Grading the Bears vs. Falcons
By John Dietz Quarterback: C
Justin Fields ran wild again, picking up 85 yards on 18 carries, but he missed a golden opportunity by overthrowing Darnell Mooney late in the first quarter. It should have been a 67-yard TD that would have given the Bears a 14-7 lead. Fields ended up throwing for just 153 yards against the worst pass D in the league.
Running backs: C+
David Montgomery had a workmanlike effort, running for 67 yards on 17 carries and also hauled in a gorgeous 32-yard reception early in the fourth quarter. Rookie Trestan Ebner (6 carries, 8 yards) looked lost and contributed next to nothing.
Receivers: D
How about that incredible one-handed catch by Cole Kmet? Wow. But other than Darnell Mooney's 16-yard TD reception, we saw next to nothing from the Bears' pass catchers.
Offensive line: D+
Braxton Jones and Cody Whitehair did a fantastic job leading the way on Justin Fields' 4-yard TD run early in the second quarter. We saw plenty of bad from the O-line, however. What was Whitehair doing abandoning his man early in the third quarter? It led to a sack. More bad: A false start by Brad Mustipher helped knock the Bears out of FG range; a holding penalty late in the second quarter by Michael Schofield helped kill that drive.
Defensive line: D
One of the worst plays came late in the third quarter when Trevis Gipson crashed inside, allowing Marcus Mariotta to almost waltz into the end zone for a TD. It gave Atlanta a 24-17 lead. The line had no sacks and no QB hits.
Linebackers: C
Jack Sanborn (9 tackles) continues to shine, and Nicholas Morrow played a decent game. Still, there weren't any game-turning plays by this group.
Secondary: A-
Plenty to like here. Jaquan Brisker forced a second-quarter fumble, which was recovered by Jaylon Johnson. Brisker also led the way with 11 tackles. Falcons QB Marcus Mariotta only threw for 131 yards, with no completion going for more than 19 yards.
Special teams: C-
Yet another mixed bag for this unit. Velus Jones Jr. had an impressive 55-yard kickoff return in the first quarter, and DeAndre Houston Carson forced a fumble on a punt that the Bears recovered. The killer, of course, was Cordarrelle Patterson's 103-yard kickoff return that swung the momentum directly back to the Falcons. "They had blocked it up well, but we've got to … keep it short of midfield," coach Matt Eberflus told WBBM 780-AM afterwards.
Coaching: D
Loved the aggressiveness of defensive coordinator Alan Williams. Sure, many of the blitzes didn't work, but it kept Atlanta guessing and off-balance. Hated the the late-game play-calling by Luke Getsy. We know the passing game is struggling, but asking Justin Fields to run this much is borderline criminal.