Bears vs. Vikings: Full Report Card Grades for Chicago
After weeks of rumors, terrible play and a spot in the NFL's cellar, the Chicago Bears rallied around quarterback Jay Cutler Monday night.
Cutler returned from injury and led the Bears to a 20-10 upset of the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football, putting to bed any whispers about his status as the starter and if the team would respond to him.
More importantly, the Bears announced to the rest of the league they aren't tucking tail on the season. They're going down fighting, getting healthier than ever in 2016, with promising offensive players and a nasty defensive front seven more ferocious by the week as players return.
Monday's game was hard to watch, but in the best possible way. Here's a look at the Bears' grades as the team enters a Week 9 bye looking to get even healthier.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Anyone want to clamor for Brian Hoyer and his statsheet-stuffing ways now?
Crickets.
Cutler put on a show in his return, looking mostly sharp. He had a few gross misfires in the first half, but Alshon Jeffery certainly wasn't doing him any favors until the second half.
And the delayed play action to freeze the safety on his touchdown pass to Jeffery in the third quarter? A thing of beauty.
Cutler finished with 252 yards and a score, a triumphant return if there ever was one. The most notable part about it? Cutler looked rusty and has room to improve going into the bye.
Grade: B
Running Back
2 of 10
The Jordan Howard show resumed after a few iffy weeks.
It was hard to tell if Howard would get the majority of the carries with Jeremy Langford back from injury. He did and wound up rushing for 153 yards and a score on a 5.9 per-carry average.
His 69-yard scamper in the first quarter was one of the highlights of the game and a clear sign the Bears came to play.
Langford saw a few snaps, but didn't receive any carries.
After beating up on a defense like Minnesota, it is quite clear the Bears have something special going on in the backfield. The key now is keeping everyone healthy.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
It took a moment for Cutler and his receivers to get back on the same page.
Understandable. What wasn't was Jeffery's struggles in the red zone early in the game. He redeemed himself with highlight catches and a score later, finishing with four catches for 63 yards and the touchdown.
Cameron Meredith once again looked good in small doses, ending his day with one catch for 24 yards. It's clear he's going to be a key piece of the offense for a long time.
Then there was tight end Zach Miller, who brought in seven catches for 88 yards. Clearly a favorite target of Cutler, his big days will continue if Cutler remains healthy.
Grade: B
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
What a job by the Chicago offensive line.
Looking at the film from the win against the Vikings, one would think guards Josh Sitton and Kyle Long had monster games.
They didn't even play.
Down arguably the unit's top two players, the Bears downright bullied the Vikings in the trenches. Cutler only took one sack and had plenty of time most of the night. The ground attack rushed for 158 total yards on an average of 5.4 yards.
The line was slowly growing into a strength before the injury bug struck. Incredibly, the quality of play hasn't dipped despite the woes.
Grade: A+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Chicago's defensive line wasn't far behind its offensive counterpart in quality of play Monday night.
Akiem Hicks was one of the best overall players on the field as the Bears rolled. He's been hit or miss with the team, but not Monday as he worked his way to four total tackles and two sacks.
Jonathan Bullard, Mitch Unrein and others also had strong rotational presences on the night.
Really, the worst part for the defensive line was a downright weird occurrence. Long story short, the Bears didn't pick up a live ball after a busted play. At the same time, Cornelius Washington decided to run onto the field from the bench and received a personal-foul flag.
Outside of the borderline-funny scenario, the Chicago defensive line put on a show.
Grade: B
Linebacker
6 of 10
Chicago fans know how this goes—Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman had great games.
Both men were flying around the field as usual, with Trevathan going for six total tackles and Freeman adding seven more.
But there is a wrinkle this time—the Bears also got strong performances from Leonard Floyd and Pernell McPhee. It's great news for both, as the former needed to have a strong performance to keep growing as a player and the latter needed to simply get back on the field and in form.
The linebackers looking healthy and playing as expected is a large part of the reason the Bears looked like the team many expected to start the season Monday night. The trick now is finding consistency.
Grade: A
Secondary
7 of 10
The Chicago secondary had an easy job Monday night.
That's not meant to discredit the job put on by the guys back there, but with the way the line and linebackers played, Adrian Amos and others didn't have to stay in coverage long on most plays.
Speaking of Amos, he finished with six total tackles. Harold Jones-Quartey wasn't far behind with five.
It wasn't all great, though. Veteran Tracy Porter, playing through an injury, got beat badly deep early in the game and should have coughed up a score. The pass was an overthrow thanks to pressure from the defensive line, but it still tallies here.
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 10
For a minute there, it looked like kicker Connor Barth was going to have a long day, perhaps exposing himself to more Robbie Gould chants.
The offense got it together, though, so Barth only had to attempt two field goals on the night, of which he made both.
Punter Pat O'Donnell was busier, pinning three of his five boots inside the 20-yard line.
Here's where it gets tricky. Chicago's kick-coverage teams put on a show, but punt returner Cre'Von LeBlanc was downright dreadful. Rest assured he won't be handling those duties again after the bye.
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
For the first time this season...zero complaints.
Well, head coach John Fox had an odd challenge. But let it slide, all right?
Fox had his guys playing at an incredible pitch Monday, rallying around Cutler to put on what might be one of the best performances of the year.
On offense, the vanilla, conservative approach from coordinator Dowell Loggains went out the window. In its place was a smart, aggressive attack often catching Minnesota off guard.
It was the same story for the defense led by coordinator Vic Fangio. With guys like McPhee back and Floyd playing well, his defense got pressure with only four guys, freeing up the rest of the unit to make plays.
In all, a great day for the coaches, who have something to build on during the bye week.
Grade: A
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Position Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | B |
| RB | A |
| WR/TE | B |
| OL | A+ |
| DL | B |
| LB | A |
| Secondary | B |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | A |
| Cumulative Grade | A |
Monday, the Bears looked like the team most expected to start the season.
An offense oozing potential, a line with key additions and a front seven almost entirely rebuilt on the defensive side of things seemed ready to have the Bears slugging it out with teams like the Vikings.
Chicago did just that Monday. The win only brought the record to 2-6, but more importantly, the game was a major statement—the team isn't done fighting as it gets healthier. Maybe the playoffs are impossible now. But these Bears can play the spoiler over the rest of the season while building a foundation for the future.
Heading into a bye, the Bears have a great thing going. The key now is building on it, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers awaiting in Week 10.
Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
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