The Chicago Bears (1-4) defeated the Washington Commanders (2-3), 40-20, on Thursday Night Football, where Chicago snapped their 14-game losing streak that spanned nearly a full calendar year.
Pro Football Focus handed out player grades for those who took a snap in the Bears’ Week 5 win (minimum 11 reps), and we broke them down by offense and defense, analyzing the three highest- and lowest-graded players on each side, as well as some other notable performers.
Buy Bears TicketsThere were a few surprises — and then some not surprises — in terms of the highest- and lowest-graded players, both on offense and defense. Here’s a look:
Top 3 offense
- WR DJ Moore – 93.2
- LG Teven Jenkins – 81.2
- QB Justin Fields – 77.9
Was there ever a doubt that Moore would be the team’s highest-graded player after his career game against the Commanders? Moore had had eight catches for 230 yards — second most in franchise history — and three touchdowns. Moore had an incredible 92.8 passing mark.
Fields had another strong outing after his career game last week, where he leaned into his connection with Moore. Fields completed 15-of-29 passes for 282 yards with four touchdowns and zero turnovers. Fields earned strong marks in passing (68.1) and the run game (82.1).
Jenkins hadn’t played an NFL game since last season, but his return proved to be a huge presence for the offensive line. While Jenkins didn’t start every rep at left guard — he was rotated in and played 37 snaps — he was the highest-graded offensive lineman. He was strong both in pass protection (82.2) and run blocking (76.0).
Bottom 3 offense
- LG Ja’Tyre Carter – 30.1
- LT Larry Borom – 44.3
- C Cody Whitehair – 48.5
While there were some strong offensive line performances — notably Jenkins, Darnell Wright and Lucas Patrick — the offense’s worst graded players were all offensive linemen. With Jenkins returning to action after being activated off IR, the Bears rotated him at left guard. Carter saw 11 reps after an injury to Lucas Patrick shuffled Whitehair to center. Carter earned a dismal 16.7 mark in pass protection but was better in run blocking (55.5).
While Borom earned a 44.3 grade, he actually held his own at left tackle and had a decent game, particularly in the first half. But he did struggle in the second half after the Bears had lost all their running backs and Washington knew Chicago was going to pass the ball. Borom earned a dismal 8.0 pass blocking grade (after allowing eight pressures), but he was marked high in run blocking (70.4). Whitehair started at left guard and ended the game at center, due to an injury to Patrick. Whitehair struggled in pass protection (38.3) but was better in run blocking (50.8).
Top 3 defense
- DT Gervon Dexter – 85.5
- CB Terell Smith – 77.3
- LB T.J. Edwards – 75.8
The Bears’ highest-graded defenders were rookie draft selections in Dexter and Smith, who had impressive showings. Dexter led the way with one tackle, two QB hits and a pass breakup. He earned strong marks across the board in pass rush (82.1), tackling (68.7), run defense (62.1) and coverage (60.0). Meanwhile, Smith had six tackles and forced and recovered a fumble in the second half. He earned strong marks in coverage (75.9) and run defense (69.3) but was marked down in tackling (54.1). Edwards led the Bears with 10 catches, one sack and one QB hit. He earned strong marks in coverage (76.4), tackling (73.7) and run defense (63.2), but was marked down in pass rush (50.6).
Bottom 3 defense
- DE Dominique Robinson – 37.6
- S Elijah Hicks – 39.6
- S Jaquan Brisker – 39.9
Robinson was the lowest-graded defender for the Bears. Robinson, who didn’t make it in the box score, had a strong tackling mark (69.2) but was marked down across the board in pass rush (52.8), run defense (56.2) and coverage (60.2). Hicks, starting place of an injured Eddie Jackson, had four tackles and one pass breakup. Hicks was solid in run defense (60) but struggled with tackling (28.0) and coverage (42.9). Meanwhile, Brisker did suit up despite battling a hamstring injury. Brisker, who had six tackles, was strong in tackling (82.4) and run defense (63.7). But he did struggle in pass rush (55.8) and coverage (42.0).
Other notables
- RT Darnell Wright – 75.4
- CB Greg Stroman Jr. – 69.4
- TE Cole Kmet – 64.8
- RB Khalil Herbert – 58.6
Wright continues to be a stud for the Bears. The rookie right tackle had the fourth-highest grade on offense, and he held his own against some top edge rushers in Montez Sweat and Chase Young. Wright had an impressive 81.2 mark in run blocking but was marked down a bit in pass blocking with a 57.4. Stroman, who started the year on the practice squad, was one of the best defensive players on the field for the Bears. Stroman had seven tackles, including one tackle for loss, one sack, one pass breakup and one QB hit. He earned strong marks in tackling (83.1) and coverage (70.0) but was marked down slightly in run defense (60.0) and pass rush (59.4).
Kmet had another impressive game for Chicago, where he was essentially a WR2 behind Moore. Kmet had five catches for 42 yards and one touchdown (his third total in two games). He continues to be a safety blanket for Fields, earning a strong 66.4 passing grade but he struggled in pass protection (7.9). Meanwhile, Herbert continued his dominance on the ground after recording his first 100-yard game of the season last week. Herbert had 10 carries for 76 yards with 7.6 yards per carry. He was strong in pass protection (78.3) but was marked down in rushing (60.9) and passing (50.1). Unfortunately, he exited the game with an ankle injury.
