2017 Chicago Bears: Week 17 Report Card vs. Minnesota Vikings
With nothing but pride to play for, the Chicago Bears entered Week 17 in attempts to end the 2017 season on a high note. Unfortunately, the Bears came up short once again, losing to the Minnesota Vikings by the score of 23-10.
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The defense committed four costly penalties in the first half, two of which kept the Vikings’ drives alive resulting in touchdowns. Constant bad field position put the offense in uncompromising situations throughout the game, making it difficult to get the ball moving. The special teams unit provided the only spark for Chicago, and were responsible for all 10 of the Bears’ points.
Even though this game was totally meaningless for Chicago, there still are grades to hand out. And just like most of the other games this year, this report card won’t look pretty. Take a look.
Quarterback
Mitchell Trubisky finished his rookie campaign with a subpar performance in the Twin Cities. The first-round draft pick completed 20 of 36 passes for only 178 yards with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. Down by only seven points in the second quarter, Trubisky made an ill-advised flip of the ball in the end zone, warranting an intentional grounding penalty and resulting in a safety, killing any momentum the Bears had.
Grade: C-
Running Backs
Rookie Tarik Cohen outgained Jordan Howard on the ground, but both of their numbers weren’t anything to brag about. Cohen led the team with a measly 13 rushing yards, while Howard managed to just amass nine yards. Cohen did have six receptions in addition to his modest numbers, but only had 14 receiving yards to show for it.
Grade: F
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Dontrelle Inman made a case for himself to stick around for next season. Inman was the game’s leading receiver with 94 yards. Kendall Wright hauled in five passes for just 29 yards, while Josh Bellamy’s only catch went for 30 yards.
Grade: C-
Offensive Line
Granted, the Bears’ offense was up against the second-best run defense in the NFL. However, a net total of 30 yards on the ground just shows how manhandled they were on the line of scrimmage. Only one sack was surrendered, but Minnesota’s pass rush did managed to put some pressure on Trubisky.
Grade: F
Defensive Line
The defensive linemen were pretty active at the line of scrimmage, but weren’t active enough to help keep Minnesota’s running game at bay. Vikings running backs Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon combined for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Roy Robertson-Harris had four tackles and a sack, while Jonathan Bullard assisted on four tackles as well. Eddie Goldman started the game off on the first defensive series with a roughing-the-passer penalty on third down. Minnesota eventually scored a touchdown on that drive.
Grade: C-
Linebackers
Inside linebackers Danny Trevathan and Nick Kwiatkoski were the most active of the Bears’ corps of linebackers. The duo combined for 15 tackles. Sam Acho recorded one of Chicago’s two sacks on the afternoon.
Grade: C
Defensive Backs
For the most part, Chicago’s secondary held one of the best receiving duos in the NFL to average numbers. Vikings wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen each had six receptions for 65 and 61 yards respectively, with Diggs scoring a touchdown in the third quarter. However, a number of penalties put a blemish on their performance. Bryce Callahan was flagged twice for pass interference, and Marcus Cooper Sr. was guilty of illegal contact. All three of these penalties were committed on third downs.
Grade: C
Special Teams
As mentioned earlier, the special teams unit scored all of the Bears’ points in this contest. Callahan returned a punt 59 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, cutting the Vikings’ lead to seven points. Mike Nugent tied a career-high with a 55-yard field goal. Punter Pat O’Donnell averaged 44.6 yards per punt. Unfortunately, Chicago’s constant bad field position throughout the game prevented O’Donnell from having an opportunity to place the ball inside the 20-yard line. At the start of the second half, Benny Cunningham was flagged for offside on the kickoff.
Grade: B
Coaching
Bad coaching continued to rear its ugly head. The Bears were flagged for a delay of game on a punt in the first quarter. (How does that happen?) When the offense finally got into the red zone a couple of times late in the game, the play calling was atrocious. However, the defensive game planning and the trick play on the punt return for a touchdown kept this game somewhat competitive.
Grade: D