Stock up, stock down: Bears-Eagles review

The Chicago Bears dropped their seventh straight game Sunday and are one step closer to solidifying a top-two draft position.

There were some good things against the Philadelphia Eagles. Mainly, the Bears kept it close against the highest-scoring offense in the league. A team with the best record in football.

The defense put up quite an effort, something that has been sorely lacking for much of the season. I won’t go as far as to say they played lights out or amazing or anything, but there were a lot of plays that they made.

That is reflected in my picks for “up” this week, as you’ll see.

As for down, well, that was a little tougher this week, but the offensive line play certainly made it a little easier.

Stock up

Jaylon Johnson, CB - The final numbers for the Eagles receivers may not have reflected it, but Johnson played very well. He finished the game with three pass defenses and six tackles, which was tied for second on the team in the game.

Kyler Gordon, CB - Johnson’s rookie counterpart played up to his part in his return from a concussion. Gordon picked off the second pass of his career and later recovered a fumble and returned it 12 yards. As the Bears enter the final stretch of games they will need bright spots from their rookies like Gordon.

Justin Fields, QB - Why not put the Qb on the up list. He once again carried the offense nearly single-handidly and hit the 1,000-yard mark on the season. He’s the first Bears QB to rush for 1,000 yards and just the third ever.

Stock down

Cody Whitehair, OG - Whitehair played very poorly Sunday. He was struggling all day against the Eagles’ defensive line and gave up at least two sacks.

Dante Pettis, WR - I know that injuries have ravaged the Bear’s already thin WR corps, but Pettis is firmly in “What would you say you do here” territory. He can make a one-off grab here and there, but there’s no consistency to it. Sunday he finished with one catch on four targets.

Velus Jones, WR - The same boat as Pettis, except that Jones had real promise as a third-round pick. He had just one catch and again fumbled the ball. I feel bad for him, since he is just a rookie after all, but he’s also not showing anything that even remotely suggests he could turn into so much as a role player.