Justin Fields among several Bears who deserve recognition for strong showing vs. Lions

The Chicago Bears were less than five minutes away from their first division win and first winning streak under head coach Matt Eberflus in Week 11. Justin Fields had just orchestrated a long, time-consuming drive that resulted in a field goal to put the Bears up by 12 points over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.

But the Bears found yet another way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Lions easily marched down the field on consecutive drives, thanks to some cowardly play calling on defense, and won the game, 31-26.

The old football maxim proved true once again: playing prevent defense prevents winning.

I feel like I’ve said this multiple times before, but this coaching staff cannot be allowed to keep their jobs for one more day. This kind of futility is inexcusable, insulting to the fans, and ought to be professionally embarrassing to the front office. But the Chicago Bears have never fired a head coach midseason before, and I’m done expecting that to change.

Still, despite another humiliating loss, some Bears put on a show for the fans and deserve recognition.

Justin Fields

We’ll start with the quarterback, who made his return from a month-long injury absence. Fields played an efficient game, completing 70% of his passes for 169 yards, a touchdown, 100 yards rushing, and, most importantly, only two sacks.

Sadly, his worst play of the day was also the game-ending play when Fields was strip-sacked, and his turnover-free game was spoiled.

Still, he played well overall. It wasn’t spectacular, but he didn’t lose the game for the Bears. It remains to be seen if he can keep this up and convince GM Ryan Poles to keep him around, but for now, he should be satisfied with a good game.

The Linebackers. Yes, all of them.

Every Bears linebacker made a big play today. Also fresh off an injury, Tremaine Edmunds pulled in an interception on a pass tipped up by Gervon Dexter. TJ Edwards had an interception after fooling Jared Goff into thinking he had an open passing lane. Jack Sanborn had a big sack on 3rd down late in the game, and DeMarquis Gates, a practice squad elevation and former All-USFL linebacker, recovered a fumble on special teams.

They all deserve props, and here they’ll get it. In true Chicago Bears fashion, if there’s one position group that fans don’t need to worry about, it’s the linebackers.

Tyrique Stevenson

The rookie had what was easily the best game of his young career, pulling in an interception and forcing the fumble that Gates recovered. He also had a nice pass deflection and four total tackles. He’s struggled so far in his rookie season, but most cornerbacks do when they make the leap from college to the NFL.

Here’s hoping this is the start of a positive trend for Stevenson. You can never have too many good cornerbacks in this league.

DJ Moore

As usual, Moore was Fields’ top target in the game. Moore finished with seven catches on nine targets for 96 yards and a touchdown on a beautiful 40-yard pass from Fields. It was another solid game for Moore, and he’s quickly proving to be Chicago’s best receiving threat since Brandon Marshall.

If this keeps up, Moore may finally join that top tier of wide receiver rankings, where he truly belongs.

Cairo Santos

Another week, another flawless performance from Santos. He went 4/4 on field goals on Sunday, including a long of 53 yards. He’s now 19 of 20 on the season and has connected on 46 of his last 50 field goal attempts.

Santos is playing on the final year of the three-year contract he signed with Chicago in 2020. He’s averaged 91.7% on field goals as a Bear, a full seven percentage points higher than Chicago Bears legend Robbie Gould.

I think it’s safe to say he’s earned a handsome contract extension by now, and I imagine Ryan Poles will make it happen this offseason. When you have a kicker as reliable as Santos, you don’t let him go.

Honorable Mentions: Gervon Dexter Sr. for tipping a pass that Edmunds picked off and getting two hits on the quarterback, and Montez Sweat for getting his first sack as a Bear.

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