It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions, but the Chicago Bears opened the season 1-0. I have bad news for the rest of the league: If the Bears can win games where everything goes wrong on offense, they’ll be dangerous this season.
Now let’s hand out some instant notes.
attack
QB Caleb Williams | D
Caleb Williams wasn’t great today, and that’s not the end of the world. He wasn’t bad either. He missed two or three throws off the bat, but his offensive line let him down all day, and Keenan Allen threw a touchdown that he really needed to catch.
RB D’Andre Swift | D
A nice hurdle run and a solid drive in the fourth quarter saved an otherwise very unfavorable day for Swift, who was held to 30 yards on ten carries.
FB Khari Blasingame | F
The only job of a fullback in the modern offense is to block passes, and Blasingame didn’t do much of that today.
WR DJ Moore | B
Five catches and 35 yards on eight targets is a good day at the office, although I wish DJ had been more involved.
WR Keenan Allen | F
Have we forgotten how to catch the football? For all the talk about the rookie quarterback’s ability to rely on his weapons, it was unforgivable that he dropped a perfect pass into the end zone late in the first half that would have resulted in a potential touchdown.
WR Rom Odunze | NA
Roma impressed us with a wild catch on a deflected pass, but otherwise were not on the game plan. That has to change.
TE Cole Kmet | N/A
Like Odunze, Kmet was missing all day, but that was not his fault.
Offensive Line | F
I could show you the clips of Coleman Shelton getting taken down after the snap, but we don’t have enough time for all of them. Get to the weight room or get out of here. He looked like he’d never played that position today, and the rest of the offensive line was just as bad.
defense
Defence line | A
For a group that is considered a weak point, they played a very good game today and kept the Bears in the game all afternoon.
Linebacker | A
Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards were superstars today!
Secondary | A
The best secondary in football lived up to the hype today, playing a key role in a massive comeback. Tyrique Stevenson and Jaylon Johnson both had interceptions, with Stevenson converting his pass for the game-winning touchdown.
Special teams
K Cairo Santos | A
Perfect on this day, perfect note.
P Tory Taylor | C
Not bad, not great.
KR Velus Jones Jr. | F
This experiment has be over. How many more years do we have to watch him botch kicks and punt returns? Either we let him work exclusively out of the backfield or we send him away. Adios.
KR/PR DeAndre Carter | A
It seems we have at least one solution here. Carter excelled in the kick and punt return roles and looked explosive. Most importantly, he could catch the football, a novel concept in Chicago’s return game in recent years.
Jonathan Owens | A
Adam Amin’s “Mr. Biles” comment was as stupid as Shane Waldron’s early plays, but Ownes scored a much-needed touchdown in the third quarter on a blocked punt by Daniel Hardy to liven up the Soldier Field crowd.
Daniel Hardy | A
When the Bears desperately needed a big play, Hardy made it happen by setting up a scoop-and-score for Jonathan Owens.
