Studs and duds from Chicago’s Week 15 loss

Darnell Mooney just sealed his fate in Chicago with an embarrassing effort in a brutal loss to the Browns. Even before Mooney dropped the game-winning touchdown on a near-perfect Hail Mary attempt, he was having a rough outing. Mooney had two catches for 14 yards on eight targets, and he looked like he had no desire to be on the football field. The production and effort weren’t there, and he’s gearing up for his final three games with the Bears before likely signing elsewhere.

Wide receiver Trent Taylor was signed to the roster to serve as a dependable punt returner, as Velus Jones Jr. has proven he’s incapable of being that guy. While Taylor has been solid this season, he had two muffed punts against the Browns, including one that was recovered by the Browns at Chicago’s 20-yard line. If not for cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, it would’ve been a seven-point mistake.

So much happened in this game that it’s easy to believe Robert Tonyan’s blunder happened in a previous matchup. The Bears offense had an opportunity for a huge play in the first quarter, where Justin Fields found Tonyan deep for what should’ve been a touchdown — only Tonyan dropped the ball, reminiscient of Javon Wims. It was Tonyan’s only target of the day.

The Bears offense managed just 10 points in this game — seven of those coming courtesy of Eddie Jackson’s interception that set them up on Cleveland’s 1-yard line. It was a brutal effort all around, although Justin Fields did make some nice throws (not all of which were hauled in by his receivers). Getsy had another rough outing, and it’s clear he’s holding back this offense. Getsy has been ineffective as a playcaller, including calling an end around to rookie Tyler Scott on third-and-1 that was blown up in the backfield. Regardless of who’s at quarterback next season, Getsy cannot be here.

Justin Fields certainly had a better outing against Cleveland this second time around, as he wasn’t sacked nine times. But Fields was under constant duress as his offensive line struggled to keep him upright. Fields was sacked three times — although Myles Garrett, who dominated up front, was held without a sack. When the offensive line wasn’t getting pushed into the backfield, they were committing penalties that didn’t make things any easier. It didn’t help that they lost their best offensive lineman in Teven Jenkins, who suffered a concussion right before the half.

Consider me officially back on the #FireMattEberflus train. While there’s no discounting what Eberflus has done with this Bears defense, which has emerged as a top-five unit in the last few weeks, that’s not his job as the head coach of the Chicago Bears. The Bears had another loss where they blew a late lead, including a couple of bad calls by Eberflus to elect to go for it on fourth down (including a failed Hail Mary attempt just before halftime) rather than letting Mr. Reliable, Cairo Santos, attempt a field goal. The one at the end of the half was excusable — as it would’ve been a long attempt. But opting not to take the free three points in a close, defensive battle at the start of the fourth quarter was an awful decision.

It’s unfortunate that an absolutely dominant performance by Montez Sweat was tainted by a brutal loss. Sweat has been worth every penny (and the second-round draft pick) the Bears sent the Commanders way. Sweat led Chicago with 2.5 sacks, and he rattled Joe Flacco throughout the game. He added seven tackles, one tackle for loss and three QB hits. Fun fact: Not only does Sweat led the Bears in sacks this season (6.0), he still leads the Commanders (6.5).

Tremaine Edmunds was instrumental in the defense’s dominance against the Bears, although they weren’t able to pull it out in the end. Edmunds led Chicago with nine total tackles along with an interception against Browns quarterback Joe Flacco that he returned 45 yards for a touchdown. Edmunds now has four interceptions on the season, which is tied for the most among Bears defenders (along with cornerback Jaylon Johnson).

While Tyrique Stevenson has had his rookie struggles, he’s continuing to show flashes as a playmaker at cornerback for the Bears. Stevenson totaled five tackles and two pass breakups against the Browns, including a crucial interception of Joe Flacco that came one play after Bears receiver Trent Taylor muffed a punt that gave Cleveland prime field position. It was a touchdown-saving play by Stevenson, who continues to flash during his rookie year.

Eddie Jackson finally got his first interception of the 2023 season, marking the first of three picks thrown by Joe Flacco (although there should’ve been more). Jackson, who also had three tackles, nearly had a pick-6, but he was stopped just one yard short. His interception led to the Bears’ only touchdown of the afternoon, a Justin Fields to Cole Kmet touchdown.

Honestly, most of Chicago’s defense belongs on this studs list. But for brevity, I’ll give the final spot to DeMarcus Walker, who shined in his first game as the primary defensive end following the loss of Yannick Ngakoue. Walker had four tackles, including two tackles for loss, 0.5 sack and 2 QB hits.