Bears vs. Titans: Full Report Card Grades for Chicago
For just a moment, the Chicago Bears looked like they had a win to remember on an otherwise drab campaign.
A hobbled, inexperienced roster let the opportunity slip through its hands.
Pun fully intended—the Matt Barkley-led Bears dropped passes left and right in a 27-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans, suffered defensive lapses and so much more. Did anyone mention dropped passes? The offense had two potential game-winning passes fall harmlessly to the turf.
In front of a small crowd, the Bears looked hot to start, fell off the map and then surged back. At best, the main takeaway for the team while falling to 2-9 is the impressive core which keeps fighting no matter what.
Within, let's take a look at full game grades after the Bears' near-upset.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Any expectations for an amazing game by Matt Barkley were...silly.
Barkley has bounced around with many teams since entering the league and at best was the fourth quarterback on the Bears roster this year. It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that he finished 28-of-54 for 316 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Barkley looked ready to shock the world early in the game by driving the Bears down the field for a score.
Then he tossed two interceptions in the red zone.
Flashes with critical mistakes sum it up well for the career journeyman. He brutalized a soft prevent-defense look the Titans trotted out late and should have had better stats were it not for drops, but his disappearing act for two-and-a-half quarters cost the Bears.
Grade: D
Running Back
2 of 10
Ready for some deja vu?
Jordan Howard put on an absolute show when actually allowed to run the football against the Titans.
Against a top-10 run defense, Howard carried the ball 18 times for 84 yards on a strong 4.7-yard per-carry average.
The problem? The offense attempted 54 passes to Howard's 18 attempts—an imbalance that started well before the Bears fell behind.
As always, it's hard to knock Howard too much for a what-could-have-been line.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Sans Alshon Jeffery and Zach Miller, who is left?
Marquess Wilson, apparently. Wilson caught a fourth-quarter touchdown to finish with eight catches for 125 yards. Daniel Brown caught the touchdown in the first quarter.
If this sounds unenthusiastic, that's because it is. No Bears target other than Wilson finished with more than five catches. No Bears target other than Wilson finished with more than 44 yards. Howard, a running back, finished third on the team in receiving.
This blame doesn't fall on Barkley's shoulders alone. Most players at skill positions failed to create quality separation all day long. Seemingly all dropped passes. By Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune's count, the Bears dropped 10 passes. Two of those were game-winning chances in the end zone.
While this is what one might have expected from a unit missing Jeffery and Miller, guys such as Cameron Meredith and Eddie Royal aren't allowed to pull a complete disappearing act.
Grade: F
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The Bears got starting right tackle Bobby Massie back from injury Sunday, but they were still down two starting guards.
With Kyle Long on the shelf for good and Josh Sitton entering doubtful, the outlook for the ground game didn't look great.
As mentioned, Howard tore it up on the ground when given a chance, so a patchwork line deserves credit. But don't forget pass protection, where the Bears did not cough up a sack of Barkley and gave him time for long-developing plays down the field.
Maybe not the best overall performance in the world given consistency issues, but compared to expectations? The line posted a solid day.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Maybe the best news of the day for the Bears during the loss to the Titans was the return of defensive tackle Eddie Goldman.
Goldman was an absolute monster on his own, shutting down plays and having a noticeable impact.
The rest isn't as bright. As a whole, the Bears allowed 149 rushing yards and a score on a 5.1-yard per-carry average. The defensive line, down a starter such as Mitch Unrein, lost at the point of attack more often than not.
While Goldman is an incredible building block, he can't do it alone.
Grade: C
Linebacker
6 of 10
Everyone, including the Titans, knew Bears linebackers would have a long day at the office in Week 12.
Down Jerrell Freeman and Leonard Floyd, the unit turned its hopes to inexperienced players such as Nick Kwiatkoski.
And to their credit, guys such as Kwiatkoski stepped up at times with big plays, such as when he stuffed a short-range attempt at a score by the Titans.
The loss was mostly bad news for the unit, though, especially with Danny Trevathan needing help to get off the field after an injury late.
Grade: D
Secondary
7 of 10
All year, fans have taken to Chicago secondary critiques with an understanding—veteran Tracy Porter has a good game while most around him struggle.
Not in Week 12.
Porter got burnt for a touchdown on a play in which Adrian Amos was supposed to come over and help.
Such a play summed up the day for the Bears quite well, considering the unit surrendered 226 passing yards and a pair of scores on all of 23 passing attempts.
Porter won't have a bad day each week. Far from it, in fact. But he, like Goldman, can't do it all on his own.
Grade: D
Special Teams
8 of 10
There isn't much to say about Chicago special teams after the loss to Tennessee outside of one major play.
Kicker Connor Barth didn't have to attempt a field goal. Punter Pat O'Donnell attempted four boots but didn't pin any of them inside a 20-yard line.
The major play? The brilliant onside kick to start the second half, though even that falls more on the Tennessee player who thought it was a good idea to kick the ball in the wrong direction while trying to fall on it.
Either way, a quiet day doesn't mean a great one.
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 10
One gets the sense of good and bad surrounding the Chicago coaching staff against the Titans.
On the good side, the aggressive approach on offense, the onside kick and the general way the Bears showed up and never gave up.
On the bad, a questionable run-pass approach and the inability to strike anything close to consistency for four quarters.
Criticism aside, the Bears coaches can't throw the ball for Barkley or make the receivers actually catch the ball. For the most part, head coach John Fox and his staff had the players in a position to succeed, but injuries and suspensions had other thoughts on the matter.
Grade: B
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Position Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | D |
| RB | B |
| WR/TE | F |
| OL | B |
| DL | C |
| LB | D |
| Secondary | D |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | B |
| Cumulative Grade | D |
After Week 11, it was easy to dole out a moral victory for the Bears in a loss to the New York Giants. The team fought hard and came up just short.
In a word, this is tiring.
Bears fans have to be tired of high-effort losses and trying to find the silver lining. But Sunday's near-win against the Titans falls into the same category. Yes, the Bears couldn't catch the ball, stop the rush or play the pass consistently, but few rosters with this many injuries and silly suspensions could.
Each week seems like a lesson in patience and hopefulness. Flashes of a team on the right path show, but get drowned out by the numerous negatives. The loss to the Titans is the same—there are clear leaders and pieces that will be around for a long time, but they're the minority.
It would have been nice for the Bears to get an effort win against the Titans. But that's not how this season has worked. Now Chicago has to lick its wounds and try again at home against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 13.
Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
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