Twelve Bears penalties for 133 yards? That’s way too much laundry.
Roschon Johnson’s fumble in the fourth quarter? Instead of the Bears going in for the kill, the Hawks stayed there.
But we’re just nitpicking here, aren’t we? Almost everything else in the Bears’ 31-23 win in Atlanta was good. No, very good. And in some cases, it’s almost great.
Let’s move on to the notes:
QUARTERBACK – ONE
Caleb Williams rolled left on his first snap in a month, hit tight end Colston Loveland for an easy 16 yards and had the whole city cheering. No, not Atlanta, although Bears fans did their best to take over Mercedes-Benz Stadium. No. 18 had 12 completions for 142 yards and a touchdown before his first errant pass, a wise third-down throw. A 30-for-36, 305-yard day was a thing of beauty. Adding almost nothing to the running game while protecting his all-important hamstring was also.
RUNNING BACK – C-PLUS
D’Andre Swift scored twice but averaged just 2.8 yards per tote, then was held in the fourth quarter even after Johnson’s fumble; he’s banged up, and the Bears play again Thursday against the Patriots. Johnson rushed 13 times for 51 yards and had two catches for 34 yards, a big outing for him. He was running free toward the end zone with just over a minute left, but surrendered so the Bears could kill the clock, an unselfish play that undoubtedly made up for his turnover somewhat.
RECEIVERS — A-MINUS
Luther Burden (eight catches, 95 yards) was everywhere. Loveland (six catches, 65 yards) started the Bears off with a nasty touchdown run on the first drive, hooking into an athletic catch at the goal line with cornerback Mike Hughes draped over him and safety Jessie Bates flying in with a hard hit. Loveland erased two first downs with penalties and overran a route he could have scored on easily, and rookie tight end Sam Roush had another false start.
OFFENSIVE LINE – B
Holding penalties would have been more damaging on a tougher day, and Williams was sacked four times. One of the sacks was dropped by tackle Ozzy Trapilo, active for the first time, and knocked the Bears out of field goal position. Yet when big efforts were needed near the goal line, these guys delivered.
DEFENSIVE LINE – B
Bijan Robinson carried just nine times for 61 yards, a result the Bears had to be happy about. Kentavius Street blew a screen, James Lynch knocked down a fourth-down pass and a huge sack by Daniel Hardy erased the Falcons’ chance to score before halftime. The wall, tense, held firm.
SECONDARY — A
Hello, Kyler Gordon – the nickel back, finally back after what seemed like an eternity, sacked Michael Penix three times and added a lightning-fast running blitz for a key stop. Is there a DB in the NFL who does as wildly as Gordon? Elijah Hicks and Cam Lewis prevented possible Robinson touchdowns with one-on-one tackles, and Lewis made a stellar fourth-down stop on receiver Zachariah Branch in Falcons territory. Dillon Thieneman blew for a sack, great to see in the first round.
SPECIAL TEAMS — AT-MINUS
Punter Tory Taylor was on fire when called. Branch’s muff recovery by Josh Blackwell led to a touchdown that made the score 21-7 at halftime. Jahdae Walker, Zavier Scott and Blackwell were demons in coverage. Scott knocked the ball out of Branch’s hands on a kickoff, while Nate McCloud recovered. Cairo Santos made a 50-yard field goal but missed left from the 56, and a potentially disastrous roughing of the punter by Walker in the third quarter was rendered moot when the defense stood up and kept the Falcons off the scoreboard.
COACHING — ONE
Williams entered the fray without problem. Even with Swift injured and Kyle Monangai out, the running backs contributed. Despite Montez Sweat’s injuries and suspension on the other side of the ball, the defense was more than ready. A great day for Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
Gn headline
