GRADING THE BEARS
QUARTERBACK
B- Nick Foles ( 30- of- 42, 243 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 83.7 rating) was not sharp early — including an egregiously off- target throw to a wide- open Allen Robinson on third- and- two — but warmed up and led two TD drives that gave the Bears a halftime lead. Foles was 4- of- 6 for 30 yards to set up the winning FG.
RUNNING BACKS
B-
The Bears had tough sledding ( 13 carries, 36 yards, 1 TD) but made up for it in the passing game. Montgomery ( 7 catches, 30 yards) had a 17- yard catch that set up the winning FG. Patterson ( 3 catches, 38 yards) had the 25- yard catch on a nice throw from Foles that set up Montgomery’s 3- yard TD run.
RECEIVERS
B Allen Robinson’s luck with contested balls didn’t change as he had yet another ball in his hands turn into an INT. But he recovered to finish with 10 catches for 90 yards. Jimmy Graham
( 3- 33) had a 12- yard TD — his fourth TD of the season. Anthony Miller ( 4- 28) had a 10- yard catch on third- and- 9 on the winning FG drive.
OFFENSIVE LINE
C Still got pushed around, though not quite as obviously as against the Colts. Bobby Massie and Charles Leno struggled. Massie alertly recovered the ball after Jason Pierre- Paul’s stripsack of Foles. James Daniels suffered a pectoral injury. Alex Bars replaced him and appeared to be the culprit on Shaq Barrett’s sack.
DEFENSIVE LINE
A- Akiem Hicks was stout in the middle as usual. Brent Urban had a TFL and Bilal Nichols a pressure on Brady as the Bears forced a three- and- out that gave them one last chance in the fourth quarter. Eddie Goldman’s absence was noticeable as Ronald Jones rushed for 106 yards on 17 carries.
LINEBACKERS
A-
Khalil Mack was outstanding — his 2 sacks and 3 QB hits don’t fully illustrate his impact. Danny Trevathan ( 8 tackles) overcame a missed tackle early. Roquan Smith ( 7 tackles) had two pass break- ups and a tackle- for- loss. James Vaughters and Barkevious Mingo combined on a sack. Robert Quinn recovered a fumble.
SECONDARY
A DeAndre Houston- Carson made his biggest play on defense for the Bears — a pass- breakup with 33 seconds left that clinched the victory. Kyle Fuller ( 6 tackles) had a big forced fumble early. Buster Skrine added a TFL. Jaylon Johnson was beaten for a two- yard TD by Mike Evans but acquitted himself well.
SPECIAL TEAMS
A Cairo Santos was 2- for2 on field goals — a 47- yarder that gave the Bears a 17- 16 lead in the fourth quarter and a clutch 38- yarder with 1: 13 left that provided the margin of victory. Cordarrelle Patterson had a 47- yard kickoff return. Pat O’Donnell had three punts inside the 20 — including a 59- yarder in the fourth quarter.
COACHING
B Bears fell behind 13- 0 in the first half and could have wilted but instead persevered and found a way to win — with all three phases contributing. Matt Nagy had his team prepared for a taffy pull on a short week, and they found a way to win it — not an easy thing when Tom Brady is on the other side.