Chicago Bears grades: Another tough loss at home

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

That’s how it seems the past two weeks have gone for the Chicago Bears who have blown golden opportunities to get back in the NFC Wild Card race. Instead, the Bears find themselves on the brink of elimination after a loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

The big problem is that the Bears dropped another home game, and a close one at that. The team is now 1-6 at Soldier Field this season and just 3-12 at home the last two years. Oh, and they dropped another game by fewer than four points this season.

There’s still things this team needs to work on to be successful and one can hope the next three weeks features some improvements. Otherwise I’ll be writing the same thing again next year.

Here’s how the Bears graded in their loss:

Quarterback

Jay Cutler wasn’t great on Sunday as he had a fumble and two touchdowns, but he was damn good enough to get you a win in that game. Cutler kept plenty of plays alive with his feet and arm as Chicago just couldn’t snag the lead.

Grade: C

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Running back

This three running back by committee thing is still being figured out and it showed on Sunday. The Bears didn’t get much out of any of the backs and struggled to find ways to utilize them.

Grade: C

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Receivers/Tight ends

The Bears finally had Eddie Royal and Alshon Jeffery on the field at the same time but it didn’t really matter. Outside of Jeffery, the Bears receiving corps was pretty quiet.

Jay Cutler 51 yard pass to Alshon Jeffery pic.twitter.com/5SkrUOJffQ

— ✶ Ⓜ️𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕤 ▶️ ✶ (@_MarcusD_) December 13, 2015

Tight end Zach Miller continued to be one of Cutler’s favorite targets which is a positive sign moving forward.

Grade: C

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Offensive line

This was by far the worst offensive unit on Sunday and it cost the Bears. The offensive line was bullied by Washington’s front seven as rookie Hroniss Grasu didn’t stand a chance. There were also more holding and false starts, which have been a major problem this season.

Grade: D –

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Defensive line

One of the lone bright spots Sunday was the play by the defensive line. Led by Eddie Goldman, the line got some pressure on quarterback Kirk Cousins and sacked him 3 times.

Grade: B

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Linebackers

Another disappointing unit that seems to struggle each week is the linebacking core. Multiple times the linebackers were out of position and couldn’t finish tackles. The Bears in general struggled covering tight end Jordan Reed who had another big day against them.

Grade: D –

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Secondary

Chicago was missing a few pieces to their secondary but still managed to turn in a decent day. The highlight was second-year cornerback Kyle Fuller baiting Kirk Cousins into an interception.

Kyle Fuller!!!!! Just Cousins' THIRD INT in the last 7 gms! #bears

— Siafa Lewis (@Siafa_Lewis) December 13, 2015

Grade: C

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Special Teams

It was almost the same story as last week. The Bears chances came down to a 50-yard field goal attempt by Robbie Gould and just like last week, he missed it. The kicker has now missed three-straight kicks for the second time this season.

Grade: D

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Coaching

It’s hard to put all of the blame on playcalling and coaching, but it at least deserves some of it. It’s becoming a common theme with questionable playcalling in the fourth quarter. You saw it again with two deep passes on second and third down before Gould missed his field goal.

Grade: C –

 

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