New Orleans Saints vs. Chicago Bears: Full Report Card Grades for Chicago
After losing two straight games to the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys on consecutive Thursdays, the Chicago Bears were unable to get anything going on Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints. Chicago mustered just 278 yards of total offense and lost 31-15.
The Bears were forced to start four rookies on Monday night, including two who went undrafted this past May, via Bob LeGere of the Daily Herald:
"#Bears start 4 rookies tonight: CB Kyle Fuller, S Brock Vereen, LB Christian Jones and OLG Ryan Groy. Jones and Groy were both undrafted.
— Bob LeGere (@BobLeGere) December 16, 2014"
Chicago's defense struggled all night and gave up 443 yards of total offense. Saints quarterback Drew Brees completed 29 of his 36 pass attempts for 275 yards with three touchdowns and finished with a quarterback rating of 137.8.
In addition to being unable to slow down Brees on defense, Chicago's offense struggled to get into any kind of rhythm.
“Overall, I just think it’s rhythm,” tight end Martellus Bennett said Monday night, via Adam L. Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times. “We really don’t have a flow or a rhythm. There are some positions on the team that need to step up with leadership and things like that around the club."
When pressed on who needs to step up in terms of leadership, Bennett would not elaborate.
“Several people,” he said. “I don’t really get into the name thing. They know who they are.”
Head coach Marc Trestman appeared to have no answers for his team's performance during his postgame press conference, via Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com:
"Marc Trestman sums up the season: "We’re all working together and we’re not getting it done."
— jon greenberg (@jon_greenberg) December 16, 2014"
The Bears will now focus their attention on the Detroit Lions on Sunday for their final game at Soldier Field this season.
Here are our grades for each Bears unit following the Week 15 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Controversy is nothing new for quarterback Jay Cutler, but he faced a bevy of it this past week in preparation for Monday night's game against the Saints.
After a report surfaced from the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport saying the Bears have "buyer's remorse" regarding Cutler, it was revealed that offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer apologized to the offense last week for the comments he made to Rapoport, via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
Cutler handled the scrutiny well this week and believed in the sincerity of Kromer's apology to him, via Bob LeGere of the Daily Herald:
"#Bears QB Jay Cutler on if Kromer's apology was insincere: "He was sincere. He meant it. He was sorry the situation got the better of him."
— Bob LeGere (@BobLeGere) December 12, 2014"
Even with all the Kromer nonsense seemingly behind him, Cutler struggled mightily on Monday night.
He completed just six of his 14 pass attempts for 56 yards with two interceptions in the first half and was sacked three times. He finished the game with 17 completions on 31 attempts with two touchdowns, three interceptions and a quarterback rating of 55.8. He was also sacked seven times.
He looked completely out of sync Monday night. He was skittish in the pocket, missed on a handful of passes and clearly did not trust the protection he had in front of him.
If Monday's performance was not his worst of the season, it was pretty close.
Grade: F
Running Back
2 of 10
Running back Matt Forte ran the football 10 times for 45 yards in the first half and finished Monday night's game with 78 yards on 16 carries. In addition to his yards on the ground, he also hauled in two catches for 21 yards.
While he was solid running the football when given the opportunity, he did struggle in pass protection, via 670 The Score radio host Dan Bernstein:
"Can Matt Forte pass-protect at all? #Bears
— Dan Bernstein (@dan_bernstein) December 16, 2014"
There appeared to be some miscommunication between Forte and right guard Kyle Long on one particular sack of Cutler, via the Chicago Tribune's Rich Campbell:
"Kyle Long and Matt Forte are presumably discussing that blown pickup after that sack.
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) December 16, 2014"
Backup Ka'Deem Carey finished the night with one carry for four yards and hauled in three catches for 39 yards.
Despite a solid effort from Forte in the running game, the running backs registered their worst grade of the season against the Saints on Monday night.
Grade: D-
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
The Bears were without wide receiver Brandon Marshall on Monday night after he was placed on injured reserve following a rib injury he suffered against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14, via Biggs:
"#Bears place WR Brandon Marshall on injured reserve. WR Josh Bellamy promoted from practice squad to take his place.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) December 8, 2014"
With Marshall out of the lineup, second-year man Marquess Wilson saw increased playing time against the Saints in Week 15. He hauled in three catches for 16 yards and recorded his first career touchdown.
Alshon Jeffery led the way for Chicago's offense, catching four passes for 78 yards with one touchdown. Tight end Martellus Bennett caught four passes for 36 yards, while reserve Dante Rosario caught one pass for four yards.
Chicago's receivers struggled all night to get open against a Saints secondary that has itself struggled at times this season. Without Marshall in the lineup, the Saints were able to keep Jeffery tied up for much of the night. Wilson and reserve Josh Morgan were both unable to take advantage of the single coverage they were getting throughout much of the game.
Jeffery and Bennett both flashed at times late in the game, but it ended up being too little, too late for Chicago.
Grade: F
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Undrafted rookie Ryan Groy replaced Michael Ola at left guard against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14 and battled with Ola for the job throughout the week in practice, via John Mullin of CSNChicago.com:
"#Bears Trestman says Ryan Groy and Michael Ola competing at LG - "both get work"
— John Mullin (@CSNMoonMullin) December 8, 2014"
Groy did enough in practice this past week and made his first career start on Monday Night Football. He started off strong and looked good at the point of attack, particularly on a screen pass to Ka'Deem Carey.
"Couple of nice blocks from rookie guard Ryan Groy on that screen pass to Ka'Deem Carey.
— Bears Talk (@CSNBears) December 16, 2014"
He wore down a bit as the game went on but played well for an undrafted rookie in his first career start.
The rest of the offensive line struggled. Cutlerb was sacked seven times on Monday night, and the Saints had no problem getting pressure on him throughout the game.
Left tackle Jermon Bushrod gave up a sack and was not pleased with Cutler's decision to not throw the football away, via NFL.com's Chris Wesseling:
"Right here https://t.co/6NjqJO4sqT RT @LRiddickESPN: Take note of Bushrod's reaction to Cutler taking that sack. Says a lot...
— Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) December 16, 2014"
Both Bushrod and right tackle Jordan Mills struggled on Monday night, but neither struggled as much as center Roberto Garza. He struggled to open up lanes in the running game and was dominated by Akiem Hicks late in the ballgame, via Sports Illustrated's Aaron Nagler:
"Domination https://t.co/wJNP9GouO8
— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) December 16, 2014"
In a season filled with disappointing performances from the Bears offensive line, Monday night may have seen their worst performance of the season.
Grade: F
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff returned to the lineup on Monday night for the first time since the team's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in November, via Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com:
"#Bears DT Jeremiah Ratliff is active.
— Jeff Dickerson (@ESPNChiBears) December 16, 2014"
He finished the game with just two tackles and one quarterback hit.
Defensive end Jared Allen led all defensive lineman with four tackles. He also finished with one tackle for loss, two pass deflections and one quarterback hit.
Willie Young recorded one of the team's two sacks of Drew Brees on the night. He finished with two tackles, one tackle for loss and one quarterback hit.
Defensive tackles Stephen Paea, Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton all recorded just one tackle apiece on Monday night.
Chicago struggled mightily to get any sort of pressure on Brees throughout much of the game. Allen and Young did a nice job of collapsing the edges, but Chicago's defensive tackles could not create much pressure up the middle. They did help limit the Saints to 83 yards on 26 carries but were unable to slow down Brees and the passing game.
Grade: D
Linebacker
6 of 10
Chicago's linebacker corps took yet another hit this past week before the game when the team had to place both D.J. Williams and Darryl Sharpton on injured reserve, via the team's official Twitter account:
"#Bears have placed LB D.J. Williams on IR w/ neck injury & signed FB Montell Owens, a two-time Pro Bowler on special teams w/ Jaguars.
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 11, 2014"
"#Bears have placed LB Darryl Sharpton on IR with hamstring injury & promoted QB David Fales from practice squad.
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 13, 2014"
Sharpton had been out of the lineup for the past few weeks, but Williams had been a staple at middle linebacker for the team in recent weeks. With Lance Briggs placed on injured reserve following the team's loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day, the Bears trotted out a new trio of starting linebackers on Monday night.
"I just want to fly around there and make plays," Jones said earlier in the week, via Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com. "I feel like I've got a lot of ability. I've been getting coached up since I've been here, I just want to go out there and show them what I can do."
Jones led the team with 13 total tackles, including eight solo. He was solid against the run but showed he needs to improve in pass coverage.
Second-year man Jon Bostic got the start at middle linebacker and finished the game with eight tackles. Veteran Shea McClellin finished with three tackles.
All three linebackers played average games against the run, but they all struggled in coverage. It wasn't their worst performance of the season, but it certainly was not their best.
Grade: D
Secondary
7 of 10
After injuring his back last week against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football, free safety Chris Conte was unable to play Monday night and was replaced by rookie Brock Vereen, via Bob LeGere of the Daily Herald:
"#Bears will start rookie FS Brock Vereen for Chris Conte (back) and undrafted rookie Ryan Groy at OLG in place of Michael Ola (back).
— Bob LeGere (@BobLeGere) December 16, 2014"
Vereen got caught too often playing way off the ball, particularly on a deep pass to tight end Jimmy Graham, via Bleacher Report's Matt Bowen:
"Look how deep Vereen was on the pass to Graham. Can't help the D when you drop to a depth of 25 yards. Tighten down & impact the route.
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) December 16, 2014"
He appeared more concerned about not getting beat deep than trying to make a play on the football. He finished the game with four tackles.
Strong safety Ryan Mundy played well against the run and finished with nine tackles, one tackle for loss, one pass deflection and one sack.
Rookie Kyle Fuller struggled again on Monday night when faced with the difficult challenge of trying to slow down Graham. He finished the game with three tackles.
Veteran Tim Jennings made a couple of plays to break up passes against the Saints but has been largely disappointing this year after signing a long-term extension this past offseason. He finished with four tackles.
The secondary did not get any help from the defensive line in terms of pressure but struggled all night to keep the New Orleans receivers in check.
Grade: F
Special Teams
8 of 10
For the second week in a row, kicker Robbie Gould was inactive and replaced by veteran Jay Feely, via Chicago Bears radio network sideline reporter Zach Zaidman:
"Jay Feely is dressed for action. Robbie Gould will not play tonight.
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) December 15, 2014"
Feely did not attempt a field goal and made his only extra-point try.
Rookie punter Pat O'Donnell once again flashed his big leg on Monday night. He punted six times for 299 yards and landed three inside the 20-yard line.
Veteran return man Marc Mariani continued his steady play against the Saints and returned five kicks for 142 yards.
Despite some positives, Chicago's special teams still had some negatives. Senorise Perry was penalized on the opening kickoff, and the team was also penalized for not having enough players on the field during an attempted fake punt:
"#Bears try a fake punt with 3 yds to go. Problem is: Bears were in illegal formation with only 10 men on the field.
— Bears Talk (@CSNBears) December 16, 2014"
Even though there were some mistakes, O'Donnell's and Mariani's strong performances helped elevate special teams' grade against the Saints.
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 10
At this point in the season, there is not much else that can be said about Chicago's coaching staff. Each and every week Marc Trestman and his staff appear to be out-coached by the opposition.
Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden was stunned by Chicago's performance in the first half, via ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert:
"“One of the most disappointing halves of offensive football I’ve seen from anybody in a while.” — Jon Gruden on Bears.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) December 16, 2014"
Trestman simply had no answers on offense on Monday night. When the running game started to come alive with Matt Forte, he opted to go away from the ground attack and decided to sling the football all over the field.
Bleacher Report's Matt Miller does not think Trestman will return next season:
"I don't see how Marc Trestman can keep his job after this season. Too bad, he's a great guy.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) December 16, 2014"
In terms of defense and special teams, neither Mel Tucker nor Joe DeCamillis had great game plans on Monday night, but the team's failure against the Saints falls squarely on Trestman.
Grade: F
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | F |
| RB | D- |
| WR/TE | F |
| OL | F |
| DL | D |
| LB | D |
| Secondary | F |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | F |
| Cumulative Grade | F |
Even though the Bears dropped to 5-9 on the season, they still have two more games to play against the Detroit Lions (10-4) and Minnesota Vikings (6-8). The team will play host to the Lions in Week 16 at Soldier Field.
With the Lions fighting for playoff positioning, the Bears will have an opportunity to play spoiler against one of their division rivals. Chicago has had its fair share of turmoil this season, so there is no way of knowing which team will show up at Soldier Field this Sunday.
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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