Injuries Mar Strong Offensive Showing As Bears Beat Redskins 33-31
The Bears wasted no time in showing you the offense of the future as Jay Cutler hooked up with Brandon Marshall for a 41-yard gain. The first team offense came out firing, and their first drive was capped off with a Michael Bush 1-yard TD run. Jay Cutler and the first team offense finished up the night 7/13 for 122 yards. Michael Bush showed his red zone potential with two scores while the offensive line woke up and offered good pass protection for Jay Cutler.
The first string defense looked solid too, only allowing 3 points, as they kept Redskins rookie sensation RGIII in check for most of the night. Izzy Idonije isn’t ready to cede to rookie Shea McClellin just yet, contributing with 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble. The backups didn’t fair as well, giving up 21 4th quarter points as the Redskins rallied to take a 31-30 lead with about 2 minutes left. The Bears marched down, led by fourth string QB Matt Blanchard, to secure a win on a Robbie Gould 57-yard field goal.
The result on the scoreboard for the Bears last week was downright ugly, falling to the Broncos 31-3, but they got out of that game relatively healthy. But I’d take those Denver results to keep everyone healthy as compared to the injuries that the Bears racked up as the Bears edged the Redskins 33-31. Starting safety Chris Conte suffered a shoulder injury while rookie safety Brandon Hardin had to be carted off with a neck injury. Punter Adam Podlesh’s golf game might be on hold for a few days as he suffered a hip injury while trying to chase down a punt return.
Let’s go bullet points the rest of the way with my other notes:
- Alshon Jeffery continues to impress. He set up the first score with a nice catch in the red zone, to get down to the 1-yard line. He did get flagged for mixing it up with DeAngelo Hall, but it was the typical “the second guy always gets flagged” kind of thing. He’ll learn from that and continue to get better.
- Eric Weems made a case in the return game as well as on offense. He had a nice showing on Saturday night.
- The Offensive Line had nowhere to go but up. They responded to the criticism they faced after the first game with a stronger showing. In the first viewing of the game, I couldn’t tell if Chris Williams made up any ground in the battle with J’Marcus Webb. I did find it interesting that when they subbed in Williams, Chilo Rachal came in with him to get Chris Spencer and J’Webb. I guess Spencer has been put on notice.
- Nate Collins continues to show well at the nose tackle. He is making a case to be a regular part of that rotation. Brian Price still looks like he’s trying to get his legs under him. John McCargo came up with nice fumble recovery to make a case for himself.
- Evan Rodriguez showed why the Bears selected him in the fourth round. He’s got good ability as a pass catcher, but still needs to work on his blocking if he’s going to be playing out of that H-back role.
- Don’t be surprised if Chris Summers fights his way onto the practice squad. He’s getting looks in the red zone and made some plays. He did have a costly fumble late when the Bears were trying to hold off the ‘Skins. He’s 6’5″ and you can’t teach size and the Bears now seem to have taken a liking to big wide receivers. What a novel concept.
- Shea McClellin was able to get some nice pressure but still missed some assignments. He got pinned in on one play and lost containment. He’ll continue to be a work in progress.
- Lorenzo Booker tossed his hat in the ring for that third running back role with a touchdown return to open the second half of the game.
- Speaking of special teams, it was very uncharacteristic to see Dave Toub’s group give up a punt return. That will be cleaned up.
Overall, it was a good showing by the Bears. Let’s hope the injuries don’t cast a dark shadow over the win.