Chicago Bears: Studs and duds vs. Vikings in Week 4
Stud: Chase Daniel
Chase Daniel again had to step in after a Vikings player hit Trubisky and injured him. He came in and played in two games last season and did a pretty good job. He finished with a 1-1 record as a starter. He doesn’t get credit for this win but he deserves it. He did a great job of making the throws he needed to make. He was critical of some plays he did miss but as a competitor you expect him to say that.
Daniel finished the game hitting 22 of his 30 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. He was a good game manager and avoided making any big mistake to give Minnesota any momentum. The way the defense played, all he had to do was work the clock. He certainly did that.
On the first drive, the Bears went 14 plays, 75 yards in 7:16. Trubisky was involved in five of those plays. The next drive resulted in a punt but lasted 4:55 and the third and final drive in the first half resulted in a field goal and lasted 6:36. In fact, the Vikings had just two drives in the first half.
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Head coach Matt Nagy felt comfortable with Daniel at the helm, per ESPN:
"Zero change with Chase [at quarterback]. We just keep rolling. That’s the beauty of having a guy like Chase. Chase and I go way back, and he’s like a coach out there. He was ready. He prepares himself every single day for when this happens to help his team out. We’re very, very lucky to have Chase as our backup quarterback."
We need to find out how serious Trubisky’s injury is. Daniel, though, has a great handling of this offense. He might not have the tools Trubisky has but he knows how to run this offense and how to maximize his abilities. The Bears probably need to find a quarterback at least for the next couple of weeks but I think Daniel can fill in nicely while Trubisky is out.
Dud: Charles Leno Jr.
Charles Leno Jr. is committing too many penalties. He committed another one in this game. That makes five penalties, four of them prior to the snap that he has so far this season. There is also another one that was declined.
These penalties hurt the offense in a number of ways. In addition to pushing the offense back and losing yards, it ruins the continuity. The offense cannot get into a rhythm with so many penalties. He did a good job last year at not committing penalties after having too many in the years before. He’s reverting to his old ways. He needs to get back to what made him a Pro Bowl tackle last season.