Redskins vs. Bears: Full Report Card Grades for Chicago
In their final home game of the season, the Chicago Bears couldn't get out of their own way in a 41-21 loss to the Washington Redskins.
Hoping to give loyal fans something to cheer about during the holidays, the Bears committed five turnovers and suffered various injuries, while Washington simply did what good teams do: capitalizing on the mistakes.
Although it was a depressing way to end games at Soldier Field this year in front of a rather small crowd, the Bears have to pick themselves back up for a game against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17.
Before they do, let's take a minute to dole out grades for Saturday's performance.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Matt Barkley didn't do his future status with the Bears any favors Saturday.
To be fair, the offensive line play was miserable at times. But Barkley tossed five interceptions, including a dumbfounding throw deep down the field into triple coverage.
Barkley's touchdown pass in the second quarter was a thing of beauty, but it's hard to get too excited about his overall play. The mistakes piled on and didn't relent, and unlike recent weeks, the offense didn't put on much of a comeback effort.
While he wound up throwing two touchdowns, it was easy to see Barkley's implosion coming. The good play had to end at some point, although the Bears may still look at him as a backup next year.
Grade: D
Running Back
2 of 10
Fans can forgive Jordan Howard for an injury scare against Washington.
Running behind an inconsistent line and against a rather game defense, Howard put up 119 yards on 18 carries, good for 6.6 yards per carry.
That's not a bad day at all given the putrid performance by the passing game in the cold. Howard rarely went down on first contact and made a habit of turning broken-looking plays into positive gains.
In other words, it was another strong day for the rookie, just as fans have come to expect. He's something for the team to build around over the offseason.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Once again, Chicago didn't get Alshon Jeffery the bulk of the day's action.
The veteran caught five of his 10 targets for 92 yards but fell behind Cameron Meredith in every category, as the upstart player caught nine of his 12 targets for 135 yards and a touchdown.
In the grand scheme of things, this isn't such a bad development, as Jeffery might be on his way out the door. Having a guy like Meredith produce would help the Bears in the long term.
Either way, Jeffery and Meredith posted strong performances against a defense featuring Josh Norman. One has to wonder how much better the lines could have been if Barkley hadn't coughed up the ball five times.
Grade: B
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Saturday was one of the worst performances by the offensive line all year.
Even with the season lost and down starters due to injury, Chicago's offensive line had put forth strong outings, winning the battle in the trenches in almost shocking fashion.
Not against Washington. Barkley was under constant pressure all day, and though he took only one sack, observers saw what happens when a backup doesn't trust the pocket around him—five interceptions.
Like Barkley, the O-line was bound to regress sooner or later. The unit remains one of the most important for the Bears to upgrade over the offseason.
Grade: D
Defensive Line
5 of 10
A few things happened to the Chicago defensive line Saturday that contributed to a rough performance.
First, the team went without nose tackle Eddie Goldman. Losing one of the better players in the league at his position tends to throw off an entire unit.
Second, Akiem Hicks came back to earth like Barkley and the offensive line. The veteran had played incredible ball for weeks but found himself stonewalled most of the day against Washington.
The result was 208 rushing yards and four touchdowns surrendered on the ground.
Grade: D
Linebacker
6 of 10
It's not as simple as blaming the defensive trenches for Chicago's problems in the linebacking corps.
After all, the linebackers returned Jerrell Freeman to the lineup after a four-game suspension. While he led the team in total tackles at nine, and Nick Kwiatkoski next to him wasn't far behind at seven, more often than not the unit took miserable angles and got rolled against the run.
Injuries didn't help. Standout rookie Leonard Floyd left the game early and didn't return. Pernell McPhee also had an issue at one point. The lack of a consistent rush prevented the Bears from sacking Kirk Cousins at all.
So to summarize, Saturday was the perfect storm of factors combining to sink the linebackers.
Grade: D
Secondary
7 of 10
Missing players such as Cre'Von LeBlanc, the Bears didn't have the personnel to run with DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon, let alone come up and help out in run support.
The Bears were so short in the secondary that Johnthan Banks saw some run, a player the team claimed at the start of the month.
Of note, veteran corner Tracy Porter got roasted multiple times, having another black eye of a game. To his credit, he was on and off the field during the game while battling injury issues.
As a whole, Chicago gave up just 270 passing yards and one score, although Washington had little reason to throw it more after jumping out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.
Grade: D
Special Teams
8 of 10
Given the nature of Saturday's game, the Bears didn't punt or field punts often or attempt many field goals.
As such, punter Pat O'Donnell did his job just once, booming the ball for 51 yards. Connor Barth managed to have his one attempt, a chip shot, blocked. Maybe the only bright spot was kick returner Deonte Thompson, who took two back for 47 yards.
But it's hard to offer overall praise. The kick coverage units didn't give up anything major, but allowing a block on a key kick that swung momentum in a big way has a way of decreasing a grade.
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 10
It's hard to complain too much about Chicago coaches after Saturday's loss.
Head coach John Fox still had his guys fighting, but it's hard to overcome five interceptions by a quarterback. It's not like he has anyone else to turn to on the roster at this point.
Offensively speaking, coordinator Dowell Loggains put on a strong performance, managing to work around the iffy play of the offensive line. His two calls that resulted in passing scores were beauties.
While one might find it easy to knock defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, his unit is constantly lining up in terrible field position thanks to offensive turnovers, which gives him a pass. Besides, the defense, down Goldman and many others, managed to hold Washington to field goals in a few of those horrible scenarios.
Grade: B
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Position Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | D |
| RB | A |
| WR/TE | B |
| OL | D |
| DL | D |
| LB | D |
| Secondary | D |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | B |
| Cumulative Grade | D |
Make it three losses in a row for the Bears, who even have the feel-good vibes of strong performances from Barkley ripped from them now.
Saturday's defeat hurts more than usual, too, as the Bears at least made comeback pushes in most losses this year. Such fight wasn't present against Washington, and it showed on the scoreboard.
One thing that did remain consistent, though, was a strong hint at good things to look forward to next year—namely Howard and the young wideouts and tight ends who can produce no matter what happens with Jeffery and the reminder of how many strong defenders the team will have back on the field.
As mentioned, Chicago gets Minnesota to close the season. Fans can probably expect a more competitive game since the Bears already beat the Vikings back in Week 8.
Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
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