Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears' Week 12 Report Card

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Well, even with a new quarterback under center, the Chicago Bears ended Week 12 with the same result that they have had virtually for the entire 2016 NFL season. Despite a hard-fought comeback, the Bears found themselves on the losing end of a 27-21 score against the Tennessee Titans. This defeat now leaves Chicago with a record of 2-9, with no bright side to look at regarding the rest of the year.

The Bears did jump out to a 7-0 lead to start the game, only to have the Titans score 21 unanswered points to end the first half. Chicago did make a valiant effort in the fourth quarter. The defense kept Tennessee out of the end zone in the second half, and the offense scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to cut the Titans’ lead to six. Unfortunately, they fell short in the closing seconds of the game.

With so many injuries and suspensions to key players for the Bears, many people (including myself) thought that this contest wouldn’t be as competitive as it turned out to be. After witnessing yet another disappointing loss, let’s see if the Bears earned any good marks for Week 12.

Quarterback

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Even in his first career start, Matt Barkley didn’t seemed fazed. The Bears’ backup quarterback finished the game completing 28 of his 54 pass attempts for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Barkley’s stats could have been much more impressive had Chicago’s wide receivers not dropped several balls throughout the game. However, what put an even bigger blemish on Barkley’s day was the two red-zone interceptions he threw, one of which was after the Bears recovered an onside kick to open the second half.

Grade: C-

Running Backs

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Once again, running back Jordan Howard was the feature runner in the Bears’ backfield. The league’s second-leading rookie rusher was productive both as a ball carrier and a receiver. Howard gained 127 total yards from scrimmage (84 rushing, 43 receiving). Had Chicago not been so dependent upon their passing game due to trailing for virtually the whole game, Howard’s 4.7 yards per carry average might have helped keep Tennessee’s defense off balance in the second half. The only bad thing Howard did was drop a pass in the flat in the red zone on the Bears’ opening drive.

Grade: B

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

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Barkley did a good job at spreading the ball around, connecting with five wide receivers and two tight ends. Marquess Wilson finished with eight receptions for 125 yards (both game-highs) and a touchdown. Deonte Thompson had five catches of his own for 43 yards and a touchdown, which cut the deficit to six points in the fourth quarter. Tight end Daniel Brown was on the receiving end of Barkley’s first touchdown of the day.

All of this sounds great, but the major headline of this story is the fact that the Bears’ receiving corps dropped several passes throughout the entire game. The two most crucial drops came during Chicago’s final drive of the game, when Josh Bellamy dropped a pass in the end zone after the ball hit him right between the numbers on a first-and-goal. Later, Thompson dropped the ball on fourth-and-goal, cementing the Bears’ ninth loss of the year.

Grade: D-

Offensive Line

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Although Barkley was under fire at times, the Bears’ offensive line didn’t surrender any sacks against a team that entered Week 12 tied with the third-most sacks in the league. When given the opportunity, the O-line did create lanes for Howard in the running game. Rookie Cody Whitehair did snap the ball over Barkley’s head on a third-and-one while the Bears were deep in their own territory.

Grade: C

Defensive Line

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Combined, Tennessee’s running back duo of DeMarco Murray and rookie Derrick Henry rush for over 100 yards and a touchdown. Although the Titans’ ball carriers did average over four yards per carry, Chicago’s defensive line took complete control of the line of scrimmage when it mattered most. In the third quarter, the line did a good job at taking on defenders and clearing space for linebackers to stop the Titans from scoring deep in the red zone. The Bears’ defensive front did the same late in the fourth quarter when nose tackle Eddie Goldman prevented Murray from getting a first down on a crucial third-and-two with the two-minute warning approaching.

Grade: C

Linebackers

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Early in the game, Chicago’s linebackers couldn’t keep up with Titans tight end Delanie Walker. Later, they had difficulty containing quarterback Marcus Mariota in the pocket, allowing the second-year quarterback to rush for 46 yards. However, in the second half, the Bears’ linebackers made some key stops, including rookie Nick Kwiatkoski filling the gap to prevent a touchdown on the goal line in the third quarter.

Grade: C

Defensive Backs

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Three of Tennessee’s receivers had receptions of 29 yards or more against Chicago’s secondary. Although no one for the Titans came close to gaining 100 yards receiving, they were still beating the Bears’ defensive backs down the seam and along the sideline. There was a mix-up between rookie Cre’Von LeBlanc and Bryce Callahan on the goal line, which resulted in Delanie Walker’s four-yard touchdown catch. Later, Rishard Matthews beat both Tracy Porter and Adrian Amos for a 29-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. Callahan was once again beat, this time by Harry Douglas for a 35-yard gain along the sideline to end the third quarter.

Grade: D

Special Teams

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No field goals were attempted by kicker Connor Barth, but he did execute a perfect onside kick that was recovered by the Bears to open the second half. The return game was pretty much a nonfactor. Punter Pat O’Donnell did have a long of 55 yards, but failed to land any of his punts inside the 20-yard line. One killer was the holding call on Ben Braunecker during a kickoff in the third quarter, which resulted in the Bears starting their drive on their own eight-yard line, putting them in a tight spot in the battle for field position.

Grade: C

Coaching

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From the start, John Fox rolled the dice with no hesitation. On the first offensive drive, the Bears went for it on fourth-and-one, but didn’t convert. Seeing how the season is going, no one should see a problem with that call. Fox also showed some guts with his surprise onside kick at the start of the second half. Despite the bold moves, there was one call that could’ve possibly made a major difference late in the game.

After Goldman made the stop on third down, forcing a fourth-and-one with 2:06 remaining in the game, Fox decided to call their final timeout, instead of letting the clock run down to the two-minute warning and saving that timeout for the offense for the potential game-winning drive. With that timeout at their disposal, the offense might not have had to rush as much to get down field, and could have had a better chance of devising a better play to win the game.

Grade: C