NFL Week 15 grades: Bears get an ‘A’ for keeping their playoff hopes alive; Patriots

Mitchell Trubisky hasn’t exactly been known for coming through in the clutch during his time in Chicago, but with the Bears‘ playoff hopes on the line in Minnesota on Sunday, the fourth-year quarterback delivered. 

Trubisky didn’t finish with pretty numbers, but he did throw for a highly-efficient 201 yards during Chicago’s 33-27 win over Minnesota. The Bears actually got off to a slow start with a three-and-out on their first offensive possession, but after that, they wouldn’t punt again for the rest of the game thanks to a dynamic performance from both Trubisky and David Montgomery, who rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns. 

For the Bears, the most encouraging performance came from Trubisky, who’s now 4-2 on the season as the team’s starting quarterback. The fun for Trubisky started on Chicago’s second possession when he showed off his accuracy by going 3 for 3 for 36 yards. The Bears quarterback capped the drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass that doesn’t sound impressive on paper, but just watch how it happens. With a defender in his face, Trubisky was still somehow able to dump the ball off to Darnell Mooney, who took the ball in for a score. 

At different points in his career, Trubisky might have taken a sack of thrown a pick or thrown an incomplete pass there, but this time he got the touchdown. After taking the early 7-0 lead on that play, the Bears would never trail. 

Trubisky didn’t just do damage with his right arm, but he also hurt the Vikings with his legs. On one touchdown drive in the second quarter, Trubisky converted twice on third down with a pair of runs. On another TD drive in the third quarter, Trubisky converted both a third-and-4 (with a 16-yard pass to Montgomery) and a third-and-11 (with a 13-yard pass to Allen Robinson). 

Although Trubisky did make one monstrous mistake in this game when he threw a fourth-quarter interception in the end zone, the Bears defense ended up bailing him out when they stopped the Vikings on a fourth-down attempt just a few plays later. It was one of multiple big plays the Bears defense made on the day. 

As Trubisky continues to have a late0season resurgence, the Bears are going to have to start asking themselves some big questions about his future. For instance, if Trubisky leads this team to the playoffs, does Chicago try to sign him to an extension? The quarterback is scheduled to be a free agent in March and based on how he’s playing, it seems he’s determined to make the team’s decision as difficult as possible. 

Alright, let’s get to the grades for every game from Week 15. If you’re looking for a deeper dive on the Chargers‘ wild win over the Raiders that was played Thursday, be sure to click here.

Buffalo 48-19 over Denver (Saturday)

Green Bay 24-16 over Carolina (Saturday)

Tampa Bay 31-27 over Atlanta

Tennessee 46-25 over Detroit

Indianapolis 27-20 over Houston

Baltimore 40-14 over Jacksonville

Dallas 41-33 over San Francisco

49ers-Cowboys grades by Patrik Walker (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)

Miami 22-12 over New England

Patriots-Dolphins grades by Tyler Sullivan (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)

Chicago 33-27 over Minnesota

Bears-Vikings grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)

Seattle 20-15 over Washington

Seahawks-Washington grades by Jordan Dajani (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)