(670 The Score) Are you exhausted? I’m exhausted. The Bears are definitely exhausted, which is what chasing Tony Pollard up and down the field all afternoon will do to you. Somehow the Cowboys almost put up 50 points Sunday and yet the Bears' loss still didn’t feel that bad? That’s the power of Justin Fields. I know that your angriest relative always tells you there’s no such thing as a good loss, but it’s hard to be too bummed about a much-better Cowboys team being, in fact, much better. Tolerating losses is the theme of this Bears season and in that regard, this one felt pretty tolerable – although it’s possible that Velus Jones Jr. feels differently. Let’s hand out some grades in the Bears' 49-29 loss.
Offense: B+
Fields' deep shot to Equanimeous St. Brown on the Bears' first play of the game was exciting and probably should've been a completion. The deep shot to Jones later in the first half definitely should've been a completion. I guess the good news is that once again, the quarterback running game looked good – that red-zone sweep that Fields scored a touchdown on in the first quarter is one of the better plays in the Bears' offense. The double pass with Dante Pettis isn't. Fields went into halftime with 46 passing yards, which is always what you like to see when you’re down multiple scores. He ended the day with 151. To the Bears’ credit, they did run the ball well again as they rushed for 240 yards. N’Keal Harry’s touchdown – a 17-yard catch down the middle of the field – is what every N’Keal Harry touchdown should look like. Getting Darnell Mooney (five catches, 70 yards) involved in the third quarter was the type of halftime adjustment that keeps Bears fans optimistic about the future of this coaching staff, and his 36-yard reception that helped set up Khalil Herbert’s touchdown run was, objectively, The Good Stuff. (I don’t know why it doesn’t happen more either.) The David Montgomery fumble that somehow became about Fields not tackling Micah Parsons was the type of moment that has you questioning why you ever joined Twitter in the first place. We’ll end on the best news all day: Cole Kmet (two catches, 11 yards, ONE TOUCHDOWN BABY) is all the way back.
Defense: F
I mean, they gave up 42 points. It’s a small miracle that the Cowboys' four touchdowns in the first half didn’t immediately end any chance of the Bears winning. For most of the game, the Chicago defense looked legitimately terrible – Dak Prescott already had 16 completions for 180 yards and two touchdowns at halftime and finished with 21 completions for 250 yards. The Bears' rush defense certainly wasn’t any better, and I’m not doing this to be mean, but it’s my job to tell you that Pollard had 131 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Special plays happen when Eddie Jackson wears orange jerseys, and even though it only led to three points, his interception late in the second quarter felt like the moment when the game got competitive again. The good news is that midseason Kyler Gordon doesn’t look like early season Kyler Gordon anymore, but the bad news is that Kindle Vildor does. And at the risk of being a prisoner of the moment, Roquan Smith having a quiet game just days after the team’s general manager signaled a willingness to move on from talented players who perhaps don’t fit into the team’s long-term plans probably doesn’t feel great.
Special teams: A
Trenton Gill’s 62-yard punt was, apparently, the longest of his professional career. What can’t he do? Cairo Santos kicked a field goal and a couple extra points. It was light work for the most elite kicking group in the history of competitive sports.
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.
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