QUARTERBACK: D
This can’t be happening again, can it? Bears quarterback Caleb Williams looked like a shell of the player he was just four weeks ago in London. His completed 16 of 30 passes for 120 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions for a 63.2 passer rating. And he was sacked nine times for 51 yards in losses, as the Bears had a net of 69 passing yards.
Williams has not thrown an interception in three games of regression, so it could be worse. But he looks like a quarterback who is one step from disaster.
OFFENSIVE LINE: F
The Bears already were in a bind with left tackle Braxton Jones (knee) and right tackle Darnell Wright (knee) out with injuries. Left guard Teven Jenkins left in the second quarter with an ankle injury, with center Doug Kramer replacing him.
The Bears thought they could survive against a defense ranked 28th in sacks and 25th in yards allowed. But Williams was under constant pressure.
SHANE WALDRON: F
There’s no way this is the guy who turned Geno Smith into a Pro Bowl-quality starter with the Seahawks. Waldron has fallen into a familiar, mystifying trap that has snared many a struggling coach and player at Halas Hall — the harder he tries, the worse he gets.
The Bears gained 142 total yards (2.4 per play). They were 1 for 14 on third down conversions (7.1%) and — worst of all — Williams took another step backwards in a dreadful performance that makes some kind of change imminent.
MATT EBERFLUS: F
The Bears’ defense played well enough to win — allowing 19 points, 326 yards and 5.4 yards per play, with the lone takeaway of the game (linebacker T.J. Edwards’ interception). But on this day that only emphasized the argument that Eberflus is a good defensive coordinator out of his element as a head coach.
Eberflus gets the credit when his team responds to his H.I.T.S. principal approach. But the opposite response also reflects on him — the Bears, after inexplicably losing to the Commanders coming off their bye, have shown no spark after falling behind the Cardinals last week and the Patriots at home on Sunday.
RYAN POLES: F
He deserves the credit for impressive moves to rebuild the Bears’ roster, but his staunch support of Eberflus after last season is looking more and more like a misstep. That former Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh is 6-3 with the Chargers doesn’t help.
After the masterful trade with the Panthers and acquiring Montez Sweat at the trade deadline last year, Poles is on a bad run. Velus Jones was cut. Nate Davis was benched. And the offensive line, which should be Poles’ baby, was a mess Sunday, as Williams was sacked nine times.
Injuries to Wright, Jones and now Jenkins obviously are a big factor. But it was Poles who lauded his depth. “I feel more confident in the depth of our offensive line than I ever have before,” he said before the season.