Stock up, stock down: Bears-Patriots

That was a tough loss Sunday and the Bears are back at .500. Granted, not many would have picked the Patriots game to be a win when the schedule was announced, but disappointment comes with changing expectations.

Being .500 here is actually progress for the Bears, who have been out of it by Halloween for the last few years.

They have a chance to get back into the win column over the next couple of weeks and get things pointed in the right direction heading into the halfway point.

So let’s take a look back at Sunday’s game, and see which players need to improve and which players need to keep playing well to help the Bears get back to their winning ways.

Stock up

Bilal Nichols, DT - The rookie fifth round pick had himself a day trying to pick up the pass rush for the Bears. Nichols had a forced fumble and a QB hit, as well as being very close to splitting a sack with Roquan Smith.

Kyle Fuller, CB - Three interceptions in two games definitely deserves a shoutout. Did he play perfect? No, but he had three passes defensed to go with a right place, right time INT.

Trey Burton, TE - On a day where the Patriots seemed determined to not let Taylor Gabriel get open, Burton picked up the slack with a career day: nine receptions for 126 yards (both career highs) and a touchdown.

Stock down

Dion Sims, TE - What is he still doing on this roster? The one pass that went his way bounced off his hands and was incomplete. I get that he’s just filler until Adam Shaheen comes back, but Sims has been a waste of money.

Eddie Jackson, S - This is two weeks in a row he makes an appearance here, but he needs to be better. His failure to wrap up (a knock on him coming out of Alabama) allowed Josh Gordon to run free for most of the extra yardage on the touchdown.

Ben Braunecker, TE - I hate to jump on the kid, especially when you hear his post game comments, but a small technique mistake will be deadly in the NFL and it was Sunday. Branecker is a core special teamer and is solid on that unit, but he deserves the mention here, even though it pains me to do so.

Who did I miss? Who are your picks?