Bears Grades: OL penalties, breakdowns devastate offense

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The line limited a blitzing Washington defense to three sacks but zero other official hits on Jay Cutler, and the run blocking was good enough for the Bears to average 4.0 yards on 22 carries. Right tackle Kyle Long and guard Patrick Omameh gave Matt Forte a crease for a seven-yard TD run late in the third quarter that finally pulled the Bears even with Washington at 21.

But penalties (four on the offensive line) and individual breakdowns were devastating to the offense overall and every offensive lineman had at least one of the two, some both.

“I had a really [trashy] game,” Long said. “It was uncharacteristic of myself but the good thing is we have another game next week.”

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Terrance Knighton beat Omameh for a sack and Matt Slauson was flagged for holding on successive plays on the Bears first possession to take even more energy out of a team whose defense had just allowed a 15-play drive for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Hroniss Grasu was overmatched against 354-pound nose tackle Terrance Knighton and the Washington interior. Grasu also added to the challenge in the fourth quarter with a false start with the Bears starting at the Washington 20 with two minutes to play.

Long was beaten by linebacker Trent Murphy for a nine-yard sack in the second quarter, Cutler fumbling on the hit losing the ball to Washington near midfield. Long was also beaten by rush linebacker Ryan Kerrigan for a third-quarter sack, although Long had run Kerrigan wide and Cutler failed to step up or inside the looping rush.

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“I got beat, I was probably technically unsound in my set, and Trent Murphy took advantage of it,” Long said.

Charles Leno was called for holding, nullifying a Cutler-to-Zach Miller completion inside the Washington red zone in the second quarter, eventually leading to a Bears punt.

“I thought Adam [Gase, offensive coordinator] did a good job calling this game,” Cutler said. “It’s really hard to call plays second-and-8, -13, -10. You just don’t have a lot of options, to be honest.”

Moon's Grade: D

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