Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears: Full Report Card Grades for Chicago
Following back-to-back Thursday night games and a Monday night game, the Chicago Bears played their first Sunday game since November 23 when they took on the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Soldier Field. Despite going into halftime tied 7-7, the Bears lost 20-14.
The Bears have now lost four straight against the Lions dating back to last season, via Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com:
"The Bears have been swept by the Lions in back-to-back years for the first time sine 1972-73.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) December 21, 2014"
Backup quarterback Jimmy Clausen started over Jay Cutler and finished with 181 yards passing with two touchdowns and one interception. He was also sacked twice. The team only mustered up 234 yards of total offense for the day.
"He was out there playing football, making some plays and having fun," center Roberto Garza said about Clausen after the game, via ChicagoBears.com. "You could see him getting fired up and that was good to see."
Clausen may have been fired up, but he did not provide the kind of spark that head coach Marc Trestman was looking for when he made the change at quarterback last week. Dan Bernstein, radio host for 670 The Score, compared Clausen's performance on Sunday versus Cutler's against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day:
"Clausen rating today: 77. Cutler v. DET on Thanksgiving: 77. 14 points today, 17 then. #Bears
— Dan Bernstein (@dan_bernstein) December 21, 2014"
On the other side of the football, Chicago gave up 367 yards of total offense, including 74 yards rushing to running back Joique Bell. Even though the defense was able to pick off quarterback Matthew Stafford twice, the Bears were unable to slow down the Lions at the end of the game.
"Terrible. Terrible. There are no moral victories in football, we lost," defensive end Jared Allen said after the game, via ChicagoBears.com. "Defensively, we gave up a drive to do it. It's one of those games you can't give that up. We missed some tackles and they ran the ball in."
Detroit's win against the Bears sets up its showdown against the Green Bay Packers next week for the NFC North crown. The Bears (5-10) will now head up to Minnesota in Week 17 to take on the Vikings (6-9) in their final game of the season.
Here are our grades for each Bears unit following the Week 16 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Quarterback
1 of 10
After a disappointing 2014 season, head coach Marc Trestman opted to bench quarterback Jay Cutler in favor of Jimmy Clausen for Sunday's game. Trestman explained his reasoning in a press conference on Thursday, via Jeremy Stoltz of BearReport.com:
"Trestman: "This is performance-based only. We're not getting enough out of our quarterback right now."
— Jeremy Stoltz (@BearReport) December 18, 2014"
When asked at the press conference whether starting Clausen over Cutler was going to create a rift in the locker room, Trestman said he based his decision on who gave his team the best chance to win on Sunday.
‘‘I can’t speak for anybody else,’’ he said, via Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘‘We’ve made a change. Jimmy is going to play. I know each and every guy is playing to win the game. That’s how we look at it — in that positive fashion.’’
Clausen started off the game a bit shaky but finished the first half with 106 passing yards on 14 completions with one touchdown and a quarterback rating of 86.5. He finished the game with 181 yards passing on 23 completions with two touchdowns, one interception and a 77 quarterback rating.
At first glance, his numbers do not look that bad, but he averaged just 4.6 yards per attempt. His wide receivers, namely Alshon Jeffery, did not do him any favors by dropping a handful of passes, but Chicago's offense did not look that much different with him under center.
The offense benefited from short fields on both of Clausen's touchdown throws and was largely inept throughout most of the game.
Clausen likely gained some support from the fanbase after popping back up following this helmet-to-helmet hit he suffered in the fourth quarter, via Bleacher Report's Bear Heiser:
"The Ziggy Ansah hit on Jimmy Clausen. #Bears #nfl https://t.co/zPMcXfL0cK
— Bear Heiser (@BearHeiser) December 21, 2014"
Despite the "fire" he showed after that hit, Clausen simply played an average game against the Lions.
Grade: C
Running Back
2 of 10
After getting just five carries for six yards against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day, running back Matt Forte had 11 carries for 33 yards in the first half. He finished the game with 55 yards on 19 carries. He hauled in five catches for 36 yards and a touchdown in the first half and finished with six catches for 66 yards.
Detroit came into the game boasting the league's best run defense and stymied Forte's production all afternoon. Other than a couple of solid runs, Forte struggled to find many running lanes. He averaged just 2.9 yards per carry.
Backup Ka'Deem Carey did not make an appearance on offense.
Even though Forte did not have a big impact in the running game, Chicago's decision to run the football early and often helped open up the passing game for Clausen as the game wore on.
Grade: C
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
After the switch was made late in the week to go with Clausen at quarterback, Alshon Jeffery said that the team was just going to have to "go with it."
‘‘We’re all surprised [by the switch],’’ Jeffery said, via Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times, ‘‘but coach Trestman is the head coach. We’re the players. We just got to go with it.’’
Jeffery led the team with 72 receiving yards on six catches with a touchdown, but he had a handful of frustrating drops, via Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times:
"#Bear WR Alshon Jeffery is not having his best day today. Four drops?
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) December 21, 2014"
Second-year man Marquess Wilson led the team in catches with seven and finished with 66 yards on 10 targets. He and Clausen looked like they had good chemistry together, but Wilson also struggled with drops.
"Another drop by #Bears WR. Wilson wouldn't have had the 1st, but would've put #Bears in position to try for game-tying FG.
— Bears Talk (@CSNBears) December 21, 2014"
Reserve receiver Josh Morgan had two catches for two yards, while tight ends Dante Rosario and Martellus Bennett combined for two catches for one yard.
Even though Clausen was getting solid protection to start the game, Chicago's receivers and tight ends did a poor job of hanging onto the football and getting open downfield.
Sunday was one of the group's worst performances of the season.
Grade: F
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
When Chicago's list of inactives came out before the game, right guard Kyle Long was the biggest name on the list. With him unable to play with a hip injury, Michael Ola got the start at right guard, via Bob LeGere of the Daily Herald:
"#Bears ORG Kyle Long (hip) is inactive, so starting guards vs. #Lions are 2 undrafted rookies, Michael Ola at ORG and Ryan Groy at OLG.
— Bob LeGere (@BobLeGere) December 21, 2014"
Jeremy Stoltz of BearReport.com reiterated how important Long has been at right guard this season:
"Loss of Kyle Long will severely hurt #Bears pass protection. Long hasn't allowed a sack all season. Could be a long day for Jimmy Clausen.
— Jeremy Stoltz (@BearReport) December 21, 2014"
Ola made his first start at right guard and his 12th of the season, while fellow undrafted rookie Ryan Groy got his second straight start at left guard.
Both Ola and Groy started off well but wore down as the game went on. The offensive line as a whole only allowed two sacks, but the Lions registered six quarterback hits.
Considering the circumstances, Ola and Groy played decently, but veteran center Roberto Garza struggled all afternoon against defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
It wasn't its best performance of the season, but Chicago's offensive line played a solid game against one of the league's best defensive lines.
Grade: C-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
After struggling to get much pressure on New Orleans' Drew Brees last week, Chicago's defensive line played a solid game against the Lions.
Jared Allen, Jeremiah Ratliff and David Bass all sacked Matthew Stafford in the first half.
Allen and Ratliff both finished with two tackles and Bass finished with three. Stephen Paea had three tackles and one quarterback hit, while undrafted rookie Brandon Dunn finished with one tackle and one pass deflection.
Unfortunately for the Bears, the team's leader in sacks, Willie Young, was carted off the field with an Achilles injury, via Dan Durkin of 670TheScore.com:
"#Bears DE Willie Young is OUT for the rest of the game with an Achilles injury.
— dan durkin (@djdurkin) December 21, 2014"
Bass and Cornelius Washington received the majority of Young's reps after he left. Bass played well and helped apply pressure to Stafford, but Washington struggled against the run.
Rookie Ego Ferguson had to take a couple plays off after he was stomped on by Lions center Dominic Raiola.
"Here's another look at Riola stepping on Ego Ferguson. #Bears #NFL @adamhoge (totally intentional) https://t.co/4q7FsgK8s4
— Bear Heiser (@BearHeiser) December 21, 2014"
Raiola was not penalized on the play. Ferguson shook his hand after the game but was still not pleased with what happened, via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times:
"#Bears' Ego Ferguson on Raiola postgame handshake following stomp: 'None of that matters. We all saw the play.'
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) December 21, 2014"
Despite the injuries up front, Chicago's defensive line continued to fight throughout the game. It struggled against the run, but the pressure it applied on Stafford helped set up both of his interceptions.
Grade: B-
Linebacker
6 of 10
For the second week in a row, undrafted rookie linebacker Christian Jones led the team in tackles. He finished with 11 tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss and one quarterback hit.
He played well against the run and did a nice job of squaring up and making solid tackles. His sack on Stafford in the first half was the first of his career.
Second-year man Jon Bostic started his second straight game at middle linebacker against the Lions. He finished second on the team with six tackles and one tackle for loss. He did struggle with reading and reacting in the run game, but he did a nice job against the Lions on screen passes.
Shea McClellin once again got the start at strong-side linebacker and finished the game with just one tackle. After spending most of his time this season only on the strong side in the team's base defense, he did see a couple of reps alongside Bostic in the nickel. He continues to be a liability in the passing game, particularly on play action, via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune:
"Play-action on second-and-9 sucked Shea McClellin forward, opening the passing lane on the slant. And Megatron won vs. Fuller at the LOS
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) December 21, 2014"
Jones' performance alone helped bolster the linebacker corps overall grade.
Grade: C
Secondary
7 of 10
Kyle Fuller struggled against Calvin Johnson in the team's first meeting on Thanksgiving Day and tried to redeem himself on Sunday afternoon. Johnson started off strong, but the rookie held his own for much of the game, via Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com:
"Calvin Johnson has 77 yards receiving, but Kyle Fuller has done a good job on him.
— Michael C. Wright (@mikecwright) December 21, 2014"
While Fuller was coming into his own against one of the league's best, Tim Jennings was struggling. He finished with three tackles and had a hard time defending Golden Tate. He consistently beat Jennings off the line of scrimmage and was able to create separation with regularity. In addition to struggling with Tate, Jennings was also called for pass interference against Corey Fuller, via Dan Durkin of 670TheScore.com:
"Not a smart play by Tim Jennings at all. Was "out of phase" (behind) Fuller. Taught to play the hands in that scenario. Never looked back.
— dan durkin (@djdurkin) December 21, 2014"
With Jennings struggling, safeties Brock Vereen and Ryan Mundy both came away with big interceptions in the red zone. Vereen finished with five tackles and Mundy with three. Mundy also had a chance to grab a second interception but dropped a ball that hit him right in the numbers. He received praise from Bleacher Report's Matt Bowen for his performance in the red zone:
"Another good break on the ball from Mundy in the red zone. Cover 2. Play top-down on the seam.
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) December 21, 2014"
Nickelback Demontre Hurst finished the game with three tackles.
Even though the defense gave up 243 yards through the air, Chicago's secondary still played a pretty solid game against an offense that has the ability to light up the scoreboard.
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 10
A week after some disappointing performances on special teams, Joe DeCamillis' unit played a solid game on Sunday afternoon.
Pat O'Donnell punted six times for 242 yards but did most of his damage on a punt in which he was hit by the Detroit defender, via Bleacher Report's Ty Schalter:
"O'Donnell turned a five-yarder into a 15-yarder and a first down. Nice work.
— Ty Schalter (@tyschalter) December 21, 2014"
Kick returner Marc Mariani had three returns for 74 yards, while kicker Jay Feely did not attempt a field goal.
A couple of the biggest moments of the game came on special teams plays for Chicago. Detroit returner Jeremy Ross lost track of the football on a punt and Sherrick McManis was able to recover the loose ball. The Bears also blocked one of Matt Prater's field-goal attempts.
In a year in which the Bears special teams have been suspect at best, they played one of their best games of the season in their final home game.
Grade: A
Coaching
9 of 10
Head coach Marc Trestman came into Sunday's game with a much more balanced offensive game plan after benching Jay Cutler in favor of Jimmy Clausen.
Trestman did his best to get the game going on the ground and did not ask Clausen to push the football down the field through the air. He had one of his better game plans this season, but the offense was still only able to muster 14 points after it was given a short field due to Detroit's turnovers, via 670 The Score radio host Laurence Holmes:
"See to me, the offense itself is still the issue here. #Bears not getting points without Lions T/O. Still looks bad no matter who's at QB.
— Laurence Holmes (@LaurenceWHolmes) December 21, 2014"
Defensively, Mel Tucker's unit played a nice game and limited the Lions to just 20 points and came away with two takeaways. The defense did a nice job of keeping Chicago in the game, particularly in the second half, but when Detroit needed to turn it on near the end of the fourth quarter, it was able to move the ball at will.
Most of the focus after the game centered on the Clausen/Cutler debate. Trestman would not commit either way, via Jeff Arnold of ChicagoFootball.com:
"Marc Trestman said decision of who starts at QB against Vikings will be made when Bears return to practice Tuesday
— Jeff Arnold (@JeffArnold_CF) December 21, 2014"
Regardless of who starts at quarterback against the Vikings next week, Chicago's offense is going to need to play better if it wants to come away with a victory on the road.
Grade: D
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | C |
| RB | C |
| WR/TE | F |
| OL | C- |
| DL | B- |
| LB | C |
| Secondary | B |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | D |
| Cumulative Grade | C |
The Bears went into Sunday's game against the Lions already fighting an uphill battle. With starting quarterback Jay Cutler on the bench and guard Kyle Long out of the lineup, backup Jimmy Clausen was forced to go up against one of the league's best defenses without very much help around him.
The team had an opportunity to play spoiler against the Lions on Sunday afternoon, but it was unable to get anything going on either side of the ball. It will now head to Minnesota in Week 17 for its final game of the season. With head coach Marc Trestman likely out the door once the season officially ends, it will be interesting to see what sort of effort the Bears give next 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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