Chicago Bears vs. New York Jets: Full Report-Card Grades for New York
The New York Jets started off their prime-time showdown with the Chicago Bears in the complete opposite way they began last week's game with the Green Bay Packers.
New York imploded in the first five minutes, allowing Chicago to rush out to a 14-point lead.
Although the team settled down and made it a game in the final three quarters, the early mistakes, along with an inability to convert on scoring opportunities, were too much to overcome.
The tough loss on Monday night drops the Jets to 1-2 on the season, and with the Lions, Chargers, Broncos and Patriots due up in the next month, Gang Green may be in trouble.
Click through for grades for each of New York's positional units in the 27-19 home loss.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Another night, same story for Geno Smith.
He had some great moments and some awful ones, but the latter ruled the day for the second-year quarterback.
Smith rebounded from a horrible early pick-six to lead the Jets back into the game, and he made some great plays against Chicago's depleted secondary.
In fact, on a day when the running game wasn't as explosive as expected, the West Virginia product completed 26 passes for 316 yards.
However, Smith couldn't put the football in the end zone, and that's what it ultimately boils down to at the end of the day.
Gang Green managed just one touchdown on the night, despite driving inside the Bears' 30-yard line seven times.
Smith threw another awful pick in the end zone in the second half, and he was lucky not to be picked off by Jon Bostic on the final drive.
Yes, the offensive line wasn't fantastic. The play-calling was subpar on multiple occasions. And the receiving corps was without Eric Decker for most of the night.
But Smith has to make better decisions for the Jets to win football games. It's that simple.
Grade: C-
Running Back
2 of 10
New York's running game was expected to dominate a weak Bears front on Monday, but that wasn't exactly the case.
The team did manage to tally 114 yards on 26 carries for a solid 4.4 yards-per-carry average, but the running game never really got going.
Chris Ivory made some terrific runs, as his ferocious running style was too much for Chicago's tacklers to handle, and he contributed in the passing game as well (four catches for 52 yards).
However, Chris Johnson failed to find much running room, as his rushing style was not very successful. There's no doubt the former 2,000-yard back has been outplayed by Ivory to this point in the season.
The Jets have a great running game, but more was needed out of the unit in this one.
Grade: B-
Wide Receiver/Tight End
3 of 10
The receiving corps had to make do without its most dangerous weapon, Eric Decker, for most of the night but still managed a decent showing.
Jeremy Kerley was fantastic, registering seven catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. He found space in Chicago's secondary all night, and he would have added a game-tying score to his stat line if Smith had seen him roaming freely in the end zone on the final drive.
Despite a costly drop on third down, Jace Amaro also contributed nicely. The rookie tight end caught three balls for 54 yards on four targets, including a big three-yard gain on fourth down in the waning minutes.
However, there were some issues with the unit as well. In addition to Amaro's drop, David Nelson fumbled the ball twice. Thankfully, both rolled out of bounds.
The Jets receiving corps is far from the most talented in the league, especially without Decker. But the pass-catchers weren't the reason New York lost this contest.
Grade: B-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
It was an up-and-down night for the offensive line.
At some points in the contest, especially early on, the line gave Geno plenty of time in the pocket. However, it began to fade as the game went along.
Smith was under pressure on a consistent basis in the second half, especially by Jared Allen, who had his way with D'Brickashaw Ferguson all night.
The Bears racked up three sacks and eight quarterback hits on Smith, and it could have been more if not for the young signal-caller's elusiveness.
In the running game, the offensive line was solid but unspectacular. It got a little bit of push throughout the night but not enough to control the line of scrimmage.
Grade: C+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Unsurprisingly, it was another dominant showing for the defensive line.
The unit had its way with a Bears offensive line that was missing two starters, continually pressuring Jay Cutler and completely shutting down Matt Forte and the rushing attack.
New York managed four sacks and eight quarterback hits on the night, and Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson were responsible for 2.5 and five of those.
Damon Harrison had a quiet game by his standards, but the defensive front didn't miss a beat, limiting Forte to just 33 yards on 13 carries.
Unfortunately, Wilkerson left the game with just a few minutes left with an injury. As the team's best defensive player, his presence is critical. Let's hope he won't miss extended time.
Grade: A
Linebacker
6 of 10
The linebacker corps put together its second straight outstanding game on Monday night.
The team was a big component of the constant pressure on Jay Cutler and a huge reason why Matt Forte failed to find any room to run.
Demario Davis and David Harris were once again the standouts.
Davis recorded a team-high 12 tackles, a pass deflection, a quarterback hit and half a sack, while Harris tallied five stops, a sack, a forced fumble and a quarterback hit.
The two also should have combined for a defensive touchdown. Harris stripped Cutler late in the first half, and Davis picked it up and jogged in for the score. However, the referees had already blown the whistle, taking six points off the board.
Davis and Harris are quickly becoming one of the most productive inside linebacker duos in the league.
Grade: A-
Secondary
7 of 10
The secondary, playing without Dee Milliner, was expected to be torn apart by the Bears passing attack.
However, the unit wasn't all that bad on Monday.
Yes, constant pressure on Jay Cutler by the defensive front and a limited Brandon Marshall were two big reasons for the decent performance, but the unit made some nice plays regardless.
Darrin Walls made a couple of standout plays in coverage, and the pass interference call on him in the first quarter was just plain wrong.
Antonio Allen was all over the field, making both good and bad plays. He was beaten badly by Alshon Jeffery for a big gain early in the third quarter and dropped an easy interception in the fourth, but he made several touchdown-saving tackles that were worthy of praise.
The unit struggled to contain Bears tight end Martellus Bennett throughout the evening, as he racked up five catches for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
Defending pass-catching tight ends has been an issue for the secondary in recent years, and it appears the problem could continue in 2014.
Grade: B-
Special Teams
8 of 10
Nick Folk is New York's MVP.
Folk nailed all four of his field goals from various distances to keep the Jets in it. He's now 7-of-7 on the season and just might be the most reliable kicker in the league.
However, a muffed punt by Jalen Saunders that ultimately resulted in a Chicago touchdown brings down the special teams grade substantially.
Mistakes like that one make the difference between good teams and bad teams, and it ended up being very costly on Monday.
Grade: C+
Coaching
9 of 10
Discipline was a concern coming into the game, but Rex Ryan's troops played a pretty clean game in that regard, committing just six penalties.
However, this was a badly coached game in basically every other area.
Ryan did a decent job of drawing up various blitzes to prevent Jay Cutler from getting comfortable, but some of his blitz calls were odd given the scenario and allowed the Bears to pick up some big first downs.
Nonetheless, Ryan's defense put in a good showing, limiting the high-flying Bears to just 17 points on offense.
Marty Mornhinweg, on the other hand, should be one of the main goats in this loss. He made some questionable calls throughout the game, especially in the critical scenarios.
He elected to keep running with Chris Johnson in the second half as opposed to Chris Ivory, even though Ivory's physical rushing style was much more successful.
Mornhinweg also called numerous roll-outs that left a Chicago defensive lineman unblocked off the edge. Smith often had to elude the pass-rusher before the play even began.
Another awful play call game in the first half, when the coordinator decided it would be a good idea to run a quarterback draw at the 2-yard line instead of just stuffing it up the middle with his powerful running back.
Mornhinweg has a creative style, and he has his good days and bad days. His play-calling in Monday's game was just horrendous, though.
Grade: C-
Cumulative Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| Quarterback | C- |
| Running Back | B- |
| Wide Receiver/Tight End | B- |
| Offensive Line | C+ |
| Defensive Line | A |
| Linebacker | A- |
| Secondary | B- |
| Special Teams | C+ |
| Coaching | C- |
Cumulative Grade: C+
The Jets outplayed the Bears for most of Monday's game, but they ultimately fell short of the victory thanks to some key mistakes.
The loss can be put squarely on the shoulders of the offense and coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. The unit couldn't get in the end zone throughout the game, despite posting successful drives on seemingly every possession.
The awkward play-calling, along with some bad decisions by Smith, were the reasons for that.
New York needs to win games when its defense plays like it did on Monday, but it can't with the offense basically giving the game away.
If the first phase doesn't improve, it could be another long season in the Big Apple.
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