Chicago Bears lose to Atlanta Falcons: Defensive grades

Finally healthy, the linebacking corps of the Chicago Bears stood out in their first meaningful action of the 2017-18 season.

Naturally, some of their strong play is directly related to great line play from Hicks and Co. After all, isn’t everything easier when you get clean runs at ball carriers?

But whatever the circumstances, it’s just great to have fast, aggressive linebackers that fly to the football and hit people again.

A year after being one of the best free agent signings in football, Freeman picked up right where he left off for the Chicago Bears with an all-around performance. In total, he had ten tackles on the day (seven solo), including one for a loss.

He flew around in the run game, stopped Devonta Freeman the few times it looked like he might break out. And he limited plays in the passing game, making quick tackles on short routes and bothering Ryan on blitzes.

And alongside Freeman, the Chicago Bears have two inside linebackers that can make plays of their own. In his first action back since suffering a major knee injury in November, Danny Trevathan started yesterday’s game. Not only that, but he actually showed up on the field, stopping Freeman in his tracks on one play.

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In his first action back since suffering a major knee injury in November, Danny Trevathan started yesterday’s game. Not only that, but he actually showed up on the field, stopping Freeman in his tracks on one play and registering a quarterback hit.

And in relief, Nick Kwiatkowski just keeps crushing people every time he steps on the field. Should Trevathan suffer a setback at linebacker, either he or Christian Jones could jump right in and produce.

Also, though they didn’t record a sack, the outside linebackers showed up as well. Leonard Floyd had a tackle for loss and a very impressive pass breakup in the flat, displaying his all-around skill. And Sam Acho of all people actually played a solid game, racking up three tackles and consistently setting the edge.

Truthfully, aside from lacking in the sack department, it’s hard to pinpoint much that the linebackers did poorly today. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to produce a win.