Chicago Bears vs. New York Jets: Full Report-Card Grades for Chicago
With a 27-19 victory over the New York Jets on Monday Night Football, the Chicago Bears have improved to 2-1 on the season.
It took just two plays for the Bears to get on the scoreboard early in the first quarter after Ryan Mundy returned a Geno Smith interception 45 yards for a touchdown.
After struggling on their first possession on offense, the Bears got the football back when Jalen Saunders muffed a punt and the ball was recovered by rookie Ahmad Dixon. Quarterback Jay Cutler then found Martellus Bennett in the end zone to give the team a 14-0 lead.
The Jets put on some pressure late in the first half and throughout the second half, but Chicago's defense held up despite injuries to safeties Mundy, Chris Conte and Danny McCray.
The Jets gained 414 yards of total offense, but the Bears defense came up big in the red zone, much to the delight of head coach Marc Trestman, via Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com:
"Marc Trestman: "Our red zone defense was excellent." Bears held the Jets to 1-for-6 inside the 20.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) September 23, 2014"
Chicago's victory on Monday puts the team atop the NFC North standings, tied with Detroit at 2-1. With a Week 4 matchup against the Green Bay Packers on the horizon, the Bears should be able to build off their momentum from back-to-back wins in Weeks 2 and 3.
Here are our report-card grades for each Bears unit following the Week 3 win over the New York Jets.
Quarterback
1 of 10
A week after tossing four touchdown passes against the San Francisco 49ers, Jay Cutler continued his hot streak on Monday night, throwing for 225 yards with two touchdowns and finishing with a quarterback rating of 94.7.
"Jay Cutler: now 9-4 in his career on Monday Night Football
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 23, 2014"
He was sacked four times on the night, but he did a nice job of moving around the pocket and even picked up a first down on a 16-yard run.
He struggled a bit at times when Brandon Marshall was out of the game with an ankle injury, but he was able to get himself into a rhythm with tight end Martellus Bennett and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery.
Despite having a running game that was struggling, Cutler was able to move the football down the field and put the team in a position to succeed throughout much of the night.
Like he seems to do every week, Cutler did make a few questionable throws, but in the end, he did everything that was asked of him and helped lead his team to a victory on the road against a tough Jets defense.
Grade: A
Running Back
2 of 10
After a strong start to the season in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, Matt Forte has been virtually nonexistent in Chicago's running game the past two weeks.
Forte finished Monday night's contest with just 33 yards on 13 carries, but he did haul in six catches for 43 yards through the air.
The Jets did all they could to stop the run, and the only time Forte was able to gain much yardage was when the Bears ran him to the left of the formation with left tackle Jermon Bushrod pulling out in front.
Earlier in the week, Forte told 670 The Score's Matt Spiegel it was his favorite play to run:
"Forte off tackle, outside of Bushrod. He told @PatrickMannelly and me that was his favorite play to run.
— Matt Spiegel (@MattSpiegel670) September 23, 2014"
Other than Forte's eight-yard run behind Bushrod, he struggled to find positive yardage throughout much of the night.
Despite being bottled up in the running game, he continued to be a safety valve for Jay Cutler in the passing game. If he continues to struggle in the running game moving forward, it may end up being a long season for this Bears offense.
Since the offensive line did not do him any favors on Monday night, he grades out slightly higher than he did last week against the 49ers.
Grade: C-
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Often overshadowed by wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, tight end Martellus Bennett stole the show for the Bears offense on Monday.
He hauled in five catches for 54 yards and scored two touchdowns. After the game, he told reporters he felt disrespected by Jets head coach Rex Ryan, via Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com:
"Martellus Bennett tells us he felt disrespected by Rex Ryan because #Jets HC lacked "enthusiasm" when discussing Bennett last week.
— Jeff Dickerson (@ESPNChiBears) September 23, 2014"
Bennett tied a career high in touchdowns last season with five and already has four in the early part of the 2014 season.
"#Bears TE Martellus Bennett had 5 TDs all last season - has 4 through 2-1/2 games already
— John Mullin (@CSNMoonMullin) September 23, 2014"
Despite his big night in the passing game, he did struggle a bit as a blocker Monday, as ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert and TheGameChicago.com's Adam Hoge reported:
"Not Martellus Bennett's best effort on that attempted block. #MNF
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) September 23, 2014"
"Missed block by Martellus Bennett.
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) September 23, 2014"
Regardless of his struggles as a blocker, he came up big when the team needed him the most.
Part of the reason why Bennett became so involved in the offense on Monday night was due to another injury to Brandon Marshall.
After injuring his ankle in the second quarter, Marshall was quickly downgraded from probable to questionable prior to halftime, via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune:
"The Bears have downgraded WR Brandon Marshall (right ankle) to questionable.
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) September 23, 2014"
He missed the remainder of the first half but was back on the field for the final two quarters.
He finally caught his first, and only, pass of the game late in the fourth quarter for six yards. The pass helped to give Marshall a reception in 118 straight contests, the fourth-longest active streak in the NFL, via Chicago Bears Radio Network's sideline reporter Zach Zaidman:
"#Bears WR Brandon Marshall has caught at least one pass in 118 straight games, 4th-longest active streak in NFL.
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) September 23, 2014"
While the Jets became focused on trying to slow down Marshall, Jeffery ended up with eight catches for 105 yards, including a 42-yard catch early in the third quarter.
On his return to New York, Santonio Holmes finished with just two catches for nine yards, while backup tight end Dante Rosario finished with one catch for eight yards.
Because of Bennett's stellar night and Jeffery's consistency, the tight ends and wide receivers were rewarded one of the highest grades on offense for Monday night's performance.
Grade: B+
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Offensive Line
4 of 10
For a second week in a row, the Bears were forced to start Michael Ola and Brian de la Puente in place of Matt Slauson and Roberto Garza at left guard and center.
De la Puente proved again on Monday night that he is more than a viable replacement for Garza. He often worked his way upfield to open lanes for Matt Forte in the screen game.
On the other hand, Ola struggled against the Jets after putting together two solid performances against the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers.
During a great drive in the second half, Jay Cutler hit Brandon Marshall in the end zone for a touchdown, but the play was wiped out following a penalty on Ola, via Fox 32 News' Dionne Miller:
"Illegal hands to the face call on Ola erases a fantastic TD grab by @BMarshall #Bears
— Dionne Miller FOX 32 (@DionneMiller) September 23, 2014"
Cutler was eventually able to find Martellus Bennett for a touchdown, but Ola's penalty proved he still has some areas he needs to improve on.
Left tackle Jermon Bushrod struggled throughout most of the night in pass protection, but he made up for his struggles with a solid block that helped spring Matt Forte on an eight-yard run, via 670TheScore.com's Dan Durkin:
"Bears caught the Jets napping on that toss. Down blocks on the edge, Bushrod with the kick out.
— dan durkin (@djdurkin) September 23, 2014"
Despite struggling in the run game and allowing four sacks of Jay Cutler, the offensive line did not play as poorly as it appeared to have played by just looking at the statistics. When push came to shove, the offensive line did what it needed to do to protect Cutler when he needed it most.
Grade: C+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The New York Jets headed into Monday night's game as one of the best running teams in the NFL, while the Bears defense was one of the worst against the run.
Despite not having their best run-stopper, Jeremiah Ratliff, on the field due to injury, Chicago still held the Jets' primary backs to just 78 yards on 20 carries, via Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com:
"Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson combined for 20 carries for 78 yards (3.9 average). That's a heck of a night for the Bears' run defense.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) September 23, 2014"
With Ratliff out of the game, the team relied heavily on rookies Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton.
Ferguson finished the game with two tackles and one sack, while Sutton finished with three tackles, including one tackle for loss.
After the game, veteran Jared Allen was very complimentary of both Ferguson and Sutton.
“These young guys are playing great,” Allen said, via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I tell you what, it’s a testament to their attitude. I’ve been around some entitled rookies before, where they think everything should be given to them. I can honestly say we don’t have one rookie on our rookie who thinks he’s entitled to everything."
While he failed to take down the quarterback, Allen turned up the pressure in the second half and finished the game with seven tackles and three quarterback hits.
Not to be outdone by the rookies and Allen, Stephen Paea put together a second straight dominant performance on Monday night, via 670 The Score's Laurence Holmes:
"Paea has been so good the last 2 games. #Bears
— Laurence Holmes (@LaurenceWHolmes) September 23, 2014"
He consistently got pressure up the field and helped slow down New York's running game between the tackles.
While Ferguson, Sutton, Allen and Paea all had nice games, Willie Young once again stole the spotlight along the defensive line.
Young finished the game with four tackles and was credited with one sack, which ties him for the league lead with four.
Because of their ability to slow down the Jets' vaunted running game, the Bears defensive line gets the highest grade of all the defensive units for Monday night's performance.
Grade: A
Linebacker
6 of 10
After Shea McClellin broke his hand earlier in the week during practice, the Bears were forced to start Jon Bostic at the strong-side linebacker position on Monday night.
The shift from middle linebacker to strong-side linebacker for Bostic paid dividends against the Jets, as he finished the game with 13 tackles and two passes defended.
He did drop what could have been a game-ending interception in the fourth quarter, and he knows he'll need to work on his hands this week, via TheGameChicago.com's Adam Hoge:
"Jon Bostic on his dropped INT: “I got to get on (the JUGS machine). I made that game a lot harder than it needed to be.” #Bears
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) September 23, 2014"
For the first time in his young career, Bostic appeared to be anticipating the play in front of him, instead of reading and reacting. He has always been a player with terrific athleticism, and that was on display against the Jets Monday night.
Lance Briggs again looked much better than what fans saw in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, but he did struggle at times to shed blocks, via Bleacher Report's Ty Schalter:
"Lance Briggs just got blown up on back-to-back plays.
— Ty Schalter (@tyschalter) September 23, 2014"
Middle linebacker D.J. Williams finished the game with nine tackles but struggled in coverage, particularly against Jace Amaro in the first half, via 670TheScore.com's Dan Durkin:
"DJ Williams lost Jace Amaro in coverage, slipped behind Conte for a big gain. #Bears playing a lot of man/Cover-1 to get 8-man box.
— dan durkin (@djdurkin) September 23, 2014"
While there were some struggles in pass coverage, all three linebackers played well against the run to earn a solid grade for the second week in a row.
Grade: B
Secondary
7 of 10
Another prime-time game and another big takeaway for rookie Kyle Fuller on Monday night.
With the Jets driving down the field in the third quarter, Fuller made a great play on a ball thrown by Geno Smith to David Nelson.
"VINE: Kyle Fuller continues to rule the world. #CHIvsNYJ #BearsvsJets https://t.co/j0hKEtcvU5
— Matthew Schwerha (@MSchwerha) September 23, 2014"
In addition to his interception, Fuller also forced two fumbles.
Due to injuries to starting safeties Chris Conte and Ryan Mundy, as well as backup Danny McCray, the Bears were forced to play rookies Ahmad Dixon and Brock Vereen at strong and free safety late in Monday's game.
Both rookies held their own given the circumstances, via Chris Trapasso of NFL.com:
"Hats off to Ahmad Dixon and Brock Vereen, the two Bears rookie safeties on the field for final drive. Obviously held their own in tough spot
— Chris Trapasso (@ChrisTrapasso) September 23, 2014"
Vereen finished the game with three tackles, while Dixon finished with one.
Considering the fact that Dixon was signed to the roster shortly after the loss to the Buffalo Bills, it is remarkable that he was able to hold his own considering the limited time he has spent with the team.
Both Mundy and Conte were playing solid games before their injuries, and with no information from the team yet regarding their status for Sunday's matchup with the Green Bay Packers, Vereen and Dixon may end up seeing extended playing time in Week 4.
Considering all of the injuries, the strong play from Fuller and the solid performances from the rookie safeties, the secondary grades out well once again in Week 3.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
8 of 10
He has gone largely unnoticed this season because of the position he plays, but punter Pat O'Donnell put together another solid performance Monday night against the New York Jets.
He punted five times on Monday night for 213 yards, and the Jets returned three for just 10 total yards, including a muffed return by Jalen Saunders that was recovered by Ahmad Dixon in the first quarter.
While he didn't pin any balls inside the 20-yard line, his hang time was the most impressive part of his game, via NBCChicago.com's James Neveau:
"Underrated aspect of the game tonight: I'm really liking the way O'Donnell is punting the ball. Great hang time and length.
— James Neveau (@JamesNeveau) September 23, 2014"
Chicago added Rashad Ross to the roster and designated him as the return man for Monday night's contest, but he failed to improve the team's lackluster return unit.
Ross finished the night with three returns for 63 yards on kickoffs, while Santonio Holmes had just one return for 11 yards.
In the kicking game, Robbie Gould came up big with a 45-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to extend the Bears' lead to eight points. Gould finished the game going 2-of-2 on field-goal attempts and nailed all three of his extra-point attempts.
Because of some penalties and mistakes by Ross in the return game, the special teams unit finished with grade slightly lower than it would have had.
Grade: B-
Coaching
9 of 10
For the second straight week, head coach Marc Trestman made all the right adjustments at halftime to help lead his team to a victory in the second half.
The offense sputtered at times, particularly in the running game, but Trestman stuck with his plan and trusted Matt Forte and his offensive line to pick up yards on the ground when they needed them the most.
On the other side of the ball, even with a plethora of injuries in the secondary, Mel Tucker somehow got the most out of young players like Brock Vereen and Ahmad Dixon.
According to TheGameChicago.com's Alex Quigley, Tucker's defense has not given up a touchdown in the second half of a game this season:
"Bears' defense allowed 20, 20, and 19 in regulation this year and NO TDs in second half.
— Alex Quigley (@alexquigley) September 23, 2014"
Despite all of the criticism he has received since last year, Tucker should be applauded for what he has done with this unit here in the early part of the season.
Because of the solid halftime adjustments on both sides of the football, the coaches once again come away with a solid grade in Week 3.
Grade: B
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | A |
| RB | C- |
| WR/TE | B+ |
| OL | C+ |
| DL | A |
| LB | B |
| Secondary | B+ |
| Special Teams | B- |
| Coaching | B |
| Cumulative Grade | B |
Following a strong start on Monday Night Football, the Chicago Bears continued to do just enough on both sides of the football to keep the New York Jets from coming away with a victory in Week 3.
While questions still remain about the running game and the injuries on defense, the Bears showed on Monday night they have the ability to overcome adversity.
With the Jets in the rearview mirror, the Bears will now look toward their matchup with the Green Bay Packers this upcoming Sunday.
The Packers are 7-1 against the Bears since 2011, including the playoffs, and they have not lost a game in Chicago since 2010.
If the Bears want to prove they are a real playoff contender, a victory over the Packers in Week 4 will go a long way in proving that they are one of the league's best teams.
Record/statistical information provided via email from the Chicago Bears or ESPN.com.
Matt Eurich is an NFL/Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
