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The Chicago Bears had a great game on MNF

The Chicago Bears looked like a different team on Monday Night Football than the one that lost a week and a half ago on Thursday Night Football. The Bears put together their best offensive performance of the season as they improved to 3-4. Here are three studs and duds from the Bears’ win over the New England Patriots.

Studs

Luke Getsy

Luke Getsy came under fire after the Bears’ week 6 loss to the Washington Commanders. The Bears had several trips into the red zone but could only manage to put seven points on the board. Against the Patriots, the Bears scored a season high of 33 points on the road and in the rain. Changes to the Bears’ offensive line helped to make the offense more efficient. Fields looked more comfortable throwing the ball on Monday night. Excellent run design by Getsy netted the Bears 243 yards on the ground.

Justin Fields

Good Fields, bad Fields. Hopefully, he won’t turn into another Rex Grossman. But Fields took another step in the right direction against the Patriots. Fields was dynamic on the field in Foxborough. He led the team in rushing with 82 yards on the ground and one rushing touchdown. Other than one lousy pass intercepted off a tip, Fields made consistent positive plays in the passing game. He finished with 179 yards and a touchdown, and one interception. He’s not perfect yet, but Fields looked like the best player on the field Monday night.

Rookies Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon

Brisker had a fantastic night for the Chicago Bears. He finished with seven total tackles, the second-most tackles for the Bears. Brisker made his first interception in the first half against the Patriots. Late in the fourth quarter, Kyler Gordon intercepted his first NFL pass. They helped the Bears’ defense do to Bill Belichick’s young quarterbacks what most people thought Belichick would do to Fields.

Duds

Jaylon Johnson

Johnson had a rough Monday night. He blew an early assignment that put the Patriots on the board. His run defense was anemic as he gave up another touchdown run. Johnson is expected to be a leader in the secondary and the defense overall. His play on Monday night didn’t look like the player Cooper Kupp praised in the offseason.

David Montgomery

David Montgomery looked a little better in the second half. But his first half was awful. Montgomery had a fumble (that was recovered by the Chicago Bears) that killed the Bears’ chances of scoring a touchdown on an early drive. Montgomery had several bad runs in the first half that went nowhere. He finished averaging 4.1 yards per rush. Which isn’t terrible, but it was much worse than Khalil Herbert’s average. Montgomery was also non-existent in the passing game.

Larry Borom

The revamped offensive line looked much better at the start of the game before Lucas Patrick left with a toe injury. The Chicago Bears offensive line continued to be better than they had been most of the season. But they still managed to give up four sacks. Borom struggled with his assignment on Matthew Judon. He gave up some big plays to Judon, including a sack. Borom allowed Judon to get his hands up to tip a pass that was intercepted. Judon is tough, but the Chicago Bears will face a more challenging test with Micah Parsons against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8.

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The Bulls starters have looked disjointed through the early stages of the 2022-23 regular season.

Not a real surprise considering it’s been a part-time crew.

The reserves?

That’s been a little different animal.

For the most part the second unit has been intact since the start of camp. By all accounts, a group of angry dogs that have enjoyed running down the first-teamers at every opportunity.

So a first-quarter 19-point deficit against the defending Eastern Conference champions?

No problem.

Thanks to the likes of Goran Dragic, Derrick Jones Jr., and Alex Caruso, the Bulls watched what could have been a nightmare of an evening against the Boston Celtics turn into a 120-102 laugher in favor of the home team.

Not that Billy Donovan had much of a choice with the way the game started.

In what could only be described as an exercise in futility from the tip-off, Donovan saw his starters fall behind 12-0 out of the gate, and eventually into a 19-point deficit with 3:32 left in the opening quarter.

Frustrated with the effort he was seeing, the coach turned to his reserves, and just like that the game turned with them.

A Javonte Green three with 1:43 in the quarter cut the deficit to 11 and the comeback was on.

By the time Jones made a layup just minutes into the second, the Bulls (2-2) had cut the lead to two. Dragic finally gave them the lead with a layup, and just like that the 30-9 run was complete.

“We just played as hard as we could,” Jones said of the comeback. “Got a lot more physical, just trying to be disruptive out there on defense. And once we got the lead we didn’t look back.”

Rather than crawling into the locker room at the half, the Bulls could strut in. It was easy to figure out who to thank.

Caruso was a plus-20 in plus/minus in that second quarter, while Dragic and Jones were each a plus-16. It didn’t hurt that Donovan staggered Zach LaVine into that group, and watched his guard also finish a plus-15.

That bench group not only turned the tide, but it was momentum that had staying power, as the Bulls ran away in the third, outscoring Boston (3-1) 35-25 in the stanza.

A great showing, but one that also leaves some questions about the starting group and its cohesiveness. Questions that aren’t about to change.

One of the major reasons the group has been inconsistent is the amount of practice time they get with each other. Donovan has spoken about the load management the organization has been taking with LaVine in games, but lost in all that talk is the amount of time he has missed – and will continue to miss – when it comes to practices and shootarounds.

Part-time group with part-time results.

“The good part of it is he’s been in the league for a while. That helps,” Donovan said of LaVine and the ongoing concerns about his left knee. “I think he’s bright enough and smart enough where if his reps are limited, that at least gets him some. Obviously, ideally from a coaching perspective, you always want all your guys out there available, experiencing whatever you’re going through. But the situation is what it is. We’ve got to manage his health. That’s the most important thing. For us it’s getting into that routine of what is best to keep him at a place where he’s feeling good. Certainly the more load he has away from games that’s the part that’s got to be managed.”

Donovan already anticipated that LaVine would be limited in Tuesday’s scheduled practice, and then a wait-and-see if he’s a go for Wednesday.

“I do think we’ve got to figure out a way there has to be a balance of work,” Donovan said. “Because I’ve never been a believer that a guy can play a game, not do anything, and then just go play the next game.”

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Bears’ last trip to 1 Patriot Place for a regular-season game was the beginning of the end for Marc Trestman. Eight years ago Wednesday, his Bears lost 51-23 when Tom Brady threw five touchdowns and Bears edge rusher Lamarr Houston tore his ACL thrusting his crotch to celebrate a sack while down 25.

The Bears’ second-year head coach vowed to make changes during the bye week– and lost the next game to the rival Packers by 41 points. The Bears became the first team since the Rochester Jeffersons in 1923 to allow 50 or more points in back-to-back games.

Trestman’s fate was sealed, though he was allowed to limp another two months toward a “Black Monday” firing. It was, and is, the Bears’ way.

Perhaps one day Gillette Stadium will be known as the beginning of the beginning for head coach Matt Eberflus.

A first-time head coach at any level, Eberflus rode a three-game losing streak into the Bears’ “mini-bye,” an open weekend afforded them by a Thursday night football game followed by a Monday night contest. Eberflus, like Trestman before him, vowed changes.

What he produced Monday night was a Bears team that, while still flawed, showed life in a 33-14 beatdown of the Patriots. Their performance reflected well on Eberflus’ ability to regroup, both strategically and emotionally.

For a first-time head coach, that’s an encouraging early sign.

“He’s incredible,” general manager Ryan Poles said before the game. “His ability to self-assess over this last week and get the staff together and keep the team jelled together….

“That’s what you worry about with any team, is, when you lose, you don’t want things to fester. And this team is tighter than it’s ever been — believing in each other and finding ways to win games moving forward.”

There won’t too be many of those going forward — the Bears are rebuilding –but Monday night proved that Eberflus can get off the mat.

His lone “mini-bye” personnel change was rendered moot in less than a quarter, when center Lucas Patrick — who’d moved from left guard to become the starter — limped off the field with a toe injury. He was replaced by Sam Mustipher, the starting center over the first six games.

Schematic changes, though, were obvious from the beginning — and for the most part, effective. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy played to Fields’ strengths, moving the pocket with a personal protector blocker and even calling designed runs for his fleet-footed quarterback.

Alan Williams’ defense so baffled Patriots quarterback Mac Jones that the Patriots faithful chanted the name of backup Bailey Zappe within minutes. They got their wish early in the second quarter when Bill Belichick, playing for the right to pass Bears founder George Halas with 325 career wins, benched Jones in his return from a three-week ankle injury. The rookie from Western Kentucky started red-hot before succumbing to the Bears defense.

Eberflus and his staff spent the days after an embarrassing Commanders loss in self-reflection. Position coaches wrote reports on each of their players to share with their coordinators. Getsy, Williams and special teams coordinator Richard Hightower self-evaluated their schemes, detailing their strengths, weaknesses and trends.

On the practice field, Poles said, the coaching staff harped on technique, believing that was what was missing in the Bears’ well-documented October near-misses.

“It’s detail in their work,” Poles said. “Just being very specific, being exactly where you’re supposed to be. Your technique — I know [Eberflus] is big on technique. That’s one thing they hammered this week. I believe in that, too, just from my time playing: if you can dial in on technique, all the other little stuff comes after that.”

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Every time Bears quarterback Justin Fields does this, hope surges that he might still prove himself to be a star.

Fields was far from perfect Monday night against the Patriots, but he was electric and led the Bears to a stunning and sparkling 33-14 win at Gillette Stadium. In 50 years of sporadic matchups in this series, the Bears had never won in Foxborough.

While these aren’t the Tom Brady-era perennial Super Bowl contenders, the Patriots still brought a top-10 defense into the game and were an 8.5-point favorite at kickoff.

It was more than most thought the Bears could handle. And they delivered their best performance of the season. It was their highest scoring total since December 2020, and they could’ve had even more had they not taken a knee on fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard line with 25 seconds left.

They looked different from the start. The defense forced the Patriots into three-and-outs on their first two possessions, and Fields responded by leading the offense to points each time.

The Bears eventually backslid and coughed up their early 10-0 lead, but got back on top by halftime at 20-14. Then they opened the second half with a pair of field goals and had control of the game, ahead 26-14.

Along the way, Fields deciphered coach Bill Belichick’s ever-complicated defensive scheme and made big plays as a runner and a passer. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 179 yards with a touchdown and an interception for an 85.2 passer rating, plus he added 82 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Neither his passing nor rushing totals were overwhelming, but the combination of both elements made him special. He used them in tandem, keeping the Patriots guessing and off-balanced as he dodged pass rushers and bought time to look downfield. He showed excellent pocket awareness and an ability to quickly scan his reads.

Essentially, he did everything the Bears have been asking him to do. And he did it against a defense that had allowed just an 81.1 passer rating for the season.

Fields’ defense backed him up, too. Every aspect of the team in some way connects to his development. It was a direct benefit to him that the Patriots had just two drives longer than four plays out of their first nine and were so bad early that they benched quarterback Mac Jones — the other quarterback on the board when the Bears drafted Fields at No. 11 last year.

Actually, Bears safety Jaquan Brisker benched Jones.

Three plays after Jones caught Brisker in the groin with his cleat as he slid at the end of a run, Brisker came through with an unbelievable interception. As Patriots tight end Jonnu drifted down the right sideline for what would’ve been a first-down catch in scoring range, Brisker raced in and picked it off with one hand.

Quite the revenge. It might have ended Jones’ run as Patriots starter.

The Bears buckled under a Bailey Zappe-charged burst after he replaced Jones — he had 97 yards and a touchdown on his first four throws — but quickly resettled.

Fields kept the offense rolling throughout. The Bears scored on seven of their first nine possessions, a revelation after years of scuffling.

But they’ve seen this before. What matters most is whether Fields can make this type of impact regularly.

Fields played a similarly impressive game two weeks earlier against the Vikings that looked like yet another breakthrough, then fell flat and got pummeled behind a faulty offensive line in nauseating home loss to the Commanders.

And it was about this time last year that he led a near-comeback against the Steelers on the same national stage of Monday Night Football, only to sputter the next week against the Ravens before exiting with an injury. He played just two games the rest of the season, and they weren’t good.

It’s certainly frustrating for Fields, but this is how it’ll be until he truly gains traction: This game was nice, but do it again. And again. And again.

General manager Ryan Poles said before the game he was encouraged by Fields showing “flashes” of potential, but any quarterback can do that. It’s the ability to string them together that makes someone the future of the franchise.

Mitch Trubisky played great games occasionally. Aaron Rodgers made a career out of doing it all the time.

Fields needs to use this as a launching point in his young career and reach a level where this type of performance is the expectation, not a surprise.

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Bears looked like a new team as they raced to an early lead against the Patriots, then slipped into the same problems that have derailed them all season.

But after all that, a couple big plays in the final minutes of the second quarter sent them into halftime with a 20-14 lead.

The Bears were up 10-0 with two minutes left in the first quarter.

They forced the Patriots into three-and-outs on their first two possessions and answered each time with a score. Cairo Santos kicked a 42-yard field goal, then Fields finished a 56-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run.

Fields has completed 9 of 13 passes for 133 yards with a touchdown and an interception and has a 96.0 passer rating. He has also run 10 times for 74 yards and a touchdown.

The Patriots brought back quarterback Mac Jones after he’d missed three games with a sprained ankle, but the Bears bounced him from the game in the second quarter. Jones completed 3 of 6 passes for 13 yards, and his last throw was picked off by rookie safety Jaquan Brisker.

The Patriots turned to rookie Bailey Zappe, who quickly connected with Jakobi Meyers for a 30-yard touchdown pass to get them back in the game.

With the Patriots up 14-10 with six minutes until halftime, the Bears drove 75 yards and got a touchdown pass on Fields’ screen pass to Khalil Herbert for 25 yards to retake the lead 17-14. Then Zappe fumbled at his own 37-yard line, and defensive tackle Justin Jones recovered it.

The Bears turned that into a 23-yard field goal by Santos as time expired.

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Bears looked like a new team as they raced to an early lead against the Patriots, then slipped into the same problems that have derailed them all season.

But after all that, a couple big plays in the final minutes of the second quarter sent them into halftime with a 20-14 lead.

The Bears were up 10-0 with two minutes left in the first quarter.

They forced the Patriots into three-and-outs on their first two possessions and answered each time with a score. Cairo Santos kicked a 42-yard field goal, then Fields finished a 56-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run.

Fields has completed 9 of 13 passes for 133 yards with a touchdown and an interception and has a 96.0 passer rating. He has also run 10 times for 74 yards and a touchdown.

The Patriots brought back quarterback Mac Jones after he’d missed three games with a sprained ankle, but the Bears bounced him from the game in the second quarter. Jones completed 3 of 6 passes for 13 yards, and his last throw was picked off by rookie safety Jaquan Brisker.

The Patriots turned to rookie Bailey Zappe, who quickly connected with Jakobi Meyers for a 30-yard touchdown pass to get them back in the game.

With the Patriots up 14-10 with six minutes until halftime, the Bears drove 75 yards and got a touchdown pass on Fields’ screen pass to Khalil Herbert for 25 yards to retake the lead 17-14. Then Zappe fumbled at his own 37-yard line, and defensive tackle Justin Jones recovered it.

The Bears turned that into a 23-yard field goal by Santos as time expired.

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