Week 11 recap: Atlanta Falcons’ late FG sends Chicago Bears to their 4th straight loss despite another big effort from QB Justin Fields

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields tossed the third-down pass into the air, and the ball glanced off the hands of leaping running back David Montgomery.

Atlanta Falcons safety Jaylinn Hawkins dived to intercept the pass and seal the 27-24 victory over the Bears at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Bears had a chance to tie the game or take the lead after the Falcons took the three-point lead on kicker Younghoe Koo’s 53-yard field goal with 1 minute, 47 seconds to play.

Fields gained 1 yard and 4 yards on back-to-back runs, coming up after the first clutching his left shoulder. But the interception on third-and-5 pushed the Bears to their fourth straight loss.

Fields completed 14 of 21 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown and had 18 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

The Falcons entered the game 31st in sacks per pass attempt and had just one game with four sacks and one game with three this season. But they sacked Fields four times for a loss of 25 yards.

Montgomery’s 2-yard touchdown run tied it at 24 with 8:16 to play. On the 13-play, 75-yard drive, Montgomery also had a 32-yard catch on a perfect pass down the right sideline from Fields.

Fields also threw a 14-yard pass to Equanimeous St. Brown on a broken-down play that lasted 10 seconds before Fields threw the ball. A holding penalty on Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell on third-and-goal from the 5 gave the Bears a new set of downs at the 2. Montgomery scored on the next play.

Marcus Mariota’s 10-yard touchdown run with 1:48 to play in the third quarter gave the Falcons a 24-17 lead. Mariota had a 17-yard pass to MyCole Pruitt to get that drive going. A 15-yard roughing the passer call on cornerback Kyler Gordon brought the Falcons to the 14-yard line, and they scored two plays later.

Before the Falcons’ winning field goal, running back Cordarrelle Patterson ran 6 yards on a fourth-and-2 play on the drive. But Mariota’s pass to Olamide Zaccheaus with Jaylon Johnson covering him on third-and-7 fell incomplete.

Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon left the game in the second half to be evaluated for a head injury.

Read more coverage from Atlanta.

• Will QB Justin Fields miss time with a left shoulder injury? Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the Bears’ Week 11 loss.

• Justin Fields’ left shoulder injury is the cruelest twist in the latest Bears loss: ‘The pain right now is pretty bad’

• Cordarrelle Patterson tortures the Bears again with a record-setting 103-yard kickoff return TD in the Falcons’ win

Here’s how the Week 11 game unfolded.

Inactives announced

Bears wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. and right guard Teven Jenkins are active for the Bears against the Falcons.

Jones was a healthy scratch the last two games after losing his spot as a Bears returner and being pushed down the depth chart on offense. But with running back/returner Khalil Herbert on injured reserve and wide receiver N’Keal Harry out with illness, there’s an extra spot for Jones on the game day roster.

Jenkins has been dealing with a hip injury and was listed as questionable to play. It’s unclear if he or Michael Schofield will start at right guard.

Defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad (knee) and cornerback Kindle Vildor (ankle) also return from injuries.

Also inactive for the Bears are cornerbacks Lamar Jackson and Justin Layne, safety Dane Cruikshank and offensive linemen Ja’Tyre Carter and Alex Leatherwood.

The Bears elevated running back Darrynton Evans from the practice squad Saturday with Herbert out, and Evans is active.

For the Falcons, tight ends Feleipe Franks and Anthony Firkser, safety Jovante Moffatt, cornerback Rashad Fenton, inside linebacker Nate Landman, wide receiver Bryan Edwards and defensive lineman Matt Dickerson are inactive.

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Halftime: Bears 17, Falcons 17

The Bears had two takeaways off forced fumbles in the first half against the Falcons and went into halftime tied 17-17.

Bears quarterback Justin Fields rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries and completed 7 of 12 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown in the half.

The Bears capitalized on their second takeaway of the half in the second quarter when safety Jaquan Brisker forced Cordarrelle Patterson to fumble, and Jaylon Johnson recovered it and returned it 18 yards. Fields ran for a 4-yard touchdown run to cap a 28-yard drive and give the Bears a 17-7 lead.

But Patterson immediately responded, returning the kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown to cut the Bears’ lead to 17-14. It was his ninth career kickoff return for a touchdown.

Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo made a 40-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter to tie it.

The Bears failed to take advantage of a takeaway on special teams.

On Avery Williams’ punt return, Bears veteran DeAndre Houston-Carson punched the ball out, and Jack Sanborn recovered the fumble at the Falcons’ 41-yard line.

But a Fields fumble on a botched lateral and a false start penalty on Sam Mustipher set the Bears back to third-and-19 at the 37-yard line. Fields then was sacked for a loss of 8 yards to push the Bears out of field-goal range.

Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota hit Drake London with a 2-yard touchdown pass on the Falcons’ opening drive for a 7-0 lead. He completed 4 of 5 passes for 40 yards on the drive. The Falcons only got to third down once on the drive, and defensive tackle Justin Jones was penalized for a neutral zone infraction on the play.

On third-and-8 on the Bears first drive, Fields hit Mooney for a 16-yard touchdown pass to tie it 7-7. Velus Jones Jr., active after the Bears made him a healthy scratch in the previous two games, returned the kickoff 55 yards to the Falcons 44-yard line to start the drive off well.

The Bears took a 10-7 lead on a 41-yard Cairo Santos field goal in the second quarter. Tight end Cole Kmet made an eye-catching, one-handed catch for 24 yards to get the Bears into field-goal range.

Santos was short on a 56-yard attempt in the final two minutes of the half, and the Falcons responded with their own drive for a field goal.

Reunion with Ryan Pace

The most interesting seat at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this weekend might be the one next to former Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace.

After the Bears fired Pace in January, he landed as a senior personnel executive with the Atlanta Falcons. The Bears team he will watch play the Falcons on Sunday is largely different than the one he built while going 48-65 over seven seasons in Chicago.

New Bears GM Ryan Poles has turned over about two-thirds of the roster in less than a year, most notably shedding some of the biggest defensive stars of the Pace era — Khalil Mack, Roquan Smith, Akiem Hicks, Robert Quinn and Danny Trevathan.

And yet the Bears’ most significant player, the one who has Chicago buzzing with what fans hope is the start of a major breakout, joined the Bears because Pace traded up from No. 20 to 11 to draft him in 2021.

Read the full story here.

‘This guy is a grand slam.’

How does a record-setting quarterback who finished his college career with minus-137 rushing yards become the architect of one of the NFL’s most successful ground attacks in decades?

The answer, if you ask J.D. Brookhart — the coach at Akron when Luke Getsy set 24 school passing records in 2005-06 — is simpler than you might think.

“Luke is the most sensible, pragmatic guy,” Brookhart said. “Very realistic about life, and that’s probably his saving grace as a coordinator.”

Five of the Bears’ six most successful games running the ball since 1989 have come in the last five weeks, and the sixth was the 283-yard effort in a Week 3 victory against the Houston Texans. The Bears lead the NFL with 2,017 rushing yards, on pace to become the ninth team in the Super Bowl era to average more than 200 yards per game. They join the 2019 Baltimore Ravens as the only team since the 1980 season to eclipse 2,000 yards in the first 10 games.

Read the full story here.

Choose your own adventure

What a difference a year makes, huh, Chicago? Sure, your favorite football team is still wayward, in last place in its division and still undeniably in the NFL’s bottom tier. But everything just feels so much better right now. Ya know?

In the last four games, Justin Fields has accounted for 13 touchdowns — eight passes and five runs. He is the league’s sixth leading rusher. For this franchise, for this tortured fan base, he feels like a godsend.

Now what? Where does it all go from here as Fields and the Bears head to Atlanta to face the Falcons on Sunday? How should fans interpret what they’ve been seeing and recalibrate their expectations for the final seven weeks and beyond?

If we’ve learned anything over the last few years — from our collective experience and all those enraged Twitter fights! — it’s that there’s really no one right way to fan. Process this Bears season and this remarkable surge of quarterback play in whatever way feels most satisfying. Still, if you need assistance, we’ve put together this handy “Call Your Own Play” guide to help you identify your mindset and lead you where you’ll be most comfortable.

Read the full story here.