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Bears PFF grades: Best and worst performers in Week 15 loss vs. Vikings

Alyssa Barbieri
·5 min read
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The Chicago Bears suffered a frustrating 17-9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, sending Chicago to its eighth loss in the last nine games and dropping the Bears to 4-10 and out of the playoff race.

Pro Football Focus handed out player grades for those who took a snap in the Bears’ loss, and we broke them down by offense and defense, analyzing the three highest- and lowest-graded players on each side.

There were a few surprises in terms of the highest- and lowest-graded players, both on offense and defense.

Top 3 offense

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Quarterback Justin Fields was the second-highest graded player on offense, where he received a 78.0 passing grade but struggled running the ball, which was likely impacted by his costly fumble. All-in-all, Fields’ stat line makes it look like he had a great game, but he struggled with ball protection and holding onto the ball too long. Tight end Jesper Horsted had just one catch for 19 yards on the night, but it was Chicago’s lone touchdown of the night. Horsted received a strong passing grade from PFF and was their highest-graded player on offense. Receiver Jakeem Grant exited the game with a concussion. But before that, he saw two carries for 17 yards, which earned him a solid 68.3 run grade.

Bottom 3 offense

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With Allen Robinson and Marquise Goodwin sidelined and Jakeem Grant exiting the game with a concussion, rookie wide receiver Dazz Newsome made his NFL debut and saw the field for a good chunk of the game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an impressive debut. Newsome failed to haul in his one target and received a 49.8 passing grade and 54.8 run blocking grade from PFF. Tight end Jimmy Graham dropped a touchdown in the end zone, one of four trips inside the 20-yard line that didn’t end in a score, and he had just one reception for 13 yards, which earned a dreadful 45.1 passing grade. Running back David Montgomery continues to be the team’s best offensive weapon, and he had 83 scrimmage yards against the Vikings. While Montgomery did commit a fumble, it was a shock to see him among the bottom three players on offense.

Top 3 defense

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

It’s amazing that rookie cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. has remain shelved for 14 weeks on the practice squad following his impressive NFL debut with Chicago’s secondary depleted by COVID-19. Graham was the Bears’ highest-graded player, notching a 90.7. Graham had seven tackles and three pass breakups, including one that prevented a Vikings touchdown. Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks wasn’t far behind Graham with a 90.2, which was his first game in over a month. Hicks was a dominant force, notching five tackles, including two for a loss, two sacks and four QB hits. Despite giving up an early touchdown to Justin Jefferson, Bush was solid starting in place of Eddie Jackson and Tashaun Gipson, who were sidelined with COVID. Bush had four tackles and one pass breakup.

Bottom 3 defense

AP Photo/David Becker

  • DT Margus Hunt – 29.3

  • OLB Trevis Gipson – 30.5

  • OLB Ledarius Mack – 48.2

There wasn’t really a surprise among the three lowest-graded Bears defenders, with the exception that Kindle Vildor seemed to escape it. Defensive tackle Margus Hunt, who had two tackles, saw just 20 snaps, where he was solid in tackling and pass rush but garnered a disastrous 29.3 grade in run defense. Outside linebacker Trevis Gipson has had a solid season, but he struggled against the Vikings. Gipson failed to get in the box score and received poor tackling, run defense and pass rush grades. Not to mention, Gipson had a silly penalty after throwing a punch at a Minnesota player and walking away. Outside linebacker Ledarius Mack saw just 10 snaps, where he logged one tackle. Mack didn’t receive terrible grades, but he fared well in tackling and pass rush but can improve in coverage and run defense.

Other notables

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  • LT Teven Jenkins – 67.2

  • WR Darnell Mooney – 62.9

  • OLB Robert Quinn – 65.0

  • ILB Roquan Smith – 64.9

Rookie Teven Jenkins made his first NFL start at left tackle in place of an injured Jason Peters, and he fared better than his first action last week against the Packers. While Jenkins does have seven penalties in seven quarters, he took a step forward in pass protection, and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be the starter for the remainder of the season. With Robinson sidelined with COVID, wide receiver Darnell Mooney was WR1, where he had five catches for 63 yards. He received decent passing and pass blocking grades, he struggled in the run game and run blocking.

It was shocking that outside linebacker Robert Quinn failed to make the top three defensive players on PFF, especially considering his dominating effort. Quinn had two sacks, four tackles, including one for a loss, two QB hits and a forced fumble. Quinn now has 16 sacks on the season and is 1.5 away from tying Richard Dent’s single-season record in Chicago. Linebacker Roquan Smith played despite battling a hamstring injury, and he looked like a man on a mission tackling opposing players. Smith finished with a team-high 10 tackles, receiving an 82.3 tackling grade.

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