Bears report card: How we graded Chicago in Week 4 win over Jets - Bears Wire
It was yet another win for the Chicago Bears on Sunday. This time, it came against an AFC rival that they don't welcome to Soldier Field very often: the New York Jets. The Jets are not anywhere close to where the Bears are in their competitive window, but the term "any given Sunday" exists for a reason.
The Jets did give the Green Bay Packers a fit a couple of weeks prior, and the Bears were trotting out a backup quarterback for the second week in a row. For Chicago to come away from this game with a 23-12 win and a 3-1 record, they needed everyone to be good enough. There could be no passengers.
When you evaluate every unit of the football team -- offense, defense, special teams, and coaching -- you will see everything that needed to be done to win. This is how they grade out:
The Bears, without Caleb Williams, managed to score enough points to win their third football game this season. They would be 4-0 if Williams wasn't hurt on what would've been a touchdown-scoring run play, but they have managed to be 2-0 since that moment that felt like a season-ender in real time. Although Tyson Bagent did a magnificent job and did everything asked of him, the running game earns this offense the A in the win. Kyle Monangai ran for 146 yards on 30 carries and had two touchdowns. D'Andrew Swift never found the end zone, but he did have 15 carries for 58 yards. Roschon Johnson, Luther Burden, and Tyson Bagent all had carries as well, for a team total of 232 yards. It's difficult to have that many rushing yards in one game, but the Bears do it somewhat consistently. That shows a commitment to doing it the right way by the quarterback, offensive line, weapons who are committed to blocking, and, of course, the backs themselves. Swift has been the rushing leader in recent weeks, and it was Monangai's turn this time around. There are also receivers who have been big in games where the passing attack was the driver of the offense. Either way, this team finds new ways to get it done.
The defense was supposed to be terrible. Then they were in Week 1, and everybody had the "same old Bears" mentality. Since then, they have been magnificent. They haven't really missed a beat when it comes to being a turnover machine, and they have been much better at scoring suppression. There is not one player leading the way on any of their units. Multiple different guys have contributed sacks or quarterback pressures, multiple players have interceptions, and the run defense has improved a lot as the weeks have gone on. In this win over the Jets, the defense didn't see the field much but managed to halt the Jets' offensive momentum, holding them to 12 points and just 59 rushing yards. Right now, there is no reason to think that this group will hold the offense back from reaching their true potential when the games start to mean a lot more. Another week of them getting an A is great for their confidence going forward.
Once again, Cairo Santos hit his field goals, and the rest of the unit didn't give anyone a reason to think that the team was going to lose because of them. If that is what you get from special teams, it is much easier to win football games. Tory Taylor didn't attempt a punt in this game, which speaks more to Chicago's offense. It was the first time that the Bears didn't attempt a punt since Sept. 28, 2014, vs. the Green Bay Packers. When Caleb Williams comes back, you can expect a few more of those red zone opportunities to become touchdowns rather than field goals or failed fourth down attempts.
Dennis Allen and the rest of the coaching staff were great in this one. However, the reason that the team gets an A here is because of Ben Johnson. That is three wins with three different quarterbacks. No matter what adversity the team faces, they find ways to win football games. Johnson has the schemes, attitude, and culture in place that allow them to win no matter what. Was this game as pretty as others? Not by a long shot. However, this man has the goods in his playbook and locker room that will keep the Bears in any game. As long as Ben Johnson is the man in charge, there will be many A's handed out to the coaching staff.
