The Bears lost to the Eagles on Monday Night Football 29-14 in what any real Bears fan would see as a disaster. Sure there were some positives but those were outweighed by the many mistakes that the Bears seemingly continue to make week after week, year after year. Coach John Fox’s program will be ultra dissected this week after an 0-2 start that has Bears fans livid, surprised, upset, disappointed, and deflated.
The big story coming into the game was Eagles rookie QB Carson Wentz. He played well but I would argue he wasn’t the reason the Eagles won on Monday night. He did his job going 21-34 with 190 yards and 1 TD. He didn’t commit a turnover though so his “management” of the game was the key. He only converted 3 of 15 3rd downs but did convert all 3 4th down attempts for Philadelphia. He showed signs of one day being a premier signal caller so the Eagles fans have a right to be extremely excited.
As for Chicago, have they hit the bottom of the well after John Fox’s 18th game as the Head Coach? It sure seemed that way as mistakes and injuries were the main takeaways from Week 2. The Bears committed 7 penalties, 3 turnovers, and were sacked 3 times. Coach Fox has talked consistently about making the Bears a tougher team. He chides players for their “owies” but on Monday night the owies turned into something much worse. At least six Bears left the game due to injury: DT Eddie Goldman, OLB Lamarr Houston, CB Bryce Callahan, and S Adrian Amos on defense; RB Ka’Deem Carey and most importantly QB Jay Cutler on offense. By the end of the game it looked like a preview for that new movie “The Magnificent Seven”. The Eagles were the gunslingers and the Bears were the victims left in their wake.
The Bears had a hard enough time winning with their guys healthy. With at least 6 players hurt with owies, they may have a hard time winning at all much less contending for an NFC Playoff berth.
THUMBS DOWN 
#98 Mitch Unrein – This guy isn’t doing anything other than getting pushed around.
#4 Connor Barth – A pessimist Bears fan could see this coming. After management cut fan favorite Robbie Gould in preseason, you knew Barth’s first FG attempt at Soldier Field would be highly scrutinized. He missed a 31 yarder, earning understood boos. Coach Ditka must be rolling over in his grave.
The Offensive Line – Kyle Long doesn’t look right. Bobby Massie continues to get beaten by DE’s. Newly acquired backup TE Logan Paulsen was ineffective in blocking. The continuity is not there yet. Will it get there before the season is too late?
#6 Jay Cutler – Cutler was so up and down last night it looked like he was acting. Some scenes required him to show off that gun of his. He made some nice passes, completing 4 in a row on one drive. In total he went 12-17 for 157 yards and 1 INT. Once again, it was this INT and a fumble on a scramble that made you wonder if he was trying to play the part of rookie QB in his 1st road start of his career. As it turned out, Cutler left the game after those two turnovers which were partially due to an injury he received on his throwing hand.
Game Balls 
#97 Willie Young – Willie came to play. I love his “fishing” sack dance. He was able to do it after taking down Wentz. Young made 7 tackles and 1 sack in a very good performance.
#24 Jordan Howard – He only had 3 carries but he totaled 22 yards. He also made 2 receptions for 9 yards and showed flashes that he could be “the man” eventually at RB.
#13 Kevin White – He had 4 catches for 36 yards and showed some good skills on a 9 yard end around run on a well designed play dialed up by OC Dowell Loggains. His effort in stretching for 1st downs and getting every last yard was also commendable.
#17 Alshon Jeffery – Alshon is proving to be the Bears most dependable weapon. He had 5 catches for 96 yards and he also drew a pass interference penalty on the Eagles in the end zone which set up the Bears 1 yard TD run by Jeremy Langford.
Player of the Game
#19 Eddie Royal – As we wrote about in Thursday’s preview, Royal was indeed one to “Keep an Eye On”. After a disappointing debut season for the Bears in 2015, Royal was extremely impressive on his escapability in small spaces for the 2nd week in a row in 2016. He had 4 catches for 52 yards and he brought back memories of Devin Hester with his incredible 65 yard Punt Return for TD in the 4th quarter. Royal gets our Player of the Game Award and solidifies his spot as one of the Bears best players moving forward.
Where do the Bears go from here? Well, they go to Dallas for another game in primetime on NBC on Sunday night. Will I pick Chicago to win again? You’ll have to read my Week 3 Preview later this week. For now, Virginia is pissed.
Dutch Lion Sports 