Bears Grades: Gould's surprising struggles cast dark shadow

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Marc Mariani gave the Bears something of a start with a 34-yard return of the opening kickoff but it netted nothing when Robbie Gould was wide left from 47 yards. Gould missed from 34 yards on the Bears’ first possession of the second half. The missed field goals were minimized by superior plays on offense and defense in the fourth quarter but were obviously potential disasters in a three-point game.

This was just the third time in Gould’s 11 NFL seasons that he has missed two field goal tries in one game: once in 2006 and once in 2013, the latter when he was asked to boot a Hail Mary of 66 yards.

[SHOP: Gear up Bears fans!]

“In San Diego. In perfect weather,” said quarterback Jay Cutler. “So he needed some wind, I guess. But he’ll bounce back.”

Coverage forced fair catches of Pat O’Donnell’s only two punts (42.5 yd. avg.) and San Diego returned only one of four kickoffs, for 24 yards.

Moon's Game Grade: D

The phase has found multiple ways to stumble, from the surprising Gould misses at San Diego to myriad coverage issues. No way to minimize some of the worst kick coverage in the NFL, with opponents bringing three kicks back for touchdowns. Coverage units also have allowed a 64-yard trick punt return on top of the two 40-yard kickoff returns given up to the Green Bay Packers in week one.

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Pat O’Donnell has been outstanding with a 46.4-yard punting average. Gould has been automatic from inside 50 yards before Monday night.

Moon's Mid-year Grade: D-

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