Week 1 is in the books and it wasn’t pretty, but the Chicago Bears got the win. After trailing through 3 quarters, they finally took the lead in the fourth quarter with some pretty stellar play from Trubisky.
For whatever reason, Trubisky turned it on in that fourth quarter to earn the big Week 1 win and end the six year drought of losing season openers.
Here’s what went well and not so well for the Bears in Week 1 against the Lions:
Good Bears
Nagy started off the year running the ball. The Bears’ 149 yards were the 9th most under Nagy’s 33-game tenure.
Speaking of running, David Montgomery got a full workload. Doesn’t seem like there is an overwhelming lingering issue with the hammy.
Jaylon Johnson appears to be a legit CB2 opposite Fuller. It was only one game and he did get absolutely TRUCKED by Marvin Jones, but he played a huge part in causing that Fuller INT and had the game sealing deflection in the end zone.
Offensive line played better. Trubisky wasn’t running for his life the whole game.
Trubisky played well… in the 4th quarter. 8/10 for 89 yards and 3 TDs with no INTs will get the job done for a comeback. That TD pass to Anthony Miller was a thing of beauty, too. You won’t see many better balls than that.
Jimmy Graham still has some left in the tank. He had a drop that the old Jimmy Graham would have probably caught, but he’s still a significant upgrade to anything the Bears put on the field last year and found his way to the endzone. He already has half has many TDs as Bears TEs had all last season. Yes, you read that right…they had 2.
Cairo Santos didn’t miss a field goal or extra point. Ok, the FGs were only 28 and 35 yards, but not blowing a kick is something for Bears fans to celebrate. Sad state of affairs around here…
Bad Bears
Trubisky was bad for about 2.5 quarters. Take the good with the bad right? In the first half he was just 8/20 with 110 yards and some missed connections. Maybe it was some rust? Let’s hope so…
Riley Ridley was inactive once again. As time goes on, this is seeming more and more like a waste of a 4th round pick last year. Not sure exactly what the story is here, but it’s not good.
Khalil Mack was no where to be found. He now has just 3 sacks and 6 QB hits in his last 10 games dating back to last year. It’s just one game to start the season, but he’s gotta get it turned around. When Robert Quinn comes back it should provide some relief for Mack. He did get some pressure, but the Bears need a little more out of their highest paid player.
Adrian Peterson ran all over the Bears. Yes, Adrian Peterson. still haunting the Bears at the ripe old age of 35. This isn’t a good sign when you’ve got someone like Saquon Barkley coming into town next weekend…
The Bears probably should have lost that game. The heroics were nice to see out of the offense, but Stafford almost led a 75 yard game winning 2 minute drill. Thank you D’Andre Swift for dropping a great throw from Stafford in the endzone that would have most likely sealed the deal for the Lions. Trubisky was hot, but I don’t know about getting them into field goal position with 11 seconds left hot.
The Bears really escaped with a win they were lucky to get there in Detroit, but a win is a win. The Bears are 1-0 for the first time since 2013 and can hopefully build on the second half momentum they built Sunday.
It doesn’t seem like the Giants will have much of a team outside of Barkley, but we’ll see how they look when they kick off against the Steelers on Monday Night Football. One thing we do know, based on the end of game performance and getting the win Week 1, Trubisky survives to start another day.
‘Keepin It 100’ Podcast: Episode 3 – Bears vs Giants and JJ Stankevitz from NBC Sports Chicago
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