(670 The Score) Just like they drew it up! The Bears spent 10 days listening to fans beg them not to be embarrassing on national television and took it extremely personally, apparently. Despite a small heart attack in the form of a couple Bailey Zappe throws early on, Chicago was basically in control of an entire game against Bill Belichick ... at New England ... in bad weather. The Bears' offense scored 33 points, which will surely not frustrate anyone in a few weeks when they score 15 against the Lions. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there – for now, the Bears (3-4) are on top of the world and one win closer to .500 after a 33-14 victory against the Patriots on Monday Night Football. Here are some grades.
Offense: A+ (really!)
There was actually a lot to be proud of! The offense looked functional and was really strong in the first half, putting up 20 points on 215 net yards (114 rushing, 101 passing). Justin Fields was electric, especially in the second quarter, and he looked like the best player on the field for major stretches of action. He threw for 133 yards and rushed for 74 in the first half. Fields was 13-of-21 for 179 yards, one touchdown and one interception overall while rushing for 82 yards and a score. His interception in the first quarter wasn't really his fault – for what feels like the 100th time this season, a pass was deflected, and it fell softly right into the hands of the Patriots' Myles Bryant. Even still, Fields was on another level. Some of his best plays – a 20-yard completion to Darnell Mooney in the first quarter or the 19-yard completion to Equanimeous St. Brown a few plays later or the nine-yard scramble that set up Khalil Herbert's touchdown reception – came on third down. The Bears scoring on three straight possessions was legitimately encouraging, even if two of those scores were field goals. The final statistics were, quite literally, unbelievable. Fields had 261 yards of net offense on his own, the Bears rushed for 243 yards and Cole Kmet had multiple (!) receptions. Now that we've seen what the Bears can be, the sky/30ish points is the limit.
Defense: A-
Jaquan Brisker seems like he may be the best player on the Bears' defense? Brisker was everywhere – including the medical tent for a few moments thanks to one painful kick below the belt – and his one-handed interception may have single-handedly (sorry?) changed the trajectory of Mac Jones' career. Justin Jones also continued his low-key impressive season with a forced fumble, one that led to Cairo Santos' field goal as the first half expired. Otherwise, it was a nice game from Roquan Smith, who made up for perhaps a blown assignment on Zappe's first touchdown pass with a crucial third-down sack to end the Patriots' first drive of the second half. His interception in the fourth quarter didn't mean a whole lot to the outcome, but you know, whatever. Robert Quinn had more than a couple nice moments, Trevis Gipson got the defense off the field with a key pass breakup at the end of the third quarter and even Kyler Gordon got in on the action with his first career interception. It was all good, and even if it wasn't, it doesn't matter -- there are no bad grades when you beat the Patriots, 33-14, in their own house.
Special teams: A
Santos is money, has been money and will remain money for the rest of eternity. He had another perfect night, going 4-for-4 on field-goal attempts and 3-for-3 on extra-point attempts. He's hit every field goal he's tried so far this season, which is maybe one of the more miraculous developments for this franchise given the last couple years. Trenton Gill did his thing, as Trenton Gill typically does. Averaging more than 40 yards per punt is just another day in the office for the future Hall of Famer. And even though there technically was a dropped punt, it didn't really affect anything, and Dante Pettis (three returns for 33 yards) actually looked competent in the return game.
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.
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