Bears vs. Buccaneers: Full Report Card Grades for Chicago
Chicago Bears fans knew the game was lost in the second quarter.
The score was only 7-3 in an eventual 36-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But guard and team leader Kyle Long went down with an injury and smacked the cart on which he rode off the field in an effort to motivate his Bears.
On the next play, quarterback Jay Cutler got strip-sacked in the red zone, and the Bears lost the ball.
The best thing to come out of the Week 10 loss was a Hail Mary pass to Cameron Meredith as time expired at the end of the first half.
It was the only touchdown the Bears scored on the day.
Within, let's assign grades for the miserable showing, with the numbers unintentionally making it read like an obituary—the Bears now boast a 2-7 record.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Jay Cutler's return to vanquish the Minnesota Vikings sure feels like a long time ago.
It was only two weeks ago, though most probably expected a whole lot more from Cutler coming out of a bye against an iffy Tampa Bay defense.
Their mistake.
Cutler looked uncomfortable from the jump and finished 16-of-30 with 182 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and the fumble. He looked like a guy trying to force the ball to Alshon Jeffery no matter what, and it backfired.
This was one of the worst games of Cutler's career with the Bears, and it spoiled a strong performance by his defense.
Grade: D
Running Back
2 of 10
Jordan Howard looked great when the coaching staff actually used him.
The surprising rookie who stole the job from the rest of the backs on the roster ran 15 times for 100 yards, a 6.7 per-carry average.
Granted, Howard fumbled once. These things happen, and instead of the coaching staff expressing confidence in him by putting him right back in there on the next drive, Howard found himself benched.
Howard should have never made the mistake, but the staff choosing to send a message while still within comeback range shouldn't sit well with anyone. This is still Howard's backfield, and it's not close.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Based on Cutler's performance, most can probably guess how this set of grades will unfold.
Jeffery did what he could when Cutler wasn't throwing the ball into a defensive back's gut, catching four passes for 47 yards. Tight end Zach Miller also pitched in when he could, going for four and 32 in the same areas.
The biggest story of the day was Cameron Meredith. While the upstart wideout only caught one pass, he made it a big one—the Hail Mary mentioned in the intro.
Otherwise, the receiving weapons on the offense were stunted. Not their fault, but so it seems to go for the Bears on an erratic week-to-week basis.
Grade: C
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
There isn't much to say about the offensive line outside of the injury to Long.
The unit has become a strength in recent weeks, even with Long off the field. That, or Minnesota is just a horrific team now.
Either way, the line wasn't looking so hot before Long's injury. Bobby Massie did his best turnstile impersonation before leaving with an injury, and even promising rookie Cody Whitehair whiffed on a block on a screen, which got Cutler crushed.
Grade: D
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The long-awaited return of defensive tackle Eddie Goldman went well until he left the game with another injury late in the fourth quarter.
Goldman and Will Sutton played well on the interior in all phases while on the field, but Sutton also left with an issue.
On the edges, rookie Jonathan Bullard looked good playing in place of Mitch Unrein. On the other side, Akiem Hicks also had a few high-impact plays where he opened lanes for linebackers to make plays.
The key is making this happen again while the unit possibly misses key players.
Grade: B
Linebacker
6 of 10
Bears fans know the drill here.
Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman looked great on the interior of the linebacking corps, recording 13 and nine total tackles, respectively.
On the edge, Willie Young once again had a monster game, recording five tackles and 0.5 sacks.
The biggest story, though, was rookie Leonard Floyd. This was the best game of his career, a 1.5-sack performance where he was constantly harassing the opposing offense and making plays.
Like the rest of the defense, the unit eventually broke down because the offense kept putting it in such terrible positions. But this particular unit looks ready to post quality play for a long time.
Grade: B
Secondary
7 of 10
The Chicago secondary will receive the majority of the blame for Jameis Winston throwing for 312 yards and two touchdowns.
Fine, but remember that the defense was on the field for 37:09 and rarely started in good position.
Even so, Harold Jones-Quartey recorded an interception. Tracy Porter held Mike Evans to four catches for 66 yards, which is good when one recalls the star wideout's prior outing—11 catches for 150 yards and two scores.
More than anything, the Bears gave up big plays down the field when the pass rush couldn't chase down Winston, which is the case for any secondary. The box score makes the secondary look much worse than it was.
Grade: C
Special Teams
8 of 10
An "F" grade is incredibly rare. When grading, it is best to at least try to find the good in even the most awful performances.
So here goes: Connor Barth made his lone field-goal attempt.
The end. Deonte Thompson was awful on kick returns, averaging all of 18 yards per return and putting the offense in bad situations. Eddie Royal wasn't much better, at one point almost registering a safety on a dumbfounding decision to field a punt near the goal line. He finished with two returns for minus-three yards.
The film room won't be kind to the unit this week.
Grade: F
Coaching
9 of 10
This one falls on the coaches.
If a fan just woke up from hibernation and didn't know any better, he or she would think Marc Trestman was still coaching the Bears.
Head coach John Fox inexplicably didn't have his guys ready to play despite a bye week, getting downright routed by a 4-5 team that now only has one home win. Sunday didn't even look like a home game with all the Bears blue in the stands, yet the team couldn't pull it out.
As it stands right now, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is the only redeeming piece of the coaching staff. The offense regressed, and the team as a whole was a mess.
Interviews over the course of the next week will prove quite interesting.
Grade: D
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Position Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | D |
| RB | B |
| WR/TE | C |
| OL | D |
| DL | B |
| LB | B |
| Secondary | C |
| Special Teams | F |
| Coaching | D |
| Cumulative Grade | D |
The grades above tell the whole story: The offense was hampered by coaching and downright sabotaged the defense, the trickle-down effect landing right in the laps of the coaches.
Chicago came out of a bye and posted one of its worst performances in years. The coaching and offense were enough to stifle and eventually ruin the perception of a finally healthy defense playing some great football.
It's not easy to talk about where the Bears go from here. Cutler isn't getting benched and will probably have a few good games before the season ends. The encouraging pieces—such as the offensive weapons, Whitehair and various members of the defense—will continue to look good on an individual level.
Glimpses of a strong future, though, figure to often fall behind overall performances like this. Next up is a road encounter against the New York Giants.
Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
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