Bears Report Card: How we graded Chicago’s offense in Week 2 win vs. Bengals

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The Chicago Bears recorded their first win of the season with a 20-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, where it was more of the same with struggles on offense.

While rookie quarterback Justin Fields did make his debut, it was an overall rough outing by everyone on offense, except for Andy Dalton, who was impressive before exiting the game with a knee injury.

There were certainly some surprises on offense, including wide receiver Allen Robinson’s outing and Matt Nagy’s usage of his tight ends. But the Bears got the win. Now, the offense needs to find some rhythm, and it looks like it’ll be with Fields as the starter.

As we wrap up Week 2, here’s how we graded each position group on offense in Chicago’s win against Cincinnati:

Quarterback: C+

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

In Andy Dalton's short stint, he was impressive going 9-for-11 with 56 yards and a touchdown for a 118.2 passer rating. Dalton was the Bears' highest-graded player by PFF with a 92.4 grade, but the offense failed to do much after that opening touchdown drive. But after Dalton suffered a knee injury on a scramble in the second quarter, the reins were handed over to rookie Justin Fields. Fields had a rough outing in his first significant action in the NFL, where he made some rookie mistakes, including miscommunication with the offensive line, timing issues with receivers (as well as a dropped touchdown by Allen Robinson) and had trouble protecting the football at times, recording a fumble (which he recovered) and an interception late in the game that kept the Bengals in it. Nothing to be worried about in the grand scheme of things, but it wasn't a good performance by the rookie.

Running back: B-

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Following a 108-yard game against the Rams in the opener, David Montgomery struggled behind Chicago's offensive line. Montgomery was held to 61 yards, but he did get those 20 carries Matt Nagy had promised. Montgomery seemed to find some success in the passing game, where he had three catches for 18 yards. Elsewhere, Damien Williams had just two carries for 6 yards and two receptions for -2 yards. Not an overall productive day for him. Khalil Herbert still remains relegated to kickoff duties and didn't see a carry against the Bengals.

Wide receiver: C-

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The Bears receivers didn't do much to help their rookie quarterback out once he entered the game. While Allen Robinson had a nice 11-yard touchdown grab from Andy Dalton on the opening possession, he dropped a perfectly placed touchdown from Fields in the end zone, which would've put the game beyond reach. Robinson finished with just two catches for 24 yards. Darnell Mooney, the highest-graded receiver for the Bears, led the team with six receptions for 66 yards. But he also failed to haul in a reception from Fields that was just off his fingertips. Marquise Goodwin had just one catch for 10 yards and Damiere Byrd wasn't used in the passing game. The hope is the Bears can get the downfield passing game going with Fields.

Tight end: F

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Bears tight ends Cole Kmet and Jimmy Graham were targeted a combined one time in Sunday's win over the Bengals, so they never really had a chance to do much. Kmet had 1 reception for 0 yards, and his other reception -- which would've been a big gain -- was negated by an offensive pass interference penalty. Chicago doesn't seem interested in utilizing Graham in the red zone, which is surprising they restructured his contract to keep him on the roster this season. Justin Fields would've scored on a run midway through the fourth quarter if Graham had blocked his guy. Instead, Chicago had to settle for a field goal.

Offensive line: C-

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The Bears offensive line as a whole struggled against the Bengals on Sunday, allowing three sacks on the afternoon. But it was an overall solid day for tackles Jason Peters and Germain Ifedi, who received the highest pass blocking grades among tackles in Week 2. Through two weeks, Peters and Ifedi are among the best pass-blocking tackles in the NFL. Run blocking, as a whole, is another story. In a shocking turn of events, the concern appears to be the interior of the line, which was led by center Sam Mustipher's rough outing. Mustipher was once again the weakest link on the offensive line, where he struggled in run blocking and pass protection. There were also a couple of cadence issues when Fields entered the game, which led to penalties. Mustipher needs to clean things up, or the Bears could be in the market for a new center. [listicle id=481772] [listicle id=481693] [listicle id=481710]

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