The Chicago Bears’ 31-23 win against the Atlanta Falcons looked a lot more like how the Bears want to play this season. Their offense was explosive, they generated turnovers and held Atlanta’s best playmakers in check.
Quarterback Caleb Williams shined in his return with a career-high of 83.3 completion percentage, 305 passing yards and a passing touchdown to reach 50 in his career. It was also his second game this year with a quarterback rating above 110. He distributed the ball well, with wide receiver Luther Burden III having the most yards, and his touchdown going to tight end Colston Loveland.
Defensively, cornerback Kyler Gordon arguably had the best game of any corner of the season in his season debut. He was an active part of defensive
coordinator Dennis Allen’s pass rush scheme with five pressures, three sacks and two forced fumbles in just 16 defensive snaps. His second forced fumble ultimately clinched the victory for Chicago.
Here is a look at the good, bad and ugly from the Bears’ win over the Falcons.
The Good
Caleb Williams: Not many quarterbacks can say they performed better than Caleb Williams in Week 7. This was his first game with over 80 percent completion in his NFL career, and he had 305 passing yards, his most since Week 17 of last season. His touchdown to Loveland was incredible. Chicago needed their quarterback and he delivered. This was definitely one of the best parts about watching this game.
Kyler Gordon: This is quite the comeback from Kyler Gordon, who hardly played last season and had not been able to play yet this year until Chicago’s game against Atlanta. Gordon acted more like an edge rusher than a cornerback with three sacks and two forced fumbles in 16 defensive snaps. He became the first Chicago corner since Todd Bell in 1983 with at least three sacks in a game. His performance was definitely one of the best around the NFL; the Bears have certainly missed having him on defense.
The Bad
Roschon Johnson’s fumble: It is never good to see someone turn the ball over. Roschon Johnson does not get many opportunities with D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai ahead of him on the depth chart. With Monangai out, he has been asked to step up but then did something Monangai does not do - fumble. Chicago needs to get their fumbling issues cleared up after having three straight games with a fumble lost and none of them were by quarterbacks.
Cairo Santos’ missed field goal: Honestly, I was a little surprised Chicago attempted the 56-yard field goal because I did not believe Cairo Santos would make it. He missed it wide left; I thought he would just be short. It would not hurt the Bears to reevaluate their kicker situation at the end of this season. So many NFL teams have a kicker who can make this field goal, but Santos does not appear to be one of them.
The Ugly
Penalties: Chicago probably could have put up a lot more points in this game if they had stopped getting penalized. They finished the game with 12 penalties for 133 yards. Usually, having that many penalties is going to result in a loss. This is also their second game this season with 12 penalties, although ironically the other time was against the Carolina Panthers in their 59-point performance. Still, the Bears need to solve these penalty issues.
D’Andre Swift: Swift is supposed to be Chicago’s leading running back. However, he only had 2.8 yards per carry and one of his runs was for 14 yards. If you take out that run, he averaged just two yards on his other 15 carries. He also had two rushing touchdowns, but the Bears could not rely on him to get into the red zone, which is the bigger problem. Swift seems to be better when Monangai is available, so hopefully he will be able to return from his turf toe soon.
Takeaways
This offense looks completely different with Caleb Williams in the game. Chicago’s passing game was much more efficient even though the run game never got going. Even the Bears’ defense looked like they had a different energy to them despite missing numerous players due to injury. Special teams was a crucial part of this game and has proven to be a weapon for the Bears, especially with punter Tory Taylor’s banana ball, which has now forced two fumbles. With Williams, the Bears are true contenders and are capable of overcoming anything.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Good, bad and ugly from Bears' 31-23 win vs. the Falcons
