The Chicago Bears lost to the New York Jets in an ugly fashion. With the Jets’ backup quarterback, Mike White leading his team to a 31-10 victory over our beloved Bears, there are really not many silver linings to take away from this game. It reminded me of the gruesome loss to the Buccaneers that the Bears had last year.
Still, there has to be applause for all the players who had to step up for the injured guys this week. On offense, we saw Trevor Siemian at the quarterback position for the first time as a Bear. While he was not great, he looked good at times. He just might not be the best fit for this offense as a backup. Darrynton Evans played meaningful snaps as the backup running back behind David Montgomery. He found some good chunk runs and served well as the change of pace back. Even Chase Claypool made some big plays — including his first great contested catch on a deep ball.
The defense saw guys like Deandre Houston-Carson, Elijah Hicks, and Jaylon Jones all stepped up for the depleted secondary. While it was not always pretty, the Bears got to see some of their depth play meaningful snaps. In a rebuilding year, this is sometimes all a fan can ask for.
The players that looked specifically sharp today were Teven Jenkins and Jack Sanborn. Jenkins has solidified himself as the best offensive lineman on this team, and it really is not close at this point. Jenkins held his own against the likes of Quinnen Willams and John Franklin-Meyers who are both very good interior game wreckers.
Jack Sanborn again was the leading tackler for the Bears, and he continues to impress since coming from the end of the bench to being the best linebacker on the team. The question that remains about Sanborn is if he is a starting linebacker on a competitive team or if he is looking this good because of how bad the rest of the defense is.
As tough as the loss is, the Chicago Bears now hold the second pick in the NFL draft which could present a number of helpful scenarios for Ryan Poles when he tries to build his team. Nobody in this building wants to lose, especially the players. Unfortunately, the injury bug and the lack of talent are catching up with the Bears in the home stretch of the season.