Position-by-position grades for Ravens’ 16-13 win over Bears

Here’s how the Ravens graded out at each position after a 16-13 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field:

Quarterback

Backup Tyler Huntley played as well as could be expected for someone making his first NFL start, but there was hardly any timing with his receivers except for tight end Mark Andrews. Huntley missed receivers and panicked in the pocket, but you can’t blame him too much because he was under constant duress. The Ravens kept Huntley under control with short passes, and they had to because he had virtually no time to throw. He still took the Ravens 72 yards on five plays for the game-winning touchdown drive in the final minute with plenty of help from the Bears. Grade: C

Offensive line

Offensive tackles Alejandro Villanueva and Patrick Mekari couldn’t handle the Bears’ pass rushers on the outside and it was clearly evident how important quarterback Lamar Jackson’s elusiveness is in passing situations. The Ravens also got called for several holding penalties on the inside. The run blocking was decent at the point of attack, but the pass protection was extremely poor. The Bears had six sacks. Grade: D

Running backs

Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman were a decent 1-2 punch and ran hard inside the tackles. There were few holes, but both veterans accelerated through them when things opened up. They were also active in the passing game and even used as decoys on some plays. They aren’t flashy, but serviceable, especially when playing a team like the Bears. Freeman had 49 yards on 16 carries and Murray finished with 32 yards on 10 carries. Grade: C+

Receivers

Andrews (eight catches for 73 yards) was the only receiver that had any chemistry with Huntley. The Ravens were without injured receiver Marquise Brown, and his replacement, Devin Duvernay, showed that he isn’t ready to be a full-time starter. He needs to plant and go and stop rounding off his pass patterns. Huntley stuck to the short passes until the end of the game. Looking back, the Ravens probably wished they at least tried a long ball or two. Sammy Watkins had three catches for 48 yards, including a 29-yard grab to set up the game-winning touchdown. Grade: C

Defensive line

The Ravens were without starting tackle Brandon Williams and end Derek Wolfe. There were times when the Bears hit on some tough runs up the middle, but the

Ravens seem to muster up enough muscle with tackles Justin Madubuike and Justin Ellis. The Bears finished with 92 rushing yards and failed to control the pace of the game. The running game had been a strong point for Chicago most of the season. Grade: B

Linebackers

Moving second-year player Patrick Queen from middle to weak-side linebacker continues to pay off for the Ravens. Queen led all Ravens with seven tackles and seems as quick as ever running to the ball. Tyus Bowser had two sacks and provided decent pressure and fellow outside linebacker Justin Houston had a sack. The outside linebackers had trouble holding the edge in the first half but improved in the second. Grade: B

Secondary

The cornerbacks have been hit hard by injuries, but whoever the Ravens put there has struggled. Chris Westry became a fan Qfavorite in training camp because of his size, but he doesn’t have the discipline to be left out one-on-one with any top receiver. The Raavens keep preaching about improving the miscommunication in the secondary, but to no avail. If Bears quarterback Andy Dalton were more accurate, he would have lit up the Ravens for about 300 yards, and he only played about a half. Grade: D

Special teams

Justin Tucker converted all three fieldgoal attempts and punter Sam Koch averaged 43.3 yards on six punts. But Duvernay could get very little going on kickoff returns and took some vicious hits. He did average 9.5 yards on two punt returns. The Ravens also partially blocked a punt. Grade: A

Coaching

There are times when the Ravens win despite the coaching. When Huntley threw his interception in the fourth quarter, the Ravens should have just run the ball and sent Tucker out for a field goal. With five seconds left in the first half and no timeouts, they attempted a pass across the middle to Andrews short of the end zone that would have led to the clock running out if he caught it and was tackled. It was a poor decision, and not the only one.

Why would the Ravens leave a young cornerback like Westry out on an island one-on-one with no safety support on fourth-and-11? It led to a 49-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Goodwin with 1:41 left that nearly cost the Ravens the game. Decision-making has been poor in the past couple of games, and fortunately, the players have bailed the coaching staff out. Grade: D