2020 Week 6: Chicago Bears 23, Carolina Panthers 16

By Kevin Schroeder
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Updated: October 25, 2020

QB1 and the one guy not trying to get him killed. (Photo credit: Grant Halverson, Getty Images)

Player Grades

The grading scale goes from -3 to +3 for each play. Screens are graded as runs. Penalties are counted in whatever phase they were committed. Pre- and post-snap penalties are in the “Misc.” column. “Short” throws are 10 yards or less, “Medium” is 10-20, “Deep” is over 20. Everything else (scrambles, throwaways, reads, etc.) is under “Miscellaneous.” Parentheses in a column denote grades/snaps from the opposite side of the ball and are not included in grades/snaps from the player’s usual side. Snap counts are from Pro Football Reference. Box score and other relevant info can be found at that link as well.

Fix the offensive line.

Rashaad Coward cannot be let to start another game. He especially cannot be let to start a game where he would be going up against Aaron Donald. You know Sean McVay knows what a glaring weak spot Coward is on this Bears line and is going to get his DPOY candidate up against him as much as possible. Such a matchup would be an absolute disaster for the Bears. Coward was completely dreadful against Carolina. His performance was right up there with Hroniss Grasu’s suckfest against Green Bay three years ago. And he wasn’t alone here, either. Leno was abysmal also. The Bears cannot go into 2021 with Leno at left tackle. He is going to get someone killed. The right side of the line was bad, but at least they were only regular bad. The only guy doing his job was Cody Whitehair and even he had a couple screw-ups. Here’s Foles’s interception:

If I had a dollar for every lineman who executed their assignment on this play, I’d have no dollars. Foles needs to know not to throw that ball, but some of the blame needs to fall on the guys up front. And that was hardly the only bust. Leno got olé’d a couple times, more than a couple times, Coward had no idea who he was supposed to be blocking. Just a total disaster. Er, near-total. Sorry, Cody.

Play calling woes.

Yeah, I wasn’t happy about some of the calls, either, particularly late in the game. I was less mad at Nagy after reviewing the tape because see above. It’s easy to say “run the ball,” but not so easy to actually do it when your line keeps getting their butts kicked. In addition to the line woes, Montgomery ran at the wrong spot a few times. Most of the time I only get so mad at him because, again, see above, but this time, he ran at the wrong spot on a couple plays that were blocked well, too.

That defense, though.

Excellent. They made Carolina earn their points, set the offense up well, and would have had a touchdown of their own if not for some bad officiating. Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan had their best games of the year, and there is an argument to be made at this point that Eddie Jackson is the best player on this team. Reminder – this is a team that includes Khalil Mack, who, despite what Raiders fans may have told you, has not fallen off. BoJack’s just that good. A couple years ago, I said he was on track to become Ed Reed 2.0. That moment’s here now.

What does this mean going forward?

The line is going to have their hands full with Aaron Donald. Pass pro will be an issue and inside runs will be tough. In addition to that problem, the Rams also have our old friend Leonard Floyd, who, while not a major pass rush threat, is one of the best edge defenders in the league against the run, so outside runs will be tough. For those keeping score at home, that leaves zero good places to run the ball. Don’t expect a whole lot from the offense. If the Bears are going to win, the offense needs to avoid mistakes and have this defense show up again.

Monsters

All defensive persons, except Robertson-Harris, Whitehair, Kmet.

Chipmunks

All offensive line persons except Whitehair, Harris, Miller.

Four Stars of the Game

Eddie Jackson

Roquan Smith

Tashaun Gipson

Khalil Mack, Danny Trevathan, Bilal Nichols, Akiem Hicks, Kyle Fuller, Mario Edwards, Cody Whitehair, Cole Kmet (All men get one full star, because a lot of other weeks, their performances would have been good for 2 or 3.)