soulman Posted October 5, 2021 Share Posted October 5, 2021 Bears vs. Lions: Winners and Losers from Week 4 ByAaron Leming 14 hours ago CHICAGO, Ill. — What a difference a week can make, right? Forget the level of the opponents and let’s just all bask in the glory of Justin Fields and his first NFL victory on Sunday afternoon. This is exactly the type of outing most Chicago Bears fans had expected when he made his first start in Week 3. Whether or not Fields is the starter moving forward is cloudy (at best). But if this is the last time we see the rookie quarterback for a month or two, fans can rest easy knowing he’s back on the bench with plenty of positives to hold on to. After their 24-14 victory at Soldier Field against the Detroit Lions, the tough part of the schedule starts. Chicago has a trip to Las Vegas in Week 5 followed up by a home showdown with Green Bay in Week 6. Matchups against Baltimore, San Francisco, Arizona, Seattle, and Pittsburgh still loom this season as well. However, Sunday was a bright spot especially in the hope that things have turned around for this team offensively with Matt Nagy admitting that he gave up playcalling duties to Bill Lazor. The offense seemed to move better with Lazor in charge and the Bears put a full commitment on establishing the run, which helped Fields in this start. Lazor should retain the duties moving forward and it will be interesting to see how this offense looks the rest of the way under him. For now, let’s just enjoy the team’s second victory and Fields’ impressive outing with our winners and losers from the game on Sunday. SLIDE 1 of 7 Winner: QB Justin Fields (Photo: Quinn Harris, USA TODAY Sports) If you missed the game and checked the box score, you may wonder what all of the fuss is about. The No. 11 overall pick was 11-17 (65%) for 209 passing yards, an interception and nine rushing yards. While the numbers may not be overly impressive, his play sure was. He was never asked to do a whole lot (hence his 17 passing attempts) but for the most part, he was right on target. Minus the missed throw to Darnell Mooney early in the game, Justin Fields was in attack mode. On the day, he had five passes of over 20 yards and a (22%) explosive pass play rate. For reference, the Bears were at (6%) coming into today. The entire passing attack looked different. Not only because they were challenging deep but because they were completing deep. All in all, this is exactly the version of Fields that many fans who watched him at Ohio State had been expecting. The expectation is that the rookie will go back to the bench once Dalton is healthy--Which could be as early as Week 5--But this is also the type of performance that could allow the Bears to give him another look. Even if he slides back to the bench next week, the taste of this performance will sit much better than what we saw in Week 3. SLIDE 2 of 7 Winner: WR Darnell Mooney (Photo: Quinn Harris, USA TODAY Sports) THIS is the Darnell Mooney Bears fans had been expecting coming into 2021. Not only did Mooney have the first 60-yard catch of his career but he led the team in receiving with five catches for 125 yards. He also added one run (in the Wild Cat) for 10 yards. We had all expected Mooney to be the team’s primary deep threat but this is exactly why some had pegged him to slide into more of a Tyler Lockett role. Obviously, there’s still plenty to prove in the coming weeks but it seems pretty clear that the Bears are choosing to feature Mooney as their No. 1 receiver moving forward. SLIDE 3 of 7 Winner: RB David Montgomery (Photo: Quinn Harris , USA TODAY Sports) As we all hold our collective breath as we await official word on David Montgomery’s knee injury, it shouldn’t overshadow yet another big game. The third-year running back has proven time and time again that he is the team’s best and most consistent offensive weapon. Montgomery finished the game with 23 rushes for 106 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns. His last touchdown was an impressive nine-yard run that featured multiple broken tackles. Montgomery will head into Week 5 as one of the NFL’s top 5 rushers and while a trip to Injured Reserve appears likely, the initial report is that it may not be a season-ending injury. SLIDE 4 of 7 Winner: Edge rushers (Photo: Mike Dinovo, USA TODAY Sports) Another week and another sack for the veteran Robert Quinn. If there has been one pleasant (and needed) surprise on the defensive side of the ball, it has been the 31-year-old veteran. Quinn had multiple pressures on the day and tallied another two quarterback hits as well. Quinn now has (4.5) sacks on the season, which currently leads the team. The bigger surprise? The team’s second-year pass rusher in Gipson. With Mack being banged up and Akiem Hicks exiting the game early, the Bears leaned on their former fifth-round pick and he delivered. Gipson finished the game with his first NFL sack. He also added two tackles-for-loss, a quarterback hit and a batted pass. This was quite the coming-out party for the young edge rusher. Gipson has also staked his claim for more playing time in the coming weeks, as it’s clear that whatever he found in the preseason has translated into meaningful games. SLIDE 5 of 7 Loser: HC Matt Nagy’s Pride (Photo: Quinn Harris, USA TODAY Sports) If there has been one thing that has become abundantly clear, Matt Nagy takes plenty of pride in his offensive play calling. Some would even say he takes too much pride, which has clouded his judgement in the past. Well, on Sunday, he once again handed over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Lo and behold, the Bears offense looked better. The play calling was more balanced and featured a true commitment to the run. It also featured plenty of vertical looks and magically, the offensive line performed better. If Nagy wants to keep his job, he needs to give up play-calling for good. At this point, there’s no guarantee that he can salvage this thing but if there’s any chance he can, it’ll be on the shoulders of Lazor from here on out. SLIDE 6 of 7 Loser: TE Cole Kmet (Photo: Getty) Coming off the heels of the Adam Shaheen experiment, it’s hard not to have that “here we go again” feeling with Cole Kmet. While I’d argue Kmet has been slightly better than Shaheen, he’s not producing or developing like a promising young second-round pick should be. Kmet’s involvement in the offense has grown since last season, yet his production has been minimal. He’s not a very good blocker and he’s almost non-existent in the red zone. Despite being 6’6, 262, Kmet plays more like an 180 pound receiver. That was evident on the deep ball from Fields around midfield when Kmet fell down and again when he allowed a defensive back to pull him back in the end zone from a could-have-been touchdown. Albeit, it was a blown pass interference call but the second-year tight end is not playing up to his draft status and more importantly, he’s not playing up to his size. In order for the Bears to continue ascending offensively, they need guys like Kmet to develop into useful pieces. So far, that has not happened. SLIDE 7 of 7 Loser: PR Nsimba Webster (Photo: Jeff Hanisch , USA TODAY Sports) 12COMMENTS Does Webster give anybody else Ted Ginn Jr. vibes returning punts? The level of effort may be better but the results have not been. There's not a ton to say outside of this- The only reason Webster is on this roster is to return punts. In order to maximize that value, he must… You know, return punts. That starts by not waving everything out and costing your offense yards by letting the ball bounce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulman Posted October 5, 2021 Author Share Posted October 5, 2021 Although it's hard not to rank my disappointment in Kmet equal to this Nagy's ego still get my nod for Loser #1. Loser: HC Matt Nagy’s Pride (Photo: Quinn Harris, USA TODAY Sports) If there has been one thing that has become abundantly clear, Matt Nagy takes plenty of pride in his offensive play calling. Some would even say he takes too much pride, which has clouded his judgement in the past. Well, on Sunday, he once again handed over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Lo and behold, the Bears offense looked better. The play calling was more balanced and featured a true commitment to the run. It also featured plenty of vertical looks and magically, the offensive line performed better. If Nagy wants to keep his job, he needs to give up play-calling for good. At this point, there’s no guarantee that he can salvage this thing but if there’s any chance he can, it’ll be on the shoulders of Lazor from here on out. Spot on calls by Aaron Lemming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugashane Posted October 5, 2021 Share Posted October 5, 2021 No issue with anything said. Lazor is going to have a harder test coming up with Monty gone and better defenses the next 4 weeks. We aren't going against CLE, BUF or DEN but there will still be better defensive groups than Detroit could field and he is losing his best piece for at least a few weeks I imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.