Stock up, Stock down: Bears-Jets

The Bears beat a Jets team that they were better than. They won a game they should have.

This is hardly worth celebrating, save for the fact that there have been no “should have won” games in the past couple of seasons.

No games were givens. While they won here and there, it was always less than sure that they could do it.

The Bears are becoming a team that can take care of business when they should, which is a small victory in the grand scheme of the NFL world.

The Bears need to learn to win and they still need to learn to finish games but so long as they can keep winning the games they should, eventually they will start winning games they aren’t expected to.

Sunday’s game wasn’t without its flaws. The defense didn’t get a takeaway. The Bears offense once again struggled at times.

The Bears are getting better and they have another chance to beat a struggling team this week.

Stock up

Bryce Callahan, CB - Callahan was a little bit of everywhere Sunday. He was credited with three passes defensed, a sack, a TFL and a QB hit. He played great and has been for most of the season. The question is becoming can the Bears find a way to sign him to a contract extension?

Anthony Miller, WR - Miller has been solid most of the year but he is finally getting open more consistently and Mitch Trubisky is finding him. Maybe not as deep down the field as we’d like to see and maybe still not consistently, but he is getting more plays. He had 37 yards and a great TD. The TD came on a play where Trubisky had to change Miller’s route and they communicated and made the play; a sign of offensive growth.

Jordan Howard, RB - Howard finally started to make some head way, breaking for his longest run of the season (24 yards) and helped salt away the victory with some key runs in the fourth quarter. The weather is starting to change and it’s good to see Howard maybe finally getting going, and see the coaching staff putting him in better chances to succeed.

Stock down

Eddie Jackson, S - He didn’t play horribly Sunday but I am putting him here because his biggest error, an unnecessary roughness penalty, directly led to the Jets’ only touchdown of the day, and could have ended the drive.

James Daniels, OG - I’m kind of struggling to find three guys whose performance I really didn’t like, so I’m getting very nit picky here. Daniels did fine as a first time starter, but there were some plays where he got beat or looked like he didn’t quite see where he needed to help out. It was a fine first start and I have no doubt he will improve, but he wasn’t an anchor out there.

Leonard Floyd, OLB - Again, this is kind of nit picky, but this was a largely clean game by the Bears, just a few misfires from being an even bigger margin of victory. Floyd played pretty well, he had some pressures, but no hits or sacks, again. Floyd got close a few times, but he has to start finishing those plays, the Bears can’t rely on their blitzing corners and Khalil Mack alone for sacks. Floyd has to start finishing these plays.

Which players stuck out to you? For better or worse?