The Chicago Bears were short-handed Saturday
The Buffalo Bills came into their Christmas Eve matchup against the Chicago Bears tied for the AFC’s best record. The Bears came into Week 16 holding onto the NFL’s second-worst record. For most of the game, the Bears held their own with the Bills, even though they had several important starters inactive or on injured reserve.
The Bears folded in the second half of a game played in extremely cold temperatures. After trailing 10-6 at halftime, the Bills took the lead on the first drive of the third quarter and pulled away to win 35-13. The Bears played conservatively with their depleted roster. It appeared at times like the coaching staff didn’t want to take advantage of Josh Allen’s shaky performance (he threw two terrible interceptions) Saturday to protect their draft position.
Here are three studs and duds from the Bears’ loss to the Bills.
Chicago Bears Studs
Kyler Gordon
Kyler Gordon had a lot asked of him Saturday. With Jaylon Johnson and Kindle Vildor placed on injured reserve Friday, Gordon had to cover Stefon Diggs. He did well with the assignment, as Diggs was mostly a non-factor against the Chicago Bears. Diggs finished with two catches for 26 yards.
Gordon snagged an interception by Allen in the endzone during the first quarter. Allen made an ill-advised throw into double coverage, and the rookie made him pay for it. The interception was Gordon’s third of the season and his second in two consecutive weeks.
Trenton Gill
Trenton Gill had a great day punting the ball for the Chicago Bears. Gill punted four times for 197 yards, averaging 49.3 yards per punt. His longest was a 63-yard punt which was downed at the Bills’ two-yard line. It was one of his best overall games, and he did it in frosty conditions.
Cairo Santos
Cairo Santos was bad last week against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was much better this week against the Bills. He made both of his field goals and knocked in his extra point. Santos didn’t attempt a longer kick than 37 yards, but he drilled what he was asked to do this week. His performance was much better overall than pretty much the rest of the roster. That’s where the newest version of the “Spare Bears” are at this point.
Chicago Bears Duds
Jaquan Brisker
Jaquan Brisker is going to have a hard time watching the film of his performance against the Bills. He made one great sack and finished with seven total tackles. Brisker’s second half was costly for the Chicago Bears. He gave up two touchdowns. On the first touchdown, the rookie safety attempted a terrible pursuit angle on running back Devin Singletary, allowing Singletary to earn a 33-yard rushing touchdown. He later allowed Allen to run one in for a score.
The Chicago Bears’ box defense
The Bears’ front seven against the Bills resembled more of a U-Haul box left in the rain than a box meant to stop a run. They crumbled against the Bills rushing attack, surrendering 254 yards rushing. It was a dismal performance by the defensive line and linebacking units. They both struggled to get off of blocks. The linebackers didn’t show much agility when trying to tackle.
Chicago Bears running attack
The Bears rushing attack was awful against the Bills Saturday. It didn’t help the Bears had several starters on the offensive line injured for the game. However, they needed to run the ball with the frigid temperatures; this was the healthiest they’d been in the backfield in weeks.
With Khalil Herbert back from injured reserve and a healthy Fields and Montgomery playing, the Bears managed just 80 yards rushing. That didn’t help the passing game. Fields finished 119 yards passing for the game. But he did finish with a 92.5 rating, over 21 points better than Allen did against a much worse defense.
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