Week 11 Game Recap: Chicago Bears 10, New York Jets 0

What you need to know

Chicago Bears

The Bears played conservative on offense and their defense dominated in this game. In shutting out the Jets, they intercepted Chad Pennington twice and also sacked him twice. One of the interceptions was on a short pass in the end zone by Brian Urlacher. The other interception came when the Bears got good pressure on Pennington and forced him to make a terrible throw over the middle.

Rex Grossman started off slow and didn’t have a great game by looking at his stats. He only had seven yards in the first half. Grossman completed only half of his passes for 119 yards. The key was that he didn’t make mistakes. He had no turnovers and threw a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. It was more than enough with the way his defense was playing.

Thomas Jones was solid in this game. He ran for 121 yards on 23 carries. Jones had four carries that picked up over ten yards, including one run for 19 yards. He fumbled at the end of a 17 yard run but it was reviewed and overturned. Cedric Benson also added 51 yards on ten carries. Between the two of them they averaged 5.2 yards per carry.

The only Chicago touchdown was scored by Mark Bradley on a 57 yard catch and run. He finished the game with four catches for 80 yards. Mushin Muhammad added a couple of catches for 29 yards.

New York Jets

The Jets played a very competitive game against the Bears. The defense kept them in the game but the Jets’ offense just couldn’t come up with the big plays when they needed them. The game was tied at zero at the half. For some reason the Jets came out of the locker room and tried an onside kick. The Bears recovered and then drove down for a field goal to take the lead 3-0. It would be all the Bears would need since the Jets were unable to score.

Chad Pennington threw a couple of really bad interceptions and was unable to lead the Jets to any points. He completed 19 of 35 passes for 162 yards and no touchdowns. He threw two interceptions on poorly thrown passes. Both times the Jets had put together decent drives but they ended in turnovers. One was in the end zone when the score was still 0-0. The other came when the Jets had gotten to the Bears’ 30 yard line.

The Jets’ running game never got on track, when your leading rusher is fourth on your depth chart, that’s never a good sign. Cedric Houston led the Jets with 50 yards on 11 carries. Leon Washington and Kevan Barlow combined for a total of 24 yards on the ground. When you consider Tim Dwight had more yards on one end around than the two main running backs, that’s pretty bad.

Coles led the Jets with eight catches for 80 yards. Pennington looked his way often with the Jets’ running game going nowhere. Tim Dwight was used a little more often than usual in this one. He had 28 yards on an end around and also caught five passes for 40 yards.

What you ought to know

QB Rex Grossman, Pass: 11 - 22 - 119 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0

It seemed that the Chicago game plan was scaled back to play ball control and minimize the chance for Grossman mistakes. The Bears leaned on the running game and short passes. In the first half, the Bears had just 80 total yards and Grossman was five of seven for just seven yards. Late in the third Grossman completed his only deep pass of the game, a 28 yard completion to Mushin Muhammad. It was a short pass to Mark Bradley that ended up going for a 57 yard touchdown when he broke a tackle on the one-on-one coverage. Take out those two passes and Grossman had nine other completions for just 34 yards. If the Bears continue to play dominating defense, Grossman won’t be required to put the team on his shoulders and win games.

RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 23 - 121 - 0, Rec: 2 - 1 - 0 (3 targets)

Jones was very effective in this game. He carried the ball 23 times for 121 yards with his longest run coming on a 19 yard scamper. Ironically he fumbled at the end of that run but it was reviewed and overturned. It allowed the Bears to punt from their own 28 instead of the Jets taking over at that spot. Jones was a workhorse on the Chicago field goal drive. He carried the ball on seven straight runs to get them down to the New York two yard line. The Bears had first and goal from the Jets four yard line and Jones ran three times but couldn’t get in the end zone. Gould capped the drive with a 20 yard field goal. Later in the game, Jones carried the ball five times on a ten play drive that chewed up 4:28 in the fourth quarter. In the game, Jones picked up six first downs on the ground including one of them on fourth and one. He was thrown to three times, catching two of them for the grand total of one yard.

RB Cedric Benson, Rush: 10 - 51 - 0

Benson carried the ball ten times for 51 yards. It was the most carries he has had in his last five games. It was also the most yards in a game for this entire season. Benson was used to spell Thomas Jones in the second and fourth quarters. On one of the Chicago drives he carried three times for 26 yards but unfortunately the drive ended in a punt.

RB Jason McKie, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (3 targets)

McKie was given a few token plays but they didn’t amount to much. He had one carry for two yards and caught one pass for three yards.

RB Adrian Peterson, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Peterson caught one pass for four yards. It came in the fourth quarter on a dump off pass when the Bears were facing a third and 14 from their own 30 yard line. It was just his second catch of the year.

WR Mark Bradley, Rec: 4 - 80 - 1 (5 targets)

Bradley made the play of the game for the Chicago offense. He caught a short pass from Grossman and turned to find only one defender between him and the end zone. He made a move and was gone for a 57 yard touchdown. It put the Bears up by ten points and it proved more than enough to beat the Jets. Bradley finished with four catches for 80 yards. Bradley now has a touchdown in his last two games.

WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 2 - 29 - 0 (3 targets)

Muhammad had scored touchdowns in his last three games prior to this game. It was a quiet game for Muhammad. He caught two passes for 29 yards, one of which was a 28 yard completion late in the third quarter. Grossman only looked his way three times in the game.

WR Bernard Berrian (3 targets)

Berrian didn’t have any official catches but was thrown to three times. He did make a catch for 24 yards but it was called back due to a Chicago holding penalty.

TE Desmond Clark, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (2 targets)

Clark was targeted just two times in the game. Both of them came late in the second quarter on a three and out drive for the Bears. He caught one pass for two yards.

PK Robbie Gould 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points

Gould hit on a 20 yard field goal and an extra point. Those were his only two attempts of the game.

CHI Rush Defense

The Chicago rush defense dominated the Jets' running game. They held New York to just 108 yards between five different Jets' players. The leading rusher for the Jets ran for just 50 yards. The inability to run forced the Jets to throw the ball 35 times in the game. The Jets were able to pick up a few long runs but the Bears’ defense clamped down each time and stopped the drive.

CHI Pass Defense

The Jets tried to play a fast paced game to try to keep the Bears defense off balance. The Jets put together two long drives but both of them ended on interceptions by the Bears. The first was when the Jets got inside the Bears’ ten yard line. Urlacher ended that drive with a big interception in the end zone to keep the game scoreless. Later in the game, with the Bears up 3-0, the Jets drove down to the Chicago 30 yard line. The Bears got good pressure on Pennington and forced him to throw a bad pass over the middle. It was easily intercepted by Vasher. The Bears also sacked Pennington twice in the game.

QB Chad Pennington, Pass: 19 - 35 - 162 - 0 TD / 2 INT

Pennington was 19 of 35 for 162 yards and two interceptions. He made some nice throws early in the game when the Jets were providing him time to throw. Early in the second quarter, with the Jets at the Chicago six yard line, Pennington threw a short pass in the end zone that was intercepted by Urlacher. It was a chance to give the Jets the lead and take the momentum in the game. Later in the game, with the Bears up 3-0, Pennington again was intercepted after moving the Jets deep into Chicago territory.

RB Leon Washington, Rush: 13 - 22 - 0, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets)

Washington started the game but Barlow was in on the second play. Washington had seven carries that went for no gain or negative yardage. He had 13 carries for 22 yards including a 16 yard run early on in the game. Washington also caught one pass for seven yards.

RB Cedric Houston, Rush: 11 - 50 - 0

Houston was back after missing five games due to injury. He carried 11 times for 50 yards to lead the Jets in rushing for the game. He picked up three first downs on the ground.

RB Kevan Barlow, Rush: 4 - 2 - 0 (1 targets)

Barlow did not officially start the game but was in on the second play. He carried just four times for three yards. Two of his runs went for minus one yard. He was thrown to once and caught it for five yards but it was called back due to a New York penalty. When the Jets were at the Chicago six yard line, Barlow was in the game.

WR Laveranues Coles, Rec: 8 - 80 - 0 (15 targets)

Coles was Pennington’s favorite target by far. Coles was thrown to 15 times, catching eight of them for 80 yards. Coles picked up four first downs. He was thrown to on third down only three times and once on fourth down which was the Jets’ final play of the game.

WR Tim Dwight, Rush: 1 - 28 - 0, Rec: 5 - 40 - 0 (5 targets)

Dwight got a little more work with the offense than he is used to. He had a nice end around on the first drive that went for 28 yards. He also caught all five passes thrown his way. He picked up 40 yards on those five catches. Pennington went his way on third or fourth down four times. Three of those times he picked up the first down. This was the most catches Dwight has had since last November when he also had five in a game.

WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rec: 3 - 25 - 0 (6 targets)

Cotchery caught three passes for 25 yards and his longest reception went for 22 yards. Pennington looked his way three times on third down. Cotchery picked up the first down on one of those passes.

WR Brad Smith, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets)

Smith was used as a change of pace. He ran the ball once and also caught one pass. He picked up a first down on a seven yard pass reception. That drive ended in an interception. His run came late in the second quarter on a first down play. He picked up six yards but the Jets couldn’t get the first down.

TE Chris Baker, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (4 targets)

Baker only caught one ball for three yards. Both of Pennington’s interceptions were on passes intended for Baker. Both were just poorly thrown passes and were not Baker’s fault.

PK Mike Nugent 0 - 0 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 0 points

The only work Nugent had all day was when the Jets attempted an onside kick to start the second half. The Bears recovered the kick.

NYJ Rush Defense

The Jets’ rushing defense was chewed up for 174 total rushing yards. They gave up 121 yards to Thomas Jones and another 51 to Benson. The Jets defense bent, giving up five runs of over 10 yards but they never really broke. The only touchdown for the Bears was through the air. They weren’t able to create any turnovers, which is essential in order to beat the Bears. The rushing defense did give up a fourth and one at their own 37 yard line. The defense stiffened again and they forced the Bears to punt.

NYJ Pass Defense

The Jets’ pass defense kept them in the game. They kept the Bears to just short passes and except for the one passing touchdown, kept the receivers in front of them for short gains. The Jets’ defense held the Bears scoreless in the first half. An odd onside kick to start the second half gave the Bears great field position and led to their first score. The defense had no turnovers and they were only able to get to Grossman once for a sack.