Chicago Bears vs. Atlanta Falcons: Full Report Card Grades for Chicago
After a 27-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon, the Chicago Bears improved to 3-3 on the season.
Despite starting the game without their top four linebackers, Chicago's defense held Atlanta to just 245 total yards and sacked quarterback Matt Ryan four times.
“Defensively, we realized it was like a home game. Once we got the lead, we knew we had to take it," said defensive end Jared Allen after the game, via Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com. "We had some good situational advantages, and we got into those. We were able to take advantage.”
The most impressive part of Sunday's performance was the defense's ability to slow down Atlanta's potent offense, resulting in the least amount of points the defense has allowed under Marc Trestman in his 22 games as head coach, via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune.
Not to be outdone by its defense, Chicago's offense finished the game with 478 total yards, including 381 passing yards from quarterback Jay Cutler.
"We came into it knowing we were going to have to get some chunks," Cutler told the media after the game, via ESPN.com. "We couldn't just dink it."
"Dink it" he did not.
Cutler averaged 10 yards per throw on Sunday afternoon and connected with his receivers on long completions of 74, 47 and 25 yards.
With their win on Sunday, combined with Minnesota's loss to the Detroit Lions, the Bears now sit in third place in the NFC North division. After their victories on Sunday, the Lions and Green Bay Packers sit atop the NFC North standings with identical 4-2 records, with Detroit holding the tiebreaker.
Here are our report card grades for each Bears unit following their Week 6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
Quarterback
1 of 10
After completing 17 of his first 26 pass attempts in the first half for 223 yards and one touchdown, quarterback Jay Cutler finished Sunday's contest with 381 passing yards.
In addition to his touchdown pass to Josh Morgan in the first half, Cutler finished the game with a 109.6 quarterback rating.
Despite his offensive line struggling at times throughout the game, Cutler did a nice job of avoiding pressure and taking what Atlanta's defense was giving him, particularly in the first half.
After Atlanta came down the field and scored on its first possession of the second half, Cutler orchestrated an impressive three-play, 80-yard drive on the team's second possession of the half.
After throwing an incomplete pass to Matt Forte, Cutler hit wide receiver Alshon Jeffery for a 74-yard gain.
"Alshon Jeffery for 75 yards!! #FantasyFootball https://t.co/ZAv8i2A5m2
— Patriots Girl (@_PatsGirl) October 12, 2014"
Throughout Sunday's game, Cutler showed poise, good footwork and maintained solid mechanics for the majority of the game.
Despite only throwing one touchdown, he may have played his best game of the season Sunday afternoon.
Grade: A+
Running Back
2 of 10
Sunday was once again another productive day at the office for running back Matt Forte.
Forte led the team in rushing, picking up 80 yards on 17 carries. He also scored his first two rushing touchdowns of the season.
In addition to his productive day on the ground, he also hauled in a game-high 10 passes and finished with 77 receiving yards.
Even with his offensive line struggling to open up holes, Forte was able to lower his head and find daylight much of the afternoon, particularly on his nine-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
"What a ballsy call by Trestman to run Forte up the middle on 3rd and goal from the 9 yard line. Forte barreled in for six.
— Bear Heiser (@BearHeiser) October 12, 2014"
In addition to Forte's productive afternoon, Ka'Deem Carey once again held his own in limited opportunities. The rookie finished the game with 19 yards on four carries, with the majority of those carries coming on a crucial fourth quarter drive when the team was trying to run time off the clock.
Each and every week this season, Forte has proven to be the team's most consistent performer on offense. Even after struggling to move the ball on the ground to start the game, he still came away with another productive afternoon.
Because of his strong showing on the ground and through the air, the running back unit once again grades out as one of the team's best this week.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
After a handful of disappointing outings following an ankle injury he suffered in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, wide receiver Brandon Marshall broke out in a big way Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
Marshall hauled in five catches for 100 yards in the first half and finished the game with six catches for 113 yards, including a 47-yard catch in the first half.
In addition to Marshall's strong performance, Jeffery hauled in five catches for 136 yards, including a 74-yard catch from Jay Cutler in the third quarter.
Bleacher Report's Matt Bowen felt Marshall and Jeffery had an advantage against the Falcons' defensive backs all afternoon:
"#Bears O had matchup advantage vs. ATL secondary. Inside cuts with Marshall & Jeffery. Size/strength to win vs. outside leverage.
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) October 12, 2014"
While Marshall and Jeffery received all the accolades for their strong performance, veteran Josh Morgan hauled in the lone receiving touchdown of the afternoon, a three-yard pass from Jay Cutler in the end zone in the first half.
Not to be outdone by his wide receiver counterparts, tight end Martellus Bennett hauled in four catches for 52 yards, including a 25-yard reception late in the third quarter. Despite his productive afternoon through the air, Bennett could have had an even bigger impact had he not dropped two passes, via Sports Town Chicago host Gabe Salgado.
If it were not for Bennett's drops, the wide receivers and tight ends would have finished with a slightly higher grade, but they still come away with one of the highest grades on offense for their performance on Sunday.
Grade: A
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Despite Chicago's offense racking up 368 yards through the air and 110 yards on the ground, the Bears offensive line struggled at times on Sunday afternoon against the Falcons.
The team welcomed back center Roberto Garza after he missed the last four games with an ankle injury, but the offensive line still gave up three sacks on the afternoon.
In addition to giving up three sacks, the offensive line struggled with penalties all afternoon, particularly second-year man Jordan Mills.
Mills was called for three penalties on the afternoon and gave up a lot of pressure against a Falcons defensive line that struggled to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks all season long, leaving the Chicago Tribune's Dan Wiederer and 670TheScore.com's Dan Durkin to criticize his performance:
"This has been a dicey first half for right tackle Jordan Mills. Not sharp. Allowed pressure there on key third down.
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) October 12, 2014"
"Hate to keep focusing on Mills, but he's clearly rattled. Negative plays and forcing #Bears to run routes with less eligible receivers.
— dan durkin (@djdurkin) October 12, 2014"
Regardless of Mills' poor performance, the offensive line played well enough to win Sunday's game, but they will need to show some improvement in the future with more talented defenses remaining on their upcoming schedule.
Grade: B-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
After a bout of pneumonia knocked Jared Allen out of Chicago's Week 4 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, the 11-year veteran finally looked like his old self against the Falcons on Sunday afternoon.
Allen finished the game with two tackles and recorded his first sack of the season. After the game, he explained to the media why he was finally able to have some success against the Falcons, via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune:
"Jared Allen noted several keys to the successful pass rush today. Most importantly, finally playing a traditional (non-zone-read) offense.
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) October 13, 2014"
Not to be outdone by Allen, Willie Young once against stole the show on defense, racking up two sacks, increasing his season total to seven.
Allen praised Young's strong start after the game, via Campbell:
"Allen on getting his first sack: "Now I just got to try to catch Willie somehow. That dude is on fire right now."
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) October 13, 2014"
Defensive tackle Stephen Paea accounted for the team's fourth sack of Ryan for the game.
Paea, Lamarr Houston and Will Sutton each finished the game with one pass deflection.
It took a few weeks, but it looks like Chicago's defensive line is finally starting to click. The return of Jeremiah Ratliff helped against the run, and the team's ability to rotate fresh bodies in and out of the lineup has left the unit much fresher at the end of games.
Because of their ability to get after Ryan and limit the Falcons to just 42 yards rushing, the defensive line received their highest grade of the season.
Grade: A+
Linebacker
6 of 10
With Lance Briggs, D.J. Williams and Jon Bostic out of the lineup due to injuries, the Bears had to rely on a trio of inexperienced linebackers against the Falcons on Sunday afternoon.
Rookie Christian Jones made his first career start at strong-side linebacker, Khaseem Greene made his first start of the season at weak-side linebacker and Darryl Sharpton started at middle linebacker.
Despite being without Briggs, Williams and Bostic, the linebacker corps played extremely well considering the circumstances.
"The #Bears with Khaseem Greene, Christian Jones and Darryl Sharpton at LB have held third-highest scoring team to 13 points on the road.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) October 12, 2014"
Greene finished the game as the team's leading tackler, racking up eight tackles on the afternoon. Sharpton finished with five tackles, while Jones finished with four.
Sharpton was easily the most impressive of the three linebackers, and BearReport.com's Jeremy Stoltz took note of Sharpton's performance:
"Thought he was great. Flew around, made plays on ball. Added speed and toughness RT @CoreyBohler What did you think of Sharpton?
— Jeremy Stoltz (@BearReport) October 13, 2014"
Despite having a relatively inexperienced linebacker corps out on the field, defensive coordinator Mel Tucker was not afraid to send one or two of them on blitzes, particularly early on in the game.
It is unknown how much this trio will play together in the future, but they showed on Sunday afternoon they are more than able to hold their own in the NFL.
Grade: A
Secondary
7 of 10
Faced with the difficult challenge of going up against one of the league's best wide receiver duos in Julio Jones and Roddy White, rookie Kyle Fuller once again looked like one of the league's best young cornerbacks.
All afternoon Fuller showed off his incredible closing speed and awareness, evident by these tweets from Bleacher Report's Matt Bowen and 670 The Score's Matt Spiegel:
"Closing speed from Fuller. Go under the pick & play the ball.
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) October 12, 2014"
"Kyle Fuller has veteran elite CB skills. Amazing awareness.
— Matt Spiegel (@MattSpiegel670) October 12, 2014"
Along with veteran Tim Jennings and second-year nickelback Demontre Hurst, Chicago's cornerbacks held Jones and White to a combined seven catches for 108 yards and no touchdowns.
Fuller forced a fumble on Jones early in the game, while Hurst came away with an interception late in the game on a pass intended for Jones.
"Hurst was playing the sticks on the INT. That's smart. Get depth & take away the route.
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) October 12, 2014"
While the cornerbacks were playing a nice game, the safety position was once again shuffled when Chris Conte left the game with a shoulder injury.
Rookie Brock Vereen replaced Conte at free safety and finished with two tackles. Strong safety Ryan Mundy finished the game with one tackle, but his hard hit on Roddy White early in the game made Atlanta's wide receivers think twice before coming across the middle.
"Who was that protecting that middle????!!!!! #21 Mundy is bringing that Thunder today!!! https://t.co/NipBbVanIa
— ANTHONY ADAMS (@spiceadams) October 12, 2014"
Since the cornerbacks were able to slow down the Falcons' top receiving duo, and the safeties were able to set the tone in the middle of the field, Chicago's secondary received one of its highest grades this season for their performance against the Falcons.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
8 of 10
After an awful outing in Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers, Chicago's special teams unit played a little better on Sunday afternoon against the Falcons.
The team's coverage units did a great job of limiting Devin Hester's impact in the return game, giving up just 10 total yards on two punts and 44 yards on two kick returns.
While the coverage unit played well, they were still plagued by mistakes on Sunday afternoon, including allowing one of Robbie Gould's extra point attempts to get blocked, via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune:
"Blocked extra point. Just the latest special teams problem for #Bears as rookie Ra'Shede Hageman gets the ball.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) October 12, 2014"
Another gaffe came when kick returner Chris Williams opted to take the football out of the end zone, despite the ball having been kicked all the way to the back of the end zone, resulting in Williams only making it out to the 15-yard line.
The unit should be commended for keeping Hester in check, but their weekly mistakes are eventually going to cost this team a win this season.
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 10
After struggling with second-half adjustments last week against the Carolina Panthers, head coach Marc Trestman and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker arguably called their best game of the season against the Falcons.
The Bears offense scored just six points in the second half of the team's last two games against Carolina and the Green Bay Packers, but the offense put 14 points on the board against the Falcons in the second half on Sunday afternoon.
The offense was content with picking up yards on short pass plays in the first half, but Trestman's game plan in the second half called for quarterback Jay Cutler to push the football down the field.
On the other side of the football, Tucker was finally able to get some production out of his defensive line. Chicago's defense sacked quarterback Matt Ryan four times, and Tucker appeared more willing to blitz the opposing quarterback.
While Trestman and Tucker had terrific game plans on offense and defense, special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis was once again criticized after the game for his unit's poor performance, via WSCR's afternoon host Dan Bernstein:
"I seem to tweet this every week, but there is something fundamentally wrong with the special-teams coaching of Joe DeCamillis. #Bears
— Dan Bernstein (@dan_bernstein) October 12, 2014"
Despite DeCamillis' continued struggles, Trestman and Tucker's overall game plans helped give Chicago's coaching staff one of its best grades of the season.
Grade: A
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | A+ |
| RB | A |
| WR/TE | A |
| OL | B- |
| DL | A+ |
| LB | A |
| Secondary | B+ |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | A |
| Cumulative Grade | B+ |
After struggling in back-to-back weeks on both sides of the football, the Chicago Bears played their most complete game of the 2014 season in their 27-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6.
With the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions both winning on Sunday, the Bears will have to continue to keep pace in the standings until they get into the heart of their divisional schedule later next month.
The Bears will return home to Soldier Field in Week 7 to take on the 2-3 Miami Dolphins. The Bears have yet to win a game at home this season, and the Dolphins proved on Sunday against the Packers that they will be a tough team to beat.
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.
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