Chicago Bears Report Card for Week 7 Win: Stamp Them Contenders

This one was all about trust.

Ben Johnson trusted kicker Cairo Santos to try a 58-yard field goal and risk the field position in the fourth quarter to get a nine-point lead, even after a miss off the right upright from 53 yards.

Caleb Williams trusted receivers Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland after a few misplays earlier in the game on big throws, and the results were first down conversions when the Bears needed them on huge third and fourth downs.

Johnson trusted Williams enough to keep throwing and to gamble on fourth downs when the running game was hit or miss on the night. He also trusted Joe Thuney to carry the ball, for some reason. But you get the idea.

"So, we believe in each other," Williams said. "Whenever anything happens, Cairo misses, cool. I’ve got your back, the defense has got your back. When maybe we don't score or put us in that situation, Cairo has our back."

Williams pointed at his throws over the middle to Odunze to convert two third-and-longs.

“I was decisive about going to Rome, believing in him, trusting in him," Williams said.

It worked for the Bears to the tune of a 30-24 victory over a Super Bowl team on a night reserved to honor the memory of the late Mike Ditka. One of Ditka's favorite phrases was "big-time football," when they beat another contender in the regular season. Thursday night's win was exactly that.

Now they can take this 5-2 record that includes wins over Carolina, Philadelphia and New England, and go face the other team from the last Super Bowl, the Lombardi Trophy-winning Seahawks.

It's a strange record when they are 0-2 in their own division and 5-0 outside of it, but this is where they are.

Here are the grades for this trustworthy contender.

Running game: B+

The commitment was there even if the results came up short. They went against a very stout front and averaged only 3.9 per rush, but D'Andre Swift came up with tough yards and 22 carries was a heavy workload for him without injured Kyle Monangai. They probably could have leaned a bit more to Roschon Johnson but perhaps that trust wasn't so thorough after his fumble last week. Still, the line did enough and Swift was very tough at the goal line with a TD run in the first quarter and later on a pair of big runs for first downs.

Passing game: A+

This was one of the few times in Bears history when their quarterback stood in against another big-time passer in what amounted to a shootout and they came away a winner in the end. Maybe beating Jordan Love in the playoffs was another recent one, but Maye has definitely been one of the best young QBs in the league for two seasons and actually had a better passer rating in the game than Williams, 117.8-116.7. He also was better at yards per attempt, although both had wildly high numbers (Maye 10.3 and Williams 9.3). The better receiver group, led by Luther Burden's four catches and 130 yards, and they made a difference. It probably didn't help Maye that Romeo Doubs was out, injured. Ultimately, one pass decided it. Maye threw the interception in the first half in the end zone to D'Marco Jackson. Williams did not turn it over.

Run defense: A+

It's been rare since Dennis Allen became coach that the Bears so thoroughly contained a rushing game. This was one capable of turning out big yards with Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, but the backs were held to 13 carries for 44 yards even with middle linebacker T.J. Edwards out with a hamstring injury. Edwards and Devin Bush were outstanding against the run while the line forced the scrimmage line back into the backfield.

Pass defense: C+

The big pick wasn't all the Bears did right in the secondary. Even with Malik Muhammad exiting due to a toe injury, they managed to prevent most big plays. The Patriots had only two plays 20 yards or longer, one of which was the disaster to end the first half when they let Stevenson take a shorter pass 48 yards as Jaylon Johnson whiffed for the second time on a TD play. By contrast, the Bears had eight pass plays 20 yards or longer. As poorly as Johnson tackled, you didn't see his man in coverage making receptions all over the field. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson fought off an injury and played an outstanding game, as well. A.J. Brown had only three catches and Patriots wide receivers made only seven receptions for the game. Part of the reason the wide receivers weren't used was the Bears' pass rush. The Patriots had to go to tighter formations with a tight end or two retained for pass protection when it was evident early how the blitz, especially by Kyler Gordon, was beating their offensive line and getting to Maye.

Special teams: A-

The missed Cairo Santos 53-yard field goal might have been their only blemish, but tying the team record at 58 yards made up for it. The kickoff team and punt team again controlled field position, while Zavion Thomas and the kick return team answered Maye's 6-yard TD scramble by breaking a kick return 47 yards to Patriots territory.

Coaching: A

Dennis Allen continues to bottle up teams leaning heavily on backups. Not having Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo up front for the second straight game proved no problem as they allowed backs only 3.5 yards per carry and got 1 1/2 of their two sacks from defensive backs. It would have been three if Dillon Thieneman hadn't bounced off Maye on another attempt like he was stone. Ben Johnson's silly play call on a run by guard Joe Thuney should be put in the circular file, but he had a strong night with play calling overall and made good on both of his fourth-down gambles, while going 3-for-4 in the red zone for TDs.

Overall: A-

After this it's apparent — if it wasn't already — that the Bears must be considered in the Super Bowl picture. Beat Seattle and you can plant yourself among the favorites. Eventually it might help to actually win a game within their own division, though.