Tag: Roquan Smith

5 takeaways from Bears’ convincing 31-24 win over the Cowboys

The Bears delivered a beat down of the Cowboys on Thursday Night Football, and there was plenty to take away from Chicagos convincing win.

The Chicago Bears are riding a three-game winning streak and slowly, but surely, are increasing their playoff odds by the day, defeating the Dallas Cowboys 31-24 in front of a raucous crowd at Soldier Field.

After a slow start on both sides of the ball, the offense and defense both turned it around and dug the Bears out of an early 7-0 hole. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky played his best game of the season, accounting for all 4 touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing) and showing he may not be the bust many pegged him to be halfway through the season.

Meanwhile, the Bears defense locked in on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and forced him out of the pocket on many occasions. His timing was disrupted and, despite scoring 17 points in the final quarter during garbage time, he couldn’t rally his team back from such a large deficit. Dallas has now lost three straight and is searching for answers while attempting to compete for the NFC East division title.

The Cowboys may be moving backward, but the Bears are surging forward with just three weeks to go. Here are my five takeaways from Thursday’s convincing win.

1. Mitchell Trubisky played his best game as a Bear

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Mitchell Trubisky’s best game as a Bear wasn’t the 6-touchdown performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018, or even last week’s game Thanksgiving showing against the Detroit Lions. No, it was Thursday evening against the Dallas Cowboys.

Trubisky looked poised all night, threading the needle on multiple occasions to wide receivers Anthony Miller and Allen Robinson and taking the game over with his legs, particularly on the Bears’ final touchdown drive. This is the quarterback fans have waited to see. Trubisky not only kept the offense ahead, he did it in a figurative “do or die” game, in which a loss would have truly all-but eliminated the Bears from playoff contention.

The game not only keeps the Bears “in the hunt”, but also silences the chorus of fans, media, and players who may have wanted Trubisky out of Chicago. These final few games of 2019 were always going to be big for the Bears’ quarterback, and he has risen to the challenge thus far.

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It doesn’t sound like good news for injured Bears LB Roquan Smith

The Bears lost another defensive starter to injury in a win over the Cowboys on Thursday night as Roquan Smith’s season appears to be over.

Just when it appeared that the Chicago Bears defense was getting back to full strength, they lost another starter to injury.

Second year linebacker Roquan Smith suffered a pectoral injury in the first quarter of Thursday’s 31-24 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

When Smith was immediately ruled out, it was an indication that it wasn’t good news. Bears coach Matt Nagy seemed to confirm as much in his postgame press conference.

“It doesn’t look real good for him,” Nagy said.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that it looks like a torn pectoral muscle for Smith.

The injury is likely to end Smith’s sophomore season. Smith had put together some strong performances over the last few weeks, and it’s certainly a brutal blow to the Bears defense.

Veteran Kevin Pierre-Louis replaced Smith and had an impressive defensive performance against the NFL’s best passing offense. But while the Bears certainly benefited from Pierre-Louis’ stellar performance, there’s no replacement for a Roquan Smith.

“Man, it sucks. It really sucks,” safety Eddie Jackson said. “You hate to see one of your brothers go down, but especially a guy like Ro. It was just kind of like a shock to the stomach.”

Smith suffered the injury on the Cowboys’ opening possession of the game, where they drove 75 yards for a touchdown. Jackson said that Smith knew he was hurt and wanted to play through it.

“He told us in the game — he thought he hurt his pec,” Jackson said. “And I was just like, ‘Dang.’ He said he’s going to finish the drive. You could see his face. I’m like, ‘Ro is still going to fight through it.’ And he fought through it. It just sucks. Ro’s having a good season. Unfortunately, it gets cut short with the injury.”

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Bears’ Roquan Smith likely out for season

Linebacker Roquan Smith is expected to miss the rest of the 2019 season with a torn pectoral muscle. The Chicago Bears defeated the Dallas Cowboys 31-24 last night, but may have lost one of their best players in the process. The second year player …

Linebacker Roquan Smith is expected to miss the rest of the 2019 season with a torn pectoral muscle. The Chicago Bears defeated the Dallas Cowboys 31-24 last night, but may have lost one of their best players in the process. The second year player out of Georgia is a key cog in Chicago’s dominant defense.

NFL Networks Ian Rapoport had more information on the injury:

It’s a big loss for the 7-6 Bears who are fighting to stay in the NFC playoff race. Chicago will lose Roquan after he had a historically great game on Thanksgiving:

Smith will look to prepare for next season. Smith has 101 tackles on the season, two sacks and an interception.

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Bears LB Roquan Smith ruled out with pectoral injury

The Bears defense lost another key member of its defense with LB Roquan Smith suffering a pectoral injury in the first quarter vs. Dallas.

The Chicago Bears suffered a critical loss on defense early against the Dallas Cowboys.

Inside linebacker Roquan Smith has been ruled out with a pectoral injury suffered in the first quarter of Thursday’s game against the Cowboys.

Kevin Pierre-Louis has taken over for Smith, who joins Nick Kwiatkoski as the Bears’ inside linebacking corp as Danny Trevathan remains sidelined with an elbow injury.

Chicago’s defense is currently without key starters in Trevathan, Akiem Hicks, Amukamara and now Smith.

The Bears lead the Cowboys 10-7 in the final minutes of the second quarter.

5 takeaways from Bears’ 24-20 comeback win over Lions

The Bears defeated the Lions 24-20, as they improved to 6-6 on the season. There was plenty to digest from this Thanksgiving game.

The calendar may have said Thanksgiving, but it was beginning to feel a lot like September as the Chicago Bears have a winning streak for the first time in two months, beating the Detroit Lions 24-20 to improve to 6-6 on the season.

Both teams landed blows on their first two drives, scoring touchdowns to make the score 7-7. The Lions attempted to pull away but never led by more than 10 points. Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky then led his team to touchdown drives in the third and fourth quarter, putting the Bears ahead for good, while the defense survived a last-ditch effort from rookie quarterback David Blough, making his first NFL debut on the national stage.

Like sides at a Thanksgiving dinner, there were many different takeaways from this game, such as the continued strong play of inside linebacker Roquan Smith, what’s going on with special teams and Chris Tabor, how the referees could miss a blatant roughing the passer call on Trubisky, or how valuable wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson is to this team. But here are my 5 takeaways that stuck out to me most during this latest Bears win.

1. Mitchell Trubisky finally played like it was 2018

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Ever since he suffered his shoulder injury back in 2018 when the Bears defeated the Vikings, Trubisky simply hasn’t been the same. Prior to the injury, he had been on a heater, throwing for over 300 yards four times in six weeks and averaging a quarterback rating of 112.3 during that span.

After over a year, he finally returned to that form, at least for one game, throwing for 338 yards and three touchdowns with a 118.1 quarterback rating. For the most part, Trubisky looked sharp, leading the Bears to their first opening-drive touchdown since Week 4 and orchestrating a 90-yard scoring drive late in the fourth quarter that ended up being the game winner.

His day wasn’t perfect, as he did look timid at times while running and under-threw wide receiver Allen Robinson on a crossing route, resulting in an interception, but it’s clear this was easily his best game since last year’s win against the Lions at Soldier Field. The question is, can he build on it and string together these types of performances to mount one final playoff push?

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Stud and duds from Bears’ Thanksgiving win over Lions

For the first time all season, the Chicago Bears’ offense stepped up when their defense needed them to. Chuck Pagano’s unit had surprising trouble with Detroit Lions undrafted rookie quarterback David Blough, but Mitchell Trubisky and company found …

For the first time all season, the Chicago Bears’ offense stepped up when their defense needed them to.

Chuck Pagano’s unit had surprising trouble with Detroit Lions undrafted rookie quarterback David Blough, but Mitchell Trubisky and company found the endzone three times to hold on for the 24-20 victory.

With no Taylor Gabriel or Ben Braunecker, Chicago’s weapons stepped up to help Trubisky break 300 yards for the first time all season against a Lions team in free fall.

Matt Nagy had plenty to be thankful for on his Thursday afternoon. Here are the studs and duds from Week 13.

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UGA football great, Chicago Bears LB Roquan Smith feeds 65 families in Montezuma

Georgia football great and Chicago Bears star LB Roquan Smith fed 65 families this Thanksgiving in Montezuma.

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Georgia football great Roquan Smith, now a star linebacker in his second year with the Chicago Bears, helped feed some families this holiday season at the “Gratitude Huddle” event back in his hometown of Montezuma, Georgia.

Smith partnered with the Boys and Girls Club to feed 65 families Chick-fil-A.

A hot plate of chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, a salad and cookie is what Smith, who was unable to attend the event because of work, was able to provide for these families, who showed their appreciation to the Montezuma native.

“His hometown means everything to him,” said Smith’s mother, Shaquana Thomas.

“Our family is the foundation of who we eventually become and we don’t ever want to lose that focus,” said Smith’s aunt Shaquwanda Baker.

Thanks to 13WMAZ for the report.

Giants vs. Bears: 6 things to know about Week 12

The New York Giants and Chicago Bears square off on Sunday in Week 12, so here are six things fans should know.

The New York Giants (2-8) head out to Soldier Field to face the Chicago Bears (4-6) in a meeting between two of the NFC’s most disappointing teams this season.

Here are six things to know:

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The history

This is the 52nd meeting between two of the NFL’s most iconic franchises dating back to 1925. With a win on Sunday the Giants would improve their all-time record against the Bears to 22-28-2. A victory this week would also improve the Giants’ road record against the Bears to 12-13.

The Giants are making their first trip to Soldier Field since 2013, a 27-21 Bears victory on Thursday Night Football in Week 6.

The teams have met just 18 times since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger and had played only three times between 1970 and the January 5, 1986 NFC Divisional Playoff game in which the Bears shut the Giants out, 21-0, at Soldier Field.

The Giants are 7-5 against the Bears since the teams last met in the postseason — a 31-3 victory in the 1991 NFC Divisional Playoffs.

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Bears get strong showing from LB Roquan Smith vs. Rams

Bears LB Roquan Smith stepped up in LB Danny Trevathan’s absence, leading the team in tackles and coming up with an interception vs. Rams.

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With linebacker Danny Trevathan’s loss looming large for the Chicago Bears, linebacker Roquan Smith stepped up in his absence in a losing 17-7 effort against the Los Angeles Rams.

After showing flashes last season that he could be the next great Bears linebacker, Smith’s production has dipped in 2019.

But Smith came out a man determined to wreck the Rams offense, which the Bears’ defense managed to do until the fourth quarter. They held Los Angeles to 10 points heading into the fourth quarter, but relinquished a late touchdown that was the dagger for Chicago.

“I felt good throughout the game, but it’s not the standard,” Smith said, via the Sun-Times. “We failed to [win], so it’s back in the lab and finding ways to get better. I still don’t think I did good enough, because I didn’t do good enough for us to get the ‘W.’ That’s how I’m thinking of it. We’ve just got to get better.”

Smith led the Bears in tackles with 11, including one tackle for loss. Four of those tackles came on third down, whichi forced a punt or a field-goal attempt, which was a big reason why the Bears were holding on trailing 10-7 in the fourth quarter.

He came up big early in the game with an interception of Rams’ quarterback Jared Goff as Los Angeles was driving deep into Chicago territory.

“I felt like they were a bit predictable in some of the things they were doing,” Smith said of the Rams’ offense. “It was just going back to film study. But I didn’t make enough plays.”

After Chicago’s defense forced two first-quarter turnovers, ultimately it was the Bears’ offense that didn’t make enough plays.

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5 takeaways from the Bears’ 17-7 loss vs. the Rams

From missed FGs to finishing with a potential quarterback controversy, there was a lot to unpack in the Bears’ 17-7 loss to the Rams.

A de facto game to see who remains in the playoff hunt on Sunday evening took place as the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams squared off in primetime. After a back and forth game, the Rams landed the final blow, scoring a touchdown in the final few minutes to secure the win 17-7, effectively ending the Bears playoff hopes as they fall to 4-6.

It was the same old story for coach Matt Nagy’s squad. The offense continued to sputter when the team needed a spark, and their defense played well enough to keep the team in the game until the final minutes when Rams coach Sean McVay and quarterback Jared Goff orchestrated a 4 minute drive that resulted in a touchdown.

From starting out with two missed field goals to finishing with a potential quarterback controversy, there was a lot to unpack in this game. Here are my five takeaways from the Bears loss.

1. “Benching” quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was a cowardly move by Matt Nagy

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

You can call it a hip injury, but I’m calling it a benching. Down 10 points and following the Rams’ final touchdown, Trubisky was removed from the game in favor of backup quarterback Chase Daniel. The team sent out a memo, saying he was dealing with a hip injury and Nagy explained in his press conference he hurt it in the second half, but Trubisky says the injury occurred in the first half.

Those reports do not add up and the situation did not pass the eye test after seeing Nagy talk with his quarterback on the sideline and watching Trubisky walk off the field when the game ended. I could end up being wrong, but I’m not buying the injury. I saw a coach attempt to save his skin by playing his backup and a dejected (potentially former) starting quarterback look like someone told him his dog had died.

Benching Trubisky does nothing at this point in the season except raise more questions and create unrest in the locker room. Trubisky didn’t light it up tonight, but until the final couple of drives, he played alright and was plagued by drops from his receivers. Still, in my opinion, the decision to remove Trubisky with three minutes to go was the wrong move, and I’m not buying the injury excuse.

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