The Chicago Bears had a great chance to start the season with a home win over a division rival. They dominated more than half of the game and seemed to be on their way to doing just that.
And then it all happened. Again.
A bad call from the officials here. A missed pass there. Missed field goals, weak kicks, and a conservative offense when the Bears hadn’t put the game out of reach quite yet. We’ve been here far too many times.
Heck, I’ve been here far too many times writing a game ball column after
a game that the Bears pissed down their leg. And I’ve only been doing it two seasons!
Slim pickings after the team failed to get it done in all three phases in the fourth quarter. But here we go.
Special Teams Game Ball: KR/PR Devin Duverney
Duverney was one of the only bright spots for a unit that was, as a whole, pretty terrible all around. He had some strong returns, though there were a couple bobbles that made me scared for a split second. He finished with three kick returns (27.0 yard average) and four punt returns (9.2 yard average).
Anyway, let’s get to the elephant in the room. Cairo Santos is not good enough to be on this roster. The Bears lost games on his leg last year, no real competition was brought in over the summer, and we were reminded yet again of why he’s a nice guy but a not good enough kicker.
We have been told that he might not have the leg of other kickers, but he’s oh so very accurate. Well, you can’t be missing 50 yard field in the NFL. Those are gimmes in this league (outside of Cleveland). Will Reichard had absolutely no problem putting a 59-yarder through just before halftime. And hell, the field goal that Santos did make just barely went in. So no, the accuracy isn’t good enough.
And the leg? Not being able to kick it out of the end zone at the end of the game to give your offense a chance was unacceptable.
Speaking of strong legs, I think Tory Taylor left his in Iowa City. Not good enough for that kind of draft stock.
Defensive Game Ball: DE Dayo Odeyingbo
I was extremely concerned about this defense coming into the game. With TJ Edwards, Jaylon Johnson, and Kyler Gordon missing the game, it was going to be imperative that the pass rushers had a good night. And they absolutely did. Well, until the offense couldn’t stay on the field in the second half and defensive stamina became a problem in the fourth quarter, helping Minnesota further establish the run.
Of those pass rushers, new man in town Dayo Odeyingbo had a heck of a night. One sack, one tackle for loss, a pass defended, and two QB hits. He was in the back field constantly, and JJ McCarthy looked lost for most of the first half. Dayo was also terrific in the run game and set the edge.
Another new man in town, former New Orleans Saint Tanoh Kpassagnon, had near identical stats to Dayo. Gervon Dexter too. Montez Sweat made some splash plays here and there (a blocked pass in the red zone was big), though you’d like to see him walk away with a sack and be more of a consistent factor.
The secondary played over their heads most of the night, good enough to win until late in the game. Nahshon Wright was looking bad early with some costly errors, but he had the pick six to redeem himself. And Tyrique Stevenson was the victim of a brutal PI call late. However, the Bears are going to need Gordon and Jaylon back for what feels like a must-win against the Lions next week.
Offense Game Ball: WR DJ Moore
Nobody had a huge game when it came to the stat sheet, but DJ’s play showed up all over the field. They tried him in the backfield (three attempts for eight yards), as we had seen in training camp. He led the team in receiving yardage, hauling in three balls for 68 yards. He took an absolutely brutal looking hit late in the game coming across the middle. And he got his stiff arm on.
Moore also should have had a 34 yard touchdown. I’m sure you’ve seen the tape by now. But just in case…
It was a weird game. During the first half, it felt for the first time in many years like the Bears had a real offense. My social media feeds were full of non-Bears complimenting the team. And then it fell apart.
The Vikings are a difficult team to run the ball against, and that was certainly felt throughout the game. Caleb missed some layups when he did throw the ball, and other times held up from throwing it in the direction of some wide open guys. Down the stretch, he just wasn’t good enough.
Jonah Jackson had an absolutely brutal game (he earned a 22.6 grade from PFF!), and Drew Dalman did not live up to expectations whatsoever. This kind of stuff can’t be happening from a highly paid center.
Joe Thuney was mostly Joe Thuney (that’s good). Darnell Wright had the phantom hold late, but otherwise was pretty good against an excellent defensive front (the highest graded Bears lineman by PFF this week). There was a lot of concern about Braxton Jones coming in, and he’s certainly had better games. Especially in run blocking. But he wasn’t at the top of my list of concerns this week after the game.
Jackson and Dalman, in particular, are going to need to be a lot better next week in Motown.
Bryan Orenchuk and myself will have plenty to say this week on a new episode of Bears Over Beers. We’ll be live on Wednesday night on the 2nd City Gridiron YouTube channel, or available on demand via your favorite podcasting platform after. Our 2nd City Gridiron Podcast Channel is available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Audacy, and other popular podcast platforms.
Who would have received your game balls? Let us know in the comments section below.
