Biggest Takeaways from Chicago Bears' Week 5 Win
After starting off the season 0-3, the Chicago Bears improved to 2-3 on the year following their 18-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5.
The Bears controlled the clock for over 33 minutes and finished the game with 328 yards of total offense. Chicago's defense held the Chiefs to just 287 yards of total offense, including just 170 yards through the air.
Even though the Bears were able to hold the Chiefs in check throughout much of the game on defense, the offense struggled to get into a rhythm until late in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Jay Cutler led the Bears on back-to-back scoring drives late in the game, and the Bears were able to take an 18-17 lead following a seven-yard touchdown pass from Cutler to running back Matt Forte with just 18 seconds left on the clock.
“It was a very gutsy, good football-character victory," said head coach John Fox after the game, per ChicagoFootball.com's Kevin Fishbain. "As we talked at halftime, it wasn’t exactly smooth…not that we played poorly, but we just didn’t play as well as we could or probably as hard or as tough as we could. I thought we turned that up in the second half.”
The Bears fought back on offense after a rough start to the game in Week 5, and they will look to improve to 3-3 on the season when they take on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Week 6.
What are our biggest takeaways from Chicago's victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5?
Jay Cutler Is a Great Fit in OC Adam Gase's Offense
1 of 5
Cutler returned to Chicago's lineup last week after missing the second half of the team's Week 2 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals and all of Week 3's contest against the Seattle Seahawks. He completed 28 of his 43 passing attempts for 281 yards with two touchdowns and one interception against the Oakland Raiders.
He started under center once again for the Bears in Week 5 against the Chiefs, and after completing 10 of his 17 passing attempts for 81 yards and zero touchdowns in the first half, Cutler looked calm under pressure in the second half.
The veteran quarterback led the Bears on back-to-back touchdown drives late in the fourth quarter, and his play helped seal the victory for Chicago. He completed 26 of his 45 passing attempts for 252 yards with two touchdowns and finished the game with an 88.4 quarterback rating.
"Jay [Cutler] came out ballin'," said outside linebacker Pernell McPhee after the game, per Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times. "Two weeks in a row, he was clutch."
He did fumble the football in the end zone in the first quarter—and that miscue resulted in a Kansas City touchdown—but he bounced back in the second half.
Rookie center Hroniss Grasu struggled at times in his first career start, but even though Cutler was often pressured up the middle, the veteran quarterback did a great job of buying time with his feet before making a play down the field.
Offensive coordinator Adam Gase has not been able to fully unleash his playbook due to injuries to Cutler and wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal this season, but his offense has looked above average at times this year when Cutler has been healthy.
Gase has done a great job of getting plays called early, and that allows Cutler the opportunity to scan the defense and make calls at the line of scrimmage before he snaps the ball.
Cutler flashed at times while playing in Mike Martz's offense and in Marc Trestman's offense in the past, but he has looked comfortable in Gase's system the last two weeks. If he can continue to play in the coming weeks like he did on Sunday against Kansas City, Cutler has a chance to put up some of the best numbers of his career.
Young Receivers Played Well in Place of Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal
2 of 5
The Bears were without Jeffery for the fourth straight game on Sunday because of a hamstring injury, and Royal missed the game due to an ankle injury. Even though the offense was without its top two receivers, a couple of Chicago's young receivers made big plays in Week 5.
Marquess Wilson and Joshua Bellamy were Chicago's starting wide receivers on Sunday, but backups Cameron Meredith and Marc Mariani also got their fair share of snaps against the Chiefs.
Wilson played well in Chicago's Week 4 victory over the Raiders and caught six catches for 80 yards, and he topped that performance on Sunday by hauling in six catches for 85 yards with one touchdown against the Chiefs.
The former Washington State star did a great job of working back toward the ball all afternoon long, and he caught a perfectly thrown ball from Cutler in the end zone late in the fourth quarter to get the Bears within five points of Kansas City.
Meredith was targeted four times on Sunday by Cutler, and he caught all four targets for 52 yards. After making two catches early in the game, Meredith came up big on Chicago's game-winning touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. He finished the drive with two catches for 30 yards, and he did a nice job of getting out of bounds on his second reception.
The former Illinois State quarterback has good hands, and Cutler has not been afraid to throw the football in his direction this season.
Bellamy finished the game with a career-high six catches for 31 yards and was targeted eight times by Cutler. Most of his catches came in the screen game, but he did a nice job of securing the football before fighting for extra yards up the field.
Cutler's options were limited in the passing game without Jeffery or Royal, but Wilson, Bellamy and Meredith all stepped up when the veteran quarterback needed them the most.
Pernell McPhee Continues to Make an Impact
3 of 5
McPhee has arguably been Chicago's best player on both sides of the football this season, and the veteran outside linebacker played another solid game in Week 5.
After not recording a sack in either of the team's first two games, McPhee took down Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson twice back in Week 3. He did not record a sack last week against the Oakland Raiders, but he finished the game with eight tackles and one interception.
On Sunday in Kansas City, McPhee finished the game with just two tackles, but he recorded his third sack of the season and blocked a field goal in the second half.
"That’s what you expect your leaders to do on the team," said cornerback Demontre Hurst about McPhee's field-goal block, per Nate Atkins of ChicagoFootball.com. "With that blocked kick, we just started swarming, man. It was a different feel."
Even though he came away with just one sack, he did a nice job of creating pressure and collapsing the pocket around Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith.
The Chiefs did a good job of attacking him in the running game with pulling guards, but he did a nice job of clearing up space for his teammates to make plays against the run.
McPhee does not have sack numbers that jump off the page, but he has been one of the league's best 3-4 outside linebackers through the first five weeks of the season. If the Bears want to get to .500 and beyond, they are going to need McPhee to continue to play like he has so far this season.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Offensive Line Showed Improvement After Slow Start
4 of 5
Center Will Montgomery suffered a season-ending leg injury last week against Oakland, and that forced veteran guard Matt Slauson to slide over and play center for the first time in his career. The veteran offensive lineman played well considering the circumstances, but he was back to his normal spot at left guard on Sunday against the Chiefs.
Instead of keeping Slauson at center or signing a veteran off the street, the Bears opted to start Grasu. The Bears selected the former Oregon Duck in the third round of this year's draft, but he struggled at times during the preseason because of his lack of bulk (6'3", 300 lbs) for the position.
Grasu struggled in the early going against Kansas City's tough interior defensive linemen, but he looked more comfortable as the game went on.
“He was on the whole thing,” said Slauson about Grasu's performance, per John Mullin of CSNChicago.com. “He did great, stepped in there as a rookie and I thought he did great.”
Cutler was sacked twice on Sunday, but Chicago's offensive line held up well considering the circumstances. In addition to Grasu getting his first start of the year at center, Charles Leno got his second start of the year at left tackle in place of the injured Jermon Bushrod.
Leno was called for a false start penalty, but he held his own much of the afternoon.
Right tackle Kyle Long spent much of the game going up against pass-rusher Justin Houston, and the former Pro Bowl guard did a nice job of keeping the pocket clean for Cutler. Long used his combination of strength and athleticism to keep the NFL's reigning sack leader at bay much of the afternoon.
Vladimir Ducasse looked like a liability once again at the right guard position, but he could be replaced in Week 6 by backup Patrick Omameh if the Bears decide they want to make a change at the position. Omameh filled in for Slauson at left guard last week after Slauson moved to center, and the former Tampa Bay Buccaneer played well.
Chicago's offensive line is still a work in progress, but it has shown flashes of its potential in recent weeks.
Defense Showed Progress for Second Week in a Row
5 of 5
Chicago's defense held Oakland's Derek Carr to just 196 passing yards with two touchdowns and one interception in Week 4, and the unit backed up that performance on Sunday by holding Smith to 181 yards passing with just one touchdown.
Smith completed 16 of his 30 passing attempts, but he was sacked three times and finished the game with an 82.8 quarterback rating. Chicago struggled in the first half to put pressure on the former No. 1 overall pick, but McPhee, Lamarr Houston and Willie Young were all able to take him down for a sack on Sunday.
Chicago's defense did allow 117 rushing yards on 25 carries, but Kansas City's running game took a hit once Jamaal Charles was forced to leave the game due to an injury.
For the second week in a row, Tracy Porter was Chicago's best cornerback. Porter shadowed Oakland's Amari Cooper in Week 4, and he lined up opposite of Kansas City's Jeremy Maclin a lot in Week 5. Maclin did finish the game with eight catches for 85 yards, but Porter made a nice play on a ball thrown Maclin's direction late in the fourth quarter to force the Chiefs to punt.
Veteran defensive lineman Jeremiah Ratliff played his first game of the season against the Chiefs, and the former Dallas Cowboy played both the 5-technique defensive end position and the 0-technique nose tackle position. He and rookie Eddie Goldman rotated at the nose tackle position throughout the afternoon, and their strong play up the middle forced the Chiefs to run the football to the outside.
Chicago still needs to improve against the run, but the defense has steadily improved as a whole under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. In recent weeks, the team's secondary has tightened up after poor performances against the Green Bay Packers, Cardinals and Seahawks, and the front seven has done a much better job of putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks the last two weeks.
The defense has a long way to go before it is considered to be one of the NFL's best, but it has been taking steps in the right direction under Fangio.
Statistical information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
Matt Eurich is a 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)
