Another difficult area to form one grade, because of a disaster in kickoff coverage vs. effective work in the punting game and Robbie Gould’s three-for-three work on field goals.
Special teams put the other phases in a massive hole by allowing a 108-yard return of the opening kickoff by David Johnson, with coverage personnel completely unable to disengage and get off blocks in addition to poor lane integrity.
Coaches felt last week that Robbie Gould wasn’t getting kickoffs as deep as ideal and opted for a short kickoff on the second kickoff to the Cardinals.
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But Gould was able to salvage points from two failed drives following takeaways, converting field goals 40, 23 and 51 yards and continuing Gould’s near-historic performance from 50-plus yards.
Marc Mariani gave the offense a little help with a 31-yard return of the ensuing kickoff and provided another lift with a 20-yard punt return in the third quarter, which the offense squandered with consecutive penalties on the offensive line.
Pat O’Donnell gave the Bears an edge with five punts for a 40.6-yard net, vs. the Cardinals’ 33.7 net on three punts by Drew Butler.
NFL
Moon's Grade: C-