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Bears report card: Team grades in NFL Week 16 win over Packers

5 days agoScott Bair

I mean, wow.

The Bears’ shocking 22-16 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night at Soldier Field will be a core memory for those who saw it, a story passed down from one generation to another. Bears fans are good like that.

There’s no way you’re reading this and haven’t seen the highlights or watched the game live, but pardon a quick recap.

The Bears were dead to rights, facing a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit. Then they rallied to cut it down to one score, converted an onside kick with under two minutes left, threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to an undrafted rookie free agent to tie it, turned the Packers over on downs in OT, and then walked it off with Caleb Williams-to-DJ Moore.

[MORE: Inside Bears’ Caleb Williams-to-DJ Moore TD pass that beat Packers]

Got all that? Yeah. Me, neither, and I’ve rewatched it a thousand times. The late night and that insane finish pushed our Bears report card back another day, but we haven’t forgotten about it.

Let’s get to some game grades then, shall we? And while there were plenty of highlights at the end, we won’t forget about the first three-and-a-half quarters when handing out marks.

Rushing offense

The Bears had 150 rushing yards and averaged 5.8 yards per carry. That sum included some quarterback runs and a gadget for Moore to pump up the sum.

The D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai efforts still were good, but the Bears’ inability to sustain drives curtailed the ground game’s overall volume. They didn’t have enough plays overall, and had just 26 rushes. By their lofty standards, this was a ho-hum effort up front.

Grade: B-minus

Passing offense

Williams and the Bears’ air attack was borderline awful for most of this game, right up until it mattered most. Then they turned it on following a recovered onside kick.

Williams came to life in the biggest moments, with expert-level throws to Jahdae Walker on fourth down to tie it late and the play to Moore that you can just admit you’ve watched 100 times.

This is a tricky one to grade. They were so bad for so long but flourished at the end. What’s valued more? Finishing strong.

Grade: B-plus

Rushing defense

Grady Jarrett had seven tackles, with six of them resulting in a rushing failure. T.J. Edwards, who led the Bears with 10 tackles, came up with a massive stop in a short-yardage situation. Those moments were huge.

The overall run defense was, well, not great.

The Bears gave up 192 yards on 44 carries, which allowed the Packers to dominate possession and control most of the game. But Nahshon Wright forced a fumble on the Bears’ 2. Hard to argue with that.

Again, tough call here, but we’ll look at the performance overall.

Grade: C-plus

Passing defense

The Bears let Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis make some nice plays despite a reputation as a so-so (that’s being kind) downfield passer. He and Jordan Love, who was concussed on a second-half sack by Austin Booker because of a helmet-to-helmet collision, had a combined 109.4 passer rating.

Romeo Doubs made some huge plays, including a 33-yard touchdown catch. There were no interceptions, but the pass defense played a role in the Packers going 0-for-5 on touchdowns in the red zone.

Grade: C

Special teams

Cairo Santos received a game ball for his performance, and it was well deserved. He made three critical field-goal attempts — the Bears don’t win without them — despite gusting and unpredictable winds. And he delivered a perfect onside kick that Josh Blackwell (he also received a game ball) recovered. And he delivered a perfect kickoff to start OT.

While Moore and Williams will be remembered for this game, Santos delivered a performance for the ages.

Grade: A-plus-plus-plus

[READ: How Bears tight end Colston Loveland earned Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams’ trust]

Coaching

It kind of seemed like Packers coach Matt LaFleur found a way to get the best of the Bears, even with a backup QB. And we can’t discount the botched fourth-and-1 trick play early when a simple run would’ve sufficed.

But Bears head coach Ben Johnson delivered some excellent play designs to get the Bears back in it, and then win it. Dennis Allen had his defense performing well in the red zone and taking away the ball. Overall, though, those two have built a winning culture that allows the Bears to persevere in tough moments.

Grade: B