a 29-yard catch. Adrian Amos forced Darnold to slide short of a first down, and the Jets settled for a FG. Eddie Jackson had a PBU but also a third-and-13 roughness penalty that kept a Jets fourth-quarter TD drive alive.
SPECIAL TEAMS
C
On a windy day, Cody Parkey was wide right on a 40-yard FG attempt in the first quarter. He hit from 32 yards for a 17-3 lead in the fourth. Cohen nearly had a disaster with an ill-advised touch of a punt in the fourth quarter but recovered the ball.
COACHING
B After Mack and Robinson were ineffective last week with injuries, Matt Nagy wisely sat both. Trubisky in the shotgun on fourth-and-1 seems questionable in the long run. Overall, the Bears were better in the second half than the first, avoided costly mistakes and finished strong without incident.