Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Chicago Bears: Full Report Card Grades for Chicago
Needing a win to stay relevant in the playoff race, the Chicago Bears came away victorious on Sunday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bears struggled mightily on offense in the first half but found life in the second when their defense was able to create three turnovers.
The offense scored 21 second-half points, and the team came away with a 21-13 victory.
“We all took our turns messing up,” left tackle Jermon Bushrod said about the team's struggles in the first half, via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “And we had to find a way to come together, and we did.”
The offense struggled as a whole all afternoon, racking up just 204 yards of total offense. Quarterback Jay Cutler threw for just 130 yards on 27 attempts and was sacked three times. After carrying the football just six times for 16 yards in the first half, running back Matt Forte finished the game with 89 rushing yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns.
On the other side of the football, Chicago's defense gave up 367 yards of total offense, including 341 yards through the air to quarterback Josh McCown. Despite McCown's big numbers, Chicago was able to force him to turn over the ball three times and sacked him five times.
Defensive tackle Stephen Paea stole the show for Chicago's defense. He sacked McCown twice and was the team's tone-setter on defense.
"Today, Paea was the tone-setter," defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff said, via Jeff Arnold of ChicagoFootball.com. "Everybody wants to be the tone-setter and the guy up front, and game-to-game, across the defensive front, that changes. Paea was that guy [Sunday]."
The win helped the Bears improve to 5-6 on the season. They will now head to Detroit this Thursday to take on the Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
Here are our grades for each Bears unit following their Week 12 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Quarterback
1 of 10
After a solid albeit not spectacular performance last week against the Minnesota Vikings, Jay Cutler struggled mightily in the first half against the Buccaneers.
Cutler completed 10 of his 18 pass attempts in the first half for 72 yards and often struggled to hit his receivers in stride. He eventually finished the game with 17 completions on 27 attempts for 130 yards and one touchdown. He also lost a fumble early in the first half.
"Jay Cutler with a sack-fumble, It is his 18th turnover of the season, extending his @NFL lead, two more than Blake Bortles.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 23, 2014"
After getting sacked three times in the first half, he was not sacked in the second.
While he made a handful of solid throws in the second half, he looked out of sorts for much of the afternoon. Tampa Bay did a nice job of applying pressure to him early, and he looked skittish in the pocket.
If Chicago has any chance at making the playoffs this season, Cutler is going to need to play much better than he did against a suspect Tampa Bay defense on Sunday afternoon.
Grade: D
Running Back
2 of 10
After carrying the football just six times for 16 yards in the first half, Matt Forte busted out in the second, picking up 73 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. He did most of his damage in the third quarter, via Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com:
"3rd quarter, Jay Cutler was 5-of-5 throwing for 53 yards and a TD. Was not sacked. Forte had 9 carries for 51 yards (5.7 ypc).
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) November 23, 2014"
In addition to leading the team in rushing yards, Forte also hauled in five catches on the day.
Forte's performance on Sunday put himself in elite company, via the team's official Twitter account:
".@MattForte22 now has more than 1,400 scrimmage yds on the season. Only 3 players have done so in each of their 1st 7 seasons...
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 23, 2014"
"Curtis Martin, LaDanian Tomlinson and @MattForte22 are the only players in NFL history w/ 1,400+ scrimmage yds in each of 1st 7 seasons.
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 23, 2014"
Forte carried most of the load on Sunday afternoon, but rookie Ka'Deem Carey did run the ball three times for three yards and was targeted once in the passing game.
Forte has been Chicago's most consistent player on offense all season long. If the Bears have any chance at making a playoff run, they will need to continue to put the football in his hands.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Following strong performances from Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery in Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings, the duo was invisible at times against Tampa Bay.
The pair combined for 225 yards and three touchdowns on 18 catches against the Vikings but only registered six combined catches for 54 yards and one touchdown on Sunday afternoon.
The Buccaneers played zone all afternoon, limiting Marshall's and Jeffery's impact in the deep passing game, via 670 The Score talk show host Laurence Holmes:
"middle, middle, middle... You play zone against #Bears it negates the skills of Marshall & Jeffery.
— Laurence Holmes (@LaurenceWHolmes) November 23, 2014"
To go along with Marshall's and Jeffery's poor performances, second-year man Marquess Wilson only caught one of the three passes thrown his direction.
Tight end Martellus Bennett led the team in receiving yards with 37 but also had a key drop early in the first half. Reserve tight end Dante Rosario caught one pass for six yards.
Sunday was not the first time this season Chicago's wide receivers and tight ends struggled to get open, but if they play against the Lions this Thursday like they did against the Buccaneers on Sunday, they may be in for a long afternoon on Thanksgiving Day.
Grade: D
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
For the second week in a row, the Bears were forced to start reserve lineman Michael Ola at right tackle in place of Jordan Mills and backup center Brian de la Puente at left guard for the injured Matt Slauson.
Ola held his own for much of the afternoon, but De la Puente was abused early and often in the game by Tampa Bay defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, via 670TheScore.com's Dan Durkin:
"Whiff by Brian de la Puente against McCoy. #Bears offensive line is getting dominated by #Bucs defensive line to start the game.
— dan durkin (@djdurkin) November 23, 2014"
After getting pushed around for much of the first half, Chicago's offensive line responded in the second. Following a turnover by Josh McCown, the Bears put the football in running back Matt Forte's hands and relied on the offensive line to get him into the end zone. After the play was over, Jermon Bushrod and Roberto Garza exuded some nastiness in the end zone, via CSNChicago.com's John Mullin:
"#Bears OL getting nasty - Bushrod shoving Gerald McCoy around, Garza pointing and yelling at #Buccaneers DLman after Matt Forte run
— John Mullin (@CSNMoonMullin) November 23, 2014"
Despite struggling in the first half to protect Cutler and get the running game going, the offensive line tightened up after halftime. The offensive line did not allow a sack in the second half and helped open some running lanes for Forte, particularly on his two touchdown runs.
Grade: C-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
After sacking Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater just twice last week, Chicago's defensive line took down Josh McCown five times on Sunday afternoon.
Defensive tackle Stephen Paea led the way for Chicago's defensive line, racking up two sacks, three tackles and three quarterback hits on the afternoon. He was easily Chicago's most dominant player on defense on Sunday.
In addition to Paea's two sacks, defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff and defensive ends Cornelius Washington and David Bass all sacked McCown. Bass' sack resulted in a fumble by McCown that was scooped up by rookie linebacker Christian Jones.
While they did not put up big numbers on the stat sheet, defensive end Jared Allen and defensive tackles Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton made their presence known all throughout the game. Allen finished with three quarterback hits, while Ferguson and Sutton both came up with big stops in the running game.
Along with getting consistent pressure on McCown for much of the afternoon, Chicago's defensive line helped limit the Buccaneers to just 66 rushing yards on 22 carries, including limiting Doug Martin to just 27 yards on 11 carries.
Even with Allen and Willie Young not producing the sack numbers on Sunday, Chicago's defensive line was easily its most productive group on defense in Week 12.
Grade: A
Linebacker
6 of 10
After a strong showing last week against the Minnesota Vikings, weak-side linebacker Lance Briggs was off to another good start on Sunday against the Buccaneers before a groin injury sidelined him for the second half, via the Daily Herald's Bob LeGere:
"#Bears LB Lance Briggs out for the rest of the game with a groin injury. Replaced by Christian Jones.
— Bob LeGere (@BobLeGere) November 23, 2014"
Prior to his injury, Briggs registered six tackles. He was replaced by Jones, who finished the game with five tackles and a fumble recovery.
Strong-side linebacker Shea McClellin only registered one tackle on the afternoon, but his pressure on Josh McCown early in the game helped set up Chris Conte's interception, via the Chicago Sun-Times' Patrick Finley:
"Just before Conte interception, #Bears ran McClellin on and Bostic off so No. 50 could blitz. He did, helped get pressure.
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) November 23, 2014"
Jon Bostic had an opportunity to come away with a big interception late in the game, but the football went right through his hands. He finished the game with two tackles and one pass deflection. Starting middle linebacker D.J. Williams also finished the game with two tackles.
It was not their best performance of the year, but Chicago's linebackers played an average game against an average Tampa Bay offense.
Grade: C
Secondary
7 of 10
Chicago's safeties are often criticized for their poor play, but both Ryan Mundy and Chris Conte came away with interceptions on Sunday afternoon.
Conte's interception came early in the first half when a blitz by Shea McClellin forced Josh McCown to heave the football down the field.
"VINE: What a pick by Chris Conte. #Bears https://t.co/JDR6rmOPOc
— Matthew Schwerha (@MSchwerha) November 23, 2014"
Conte finished the game with four tackles.
Mundy's interception came on a tipped ball thrown by McCown to running back Charles Sims. Bleacher Report's Matt Bowen was not impressed by McCown's throw, tweeting:
"That's a gift for Mundy. Brutal throw from McCown.
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) November 23, 2014"
In addition to his interception, Mundy also led the team with eight total tackles.
Chicago's secondary took a hit in the second half when it was announced that rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller would not be returning due to a knee injury. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported after the game that Fuller's injury was not considered serious.
One of the biggest surprises on Sunday in Chicago's secondary was the play of nickelback Demontre Hurst. Hurst finished the game with seven tackles and was an effective blitzer off the edge at times. To go along with his seven tackles, Hurst also forced a fumble that was recovered by Tim Jennings.
The Bears secondary played well at times but still gave up 100-yard receiving games to wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Louis Murphy.
Grade: C+
Special Teams
8 of 10
Chicago has spent the better part of the 2014 season trying to find a suitable kick returner. Senorise Perry, Rashad Ross and Chris Williams all had opportunities to lock down the position this season, but the team still felt the need to sign veteran return man Marc Mariani this past week.
Mariani returned three kicks for 46 yards and also returned three punts for zero yards. While his numbers do not jump off the page, he showed far better discipline than any of Chicago's returners this season.
After struggling the last few weeks, rookie punter Pat O'Donnell had himself a strong performance on Sunday afternoon. He punted the ball nine times for 367 yards and pinned the Buccaneers inside the 20-yard line twice. Other than a 20-yard punt late in the fourth quarter, O'Donnell played a relatively flawless game.
The biggest miscue of the afternoon for the special teams unit occurred when kicker Robbie Gould missed a 54-yard attempt early in the game. He has now connected on just eight of his 11 field-goal attempts this season. He also has not made a field goal in the last four games.
Chicago's coverage units did a nice job of slowing down Tampa Bay return man Marcus Thigpen. Thigpen averaged just 14 yards on his three kick returns and had two punt returns for a total of 12 yards.
After a handful of awful performances on special teams this year, Chicago had one of its best outings on Sunday.
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
After an abysmal first half that saw Chicago's offense rack up just 68 yards of total offense, head coach Marc Trestman's game plan in the third quarter was all about putting the football in Matt Forte's hands.
Forte was far more productive in the second half, and it has become increasingly frustrating for Bears fans to watch their team take a half-hour to realize that Forte needs to touch the football more often.
Trestman failed to make many adjustments in the second half in the passing game, as the Buccaneers were still able to control the middle of the field with their zone defense.
Luckily for Chicago, defensive coordinator Mel Tucker was able to get production out of his much-maligned defense.
Tucker dialed up a handful of blitzes in the first half to put pressure on Josh McCown, and his defensive line came up big with five sacks on the day. He is often the first person blamed for Chicago's struggles this season, but he had a solid game plan on Sunday afternoon, and his players executed it well.
While Tucker gets high marks for his defense's performance, Trestman's inability to make adjustments in the first half dropped the coaching staff's overall grade.
Grade: C-
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | D |
| RB | B |
| WR/TE | D |
| OL | C- |
| DL | A |
| LB | C |
| Secondary | C+ |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | C- |
| Cumulative Grade | C+ |
This Bears team clearly has a lot of issues to clean up on both sides of the football, but their resilience was on display Sunday afternoon in the second half. Despite being down 10-0 at halftime, the team responded with a much-need 21-13 victory. Chicago’s win helped the team improve to 5-6 on the season and sets up an NFC North showdown with the Detroit Lions this coming Thursday.
Thursday’s game will mark the 33rd time the Bears have played on Thanksgiving Day, but it will be Chicago’s first since 2004 against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Lions dropped to 7-4 on the season following their 34-9 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon. The loss, combined with a Green Bay Packers win over the Minnesota Vikings, has the Lions sitting in second place in the NFC North.
A win against the Lions on Sunday will not make the Bears contenders but will help get them back to .500 on the season and put them one step closer to making a playoff push.
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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