Bears Report Card: How we graded Chicago after Week 8 loss to Commanders

The Chicago Bears suffered a brutal defeat to the Washington Commanders, 18-15, where a last-second, avoidable Hail Mary spoiled a comeback bid for Chicago.

Right before the Hail Mary, the Bears took the lead for the first time with under a minute remaining. While it was nice to see them bounce back and take the lead with 17 seconds remaining after poor play throughout the game, it was a tough way to give away what should've been their fourth straight win.

Over the last few weeks, most of Chicago’s units were given high grades. When you win, that mostly means you played well. When you don’t, there is usually going to be a negative response. This is how we graded each unit of the Bears following this truly disgusting loss:

Offense : D

The Bears offense was awful for most of the game. They went into halftime being shutout, and they didn't score for the first time until the final minute of the third quarter. After three weeks of greatness, they came out of the bye flat and confused. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams wasn’t good for the first three quarters. As a result, nothing around him was able to get going. There’s a lot more that goes into this, but he didn’t do his job well either. That is until the fourth quarter. Williams and the offense really took off and eventually got themselves the lead in the game. It turned out to be too little too late. If they weren’t pedestrian for the first three quarters, the final play issues would have never happened. Running back D’Andre Swift was incredible running the football, where he totaled 129 yards on 18 carries, including a 56-yard touchdown. He was the one positive light that shone from this game. If it weren’t for Swift, the offense would have been even more lousy.

Defense: C

The defense deserved better in this game. Until the Hail Mary, they held the top-scoring Commanders offense to just 12 points on four field goals -- before the final Hail Mary. This bend-don’t-break squad keeps the team in the game every week. It’s another game of giving up 21 or fewer points. They get a C because of the way it ended. They didn’t play smart on the final drive that spoiled a comeback bid. Well out of Hail Mary range, the prevent defense allowed Jayden Daniels to move up the field into range, including a 13-yard completion to Terry McLaurin that made it possible. On that final Hail Mary play, Tyrique Stevenson was more worried about taunting fans than the play in motion. His embarrassing judgment lowers the overall grade for the unit. He also had two 15-yard penalties earlier in the game that cost his team. Stevenson's a good player but he needs to be smarter. Despite keeping the team in the game once again, those types of non-football decision-making mistakes need to be corrected or they’ll never advance to the playoffs.

Special Teams: A

The Bears don't have any issues with their special teams right now. Rookie Tory Taylor has been brilliant with his punts and kicker Cairo Santos made the one extra point he was asked to attempt (that was his only point of the day). They haven't given up great field position to the opposition and haven't been the reason that they've lost a game. One of their four wins is a direct result of them playing well. There are no complaints with the special teams.

Coaching: F

The Bears coaching staff revealed something on Sunday. They showed the world that they were not good enough in their current roles. Matt Eberflus won't be a Super Bowl-winning head coach and Shane Waldron won't be a Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator. The offense was so bad for three-quarters of the game. Then, they got to the goal line with a chance to take the lead and they let Doug Kramer take a rushing attempt. He fumbled the ball on the goal line and it was recovered by the defense. Why not let a sure-handed running back take it in? That's a trick play you run when you're up by 20.

Later again, the Bears had the ball on the goal line again. Instead of running it, they tried a pass in the back of the endzone. The incomplete pass led to the clock stopping. If a run play failed, at least the clock would have kept rolling which lowers Washington's chances of scoring late if the Bears take the lead. On the final Hail Mary drive, the Bears defense let Washington get some yards on the McLaurin reception. That coaching error led to them getting Daniels in a spot where he could reach the endzone with a throw. There was no point in playing prevent defense to allow that.

Between that, terrible clock management, bad timeout decision-making, and inability to accurately challenge plays properly, an F is awarded for this game. The Bears have never fired a coach midseason but there is a first time for everything.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears Report Card: How we graded Chicago after loss vs. Commanders