That got dicey.
But nickel back Kyler Gordon came through, as he did time and time again for the Bears‘ defense on Sunday.
Gordon sacked Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (19-for-33 passing for 225 yards and three touchdowns) three times and forced two fumbles in his first game of the season.
On the offensive side, quarterback Caleb Williams’ return sparked an offense that was held to seven points in Green Bay last week.
Williams finished 30-for-36 passing for 305 yards with one touchdown in his first game since he was carted to the locker room with a hamstring strain in Week 2.
Running backs D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson combined for 99 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The Bears improve to 4-2.
The CHGO staff reacts to the win…
Adam Hoge: Caleb Williams was outstanding in his return from injury. He was still able to move around and scramble, but never pushed it to the point of running, even though he had a few opportunities to do so. He was efficient and accurate throughout the game. And credit to Dennis Allen for a great game plan. Is Kyler Gordon the Bears’ best pass rusher? Special teams came up with game-changing plays as well.
Adam Jahns: The return of Caleb Williams was the big story. But what Kyler Gordon did was, too. He played in his first game since last season — and made a huge difference with three sacks and two forced fumbles. It really was the Kyler Gordon Game. He showed again that he can be a star when healthy. He closed out the game with a sack and strip in the final minutes when things got dicey for the Bears.
Patrick Norton: Credit to Dennis Allen’s defense, which held Falcons running back Bijan Robinson to 61 yards on nine carries. The Falcons’ offensive game plan was a tad perplexing for that reason. Why not give the ball to the league’s most dynamic play-maker? Nickel back Kyler Gordon’s three-sack performance was everything anybody could’ve hoped for in his return from an extended absence. And Caleb Williams was nearly perfect. A great team win.
Mark Carman: And I took that personally. From the second Caleb Williams got carted off in week 2 the noise about the way he left the field started. Then the reporting on the injury came. Williams seemingly took offense to all of it and took it out on the Atlanta Falcons today with one of his best performances as a Bear. Williams was sharp from the get-go and was backed up by a Dennis Allen defense that was aggressive, causing havoc all day, led by suddenly healthy Kyler Gordon. Special teams was enormous too. All three phases combined to dominate Atlanta. Ben Johnson is now 6-2 after a loss.
Greg Braggs Jr: Patience.
That’s the theme of the day. The theme I’ve been trying to convey the last week. And the message I will continue to deliver going forward.
The Bears are now 4-2 on the year but you wouldn’t know it the way some fans and pundits acted over the last week. Hopefully today showed
them why they were overreacting.
Also, welcome back, 18. We missed ya!