Chicago Bears Report Card for 23-20 Loss to Detroit Lions
![Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs tries to elude Bears safety Kevin Byard III on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field. Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs tries to elude Bears safety Kevin Byard III on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3581,h_2014,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/bear_digest/01jdv6efgem4xffth7zk.jpg)
Fortunately, the Bears played Detroit early and many fans planned to have their Thanksgiving dinner right after the game ended.
If they had eaten before seeing the end of the game, then digestion might have been in question.
There is actually some good going on in his series of late-game Chicago catastrophes.
Detractors laughed and called Caleb Williams a wasted draft pick earlier this season, but the joke is now on them. His performance is the only thing giving value to yet another worthless Bears season.
A 16-0 deficit, a 16-7 deficit, a 23-7 deficit and he just kept firing away.
Zero plan pic.twitter.com/D2Efc3eYhj
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 28, 2024
Coach Matt Eberflus' late-game decision making or lack thereof aside, the Bears now have a quarterback who set the franchise rookie record for consecutive passes without an interception and NFL rookie record for the same thing.
No other rookie has thrown three touchdown passes in a half this year like he did in the second-half rally with his 31-yard touchdown passes to Keenan Allen and DJ Moore and 9-yarder to Allen.
The Bears had plenty of time to not only force overtime but win the game.
The National and local media are both burying Flus like I don’t think I’ve ever seen an HC get buried.
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) November 29, 2024
This feels different. Makes me wonder if something might actually happen.
Instead, they took a timeout home with them after they actually had to burn a timeout with 43 seconds left because they were running out of time to get a play started before being slapped with a delay-of-game penalty.
Who gets delay-of-game penalties during two-minute drills?
It isn’t the Bears players who need to learn to win as much as it is Matt Eberflus and the Bears coaching staff that needs to learn to win, @olin_kreutz says.
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) November 28, 2024
Listen: https://t.co/G9qroPDjmp pic.twitter.com/meiteSNPPa
They should have taken that timeout to get organized before the sack and then definitely should have taken one after it in order to make sure they had time left to move it a short distance to get into field goal range.
When it was all over, Cole Kmet had to scratch his head over the ending.
I just saw a tweet blaming Caleb Williams which is quite hilarious. A rookie qb who has put his team in a position to win the last 3 games yet is catching blame bc he made a clock management mistake…wtf do you think head coaches are for???
— maddie (@madswag4315) November 28, 2024
Matt Eberflus should have realized…
"Honestly, I don't even know," he told reporters. "I ... all the sudden everyone comes off the field and game's over. So I was kind of like what the 'fff' just happened?"
Lots of Bears fans had to be asking the same thing.
Here are the grades for the turkey day game as the Bears once again deserve to be told that famed line Harry Dunne delivered to Lloyd Christmas after the dog van has been traded in for a minibike.
Caleb Williams the last two games against the 2nd and 5th ranked defense:
— Joel Moran (@joelvmoran) November 28, 2024
316 YPG
5 TDs
0 INTs
100.4 RTG
Came within one score of beating both. Franchise QB. pic.twitter.com/OilEWYI7Fy
"Just when I think you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this... and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!"
Passing Game: B
The first half was so atrocious it's difficult to give them anything higher than a B. Williams threw for only 34 yards. The second half didn't end well. But Caleb Williams' passer rating of 132.29 in the second half with 15 of 24 for 222 yards and three TDs was just further indication of where he's come as a passer in the last three games.
DJ Moore with a 97-yard game on eight catches and Allen with 73 yards on five receptions, and all of this despite an offensive line effort in which they allowed five more sacks of Williams. He's at 49 sacks on the year. Cole Kmet's penalties for offensive pass interference proved annoying, and one of the two actually did look like a penalty.
Caleb Williams the last three weeks against the NFC North:
— Ben Devine (@Chicago_NFL) November 28, 2024
75/117
827 passing yards
142 rushing yards
5 passing TDs
ZERO turnovers
Running Game: D+
There wasn't much to it beyond a 12-yard D'Andre Swift run and a 13-yard Williams scramble. Their 78 yards on 15 carries went for an average of 5.2 yards per carry, inflated largely by Williams 9.8 yards per scramble. The run blocking gave Swift little room beyond 2 or 3 yards on his first burst. Few blockers got downfield.
Bears covered, Caleb shined at times, the defense played inspired ball in red area, we improved our draft pick
— kyle (@Ky1eLong) November 28, 2024
Pass Defense: B
By limiting Jared Goff to a 100.2 passer rating they actually held him below his season's average. The touchdown passes he threw to Sam LaPorta were easy as they came off of play-action and froze the coverage near the goal line. The Bears actually held LaPorta to three catches for 6 yards, Jahmyr Gibbs to two catches for 17 yards, Jameson Williams to 28 yards on five catches after all were averaging much better numbers. Amon-Ra St. Brown didn't even hit his average number of catches with five, and was only 6 yards over his season average. The pass rush produced only one sack by Gervon Dexter but much steadier pressure in the game's second half, as they made it possible for the offense to turn around the game.
Former #Bears edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad just tossing Braxton Jones…
— Sky Kruse (@KruseSports_) November 28, 2024
Next time you don’t think the #Bears need a left tackle just watch this clip.
pic.twitter.com/tcgKYEYRKX
Run Defense: D
The 194 yards rushing on 33 carries by Detroit would normally rate a solid F but they made a turnaround in the second half, allowing only 50 yards as they shut down the cutback Jahmyr Gibbs had been relying on and forced both backs into gang tackles. Dexter picked up his play against the run in the second half, especially.
Well, it felt like Caleb was literally playing 1 on 11 by the end - completely failed by a bad offensive line, bad coaching, etc. Caleb's season has been up-and-down, but you really believed today that he's really capable of being a great player - if Chicago doesn't ruin him! pic.twitter.com/7ciWhDy2H3
— Ron S. - The Meme King GOAT (@RonStelter) November 28, 2024
Special Teams: B-
With a 55.8-yard average for four punts, Tory Taylor also had one inside the 20 and was good enough that even their normally weak covergage team could help keep his net average at 45.3. Allowing four punt returns for 10.5 per return didn't help Bears field position but the real problem on special teams was D'Andre Carter again misfielding a punt, letting one get past to roll to the 1-inch line. It's two straight weeks of problems from Carter fielding punts. The kick coverage group performed better, coming up with a key stop after 23 yards in the second half. They also had a solid rush on Jake Bates' missed field goal.
Caleb is not the problem. pic.twitter.com/i7qoIif5tL
— Taking It Back 2024 (@KO_Arizona) November 29, 2024
Coaching: D-
While Thomas Brown got the play calling back in order in the second half, the blunders with the clock and not using a timeout by Matt Eberflus eventually proved decisive. Inexcusable coaching at the end of the game for a team with a head coach already under scrutiny.
Overall: C
C is an average grade and the way the Bears finished that game was really pretty much average for them this season.
If the Bears did not have such an elite defense, they'd be down by 30 already! pic.twitter.com/sKihGchWrh
— James Pethokoukis ⏩️⤴️ (@JimPethokoukis) November 28, 2024
Twitter: BearsOnSI