Which Chicago Bears players came out of the victory over the Lions as winners?
Nope, you will not see Mitch Trubisky on this winners list. I understand his final stats look as good as many of the other top quarterbacks in the NFL. In fact, his final stats are nearly identical to the Super Bowl Champion and NFL savior Patrick Mahomes. That said, he is still not a winner. I know, hard to believe after that bombshell, right? The thing is, context matters and Trubisky did not quiet any of his detractors. Therefore, I cannot include him on this list. That said, here are your winners.
The Chicago Bears tight end group
Yep, that’s right. The entire Chicago Bears tight end group are now winners. I know what you are thinking. But Rob, only Jimmy Graham came down with a reception in this game. Graham finished with three catches for 25 yards and a touchdown. He was two yards short and a knee down away from a second touchdown. Had he scored the second one (was overturned), Graham would have tied the number of touchdowns the tight end group had for the entire 2019 NFL season.
Graham did not look great at the beginning with some poorly timed jumps, but he did enough to settle down and help put the Bears on a path to victory. Cole Kmet and Demetrius Harris both had red-zone targets to boot. And now for the good part. The real reason the tight end group is full of winners was the personnel Matt Nagy and the offense ran versus the Lions.
According to JJ Stankevitz of NBC Sports, his count for the Bears 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends and two wide receivers) package was 11 plays. The team also ran 10 plays in 13 personnel (one running back, three tight ends and one receiver). This is not where it stopped. In fact, 27 of 65 plays included multiple tight ends. This means each will have opportunities going forward.
The Chicago Bears running backs
Similar to the tight end group, the Chicago Bears running backs are also looking like winners. If we are counting Cordarelle Patterson, and of course we are, the Bears running backs combined for 124 yards on the ground.
David Montgomery finished with 64 yards on 13 carries. After only averaging 3.7 yards per carry in 2019, Montgomery started the 2020 season by racking up 4.9 yards per carry. Patterson was right behind him averaging 4.8 yards per carry and well. Tarik Cohen had seven carries for 41 yards and 5.9 yards per carry. It was a great sight to see after the last two seasons. The running backs were attacking the inside and outside while hitting holes hard and not slowing down.
If this can evolve into the Chicago Bears offensive identity, I see this team operating more like the Dallas Cowboys, which should help open up the passing game for Mitch Trubisky (or Nick Foles). The offensive line gets a slight nod here too, but having the heavy tight end package helped the run game too. We can throw a shout out here to the line and new offensive line coach Juan Castillo for the vast improvement to start 2020.
Jaylon Johnson
The one player who stood out to me the most on defense was Jaylon Johnson. Johnson is a rookie cornerback who had limited time in training camp and was recovering from a third shoulder injury. We knew he had the skill set and talent to play in the NFL, but to come in as he did on Sunday and start with little practice was something else.
Johnson did not have a perfect game, but he would always rebound nicely after only a few lapses in coverage or downhill run tackling. He finished with five solo tackles and an assist. He came close to his first interception too. He proved the game is not too big or too fast for him. That’s a win.
Darnell Mooney
The other player (and rookie) who looked good in his role was Darnell Mooney. Mooney finished the game with three catches for 38 yards. Two of those catches were fantastic routes that included yards after the catch too. Mooney brings a different dynamic to the offense that I am excited to see and he should see more playing time now because of it.