It was an up-and-down day at Soldier Field for the Chicago Bears, but they ultimately came out on top in a win over the New York Jets.
The Bears are now 4-3 on the season, and were able to win despite missing two of their key contributors in Khalil Mack and Allen Robinson II.
Here are the Bears' grades from the Week 8 victory:
Offense: B
The Bears' offense couldn't seem to get sorted out in the first half, as Mitchell Trubisky routinely overthrew receivers and Jordan Howard struggled to get anything going in the ground game, but the team was able to rebound in the second half as they embarked on several clock-killing drives to help secure the victory.
Trubisky's touch was off at times, but good throws to Tarik Cohen and Anthony Miller ultimately resulted in touchdowns. Howard, after his early struggles, rebounded as well, scoring a touchdown and rushing for 81 yards as he punished the Jets' defense in the second half.
It would still be beneficial to the Bears to get him going more often, but with a limited workload caused by Matt Nagy's play-calling style and the strong play of Cohen, it might be too much to ask to get Howard going on a regular basis.
Chicago Bears
Defense: B+
This is a bit of a tough grade, especially considering just how good the Bears looked even without Mack in this game.
The Bears' secondary was active in the game, defending six passes in total, and Bryce Callahan had a monster game, defending three passes, sacking quarterback Sam Darnold, and registering four total tackles.
Despite the Bears holding the Jets to 10 points and a little over 200 yards in offense, we're dinging them a bit because of their lackluster pass rush. The team had only one sack in the game despite Darnold's reputation as a pocket passer, and players like Leonard Floyd and Akiem Hicks need to step up their games in a big way as the team continues to struggle to get pressure on the quarterback.
Special Teams: C+
Cody Parkey missed a field goal Sunday, which could be blamed on the wind, but Pat O'Donnell did have a strong game punting, getting two punts within the 20 yard line and booming one 55 yards in the contest.
The Bears are still struggling to find ways to get Cohen going in space on punt returns, and their decision to have him cede a large chunk of the field to Lachlan Edwards on multiple boots was questionable at best.
