Chicago Bears: Larry Borom solid in his first career start

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields wasn’t the only rookie playing well against the San Francisco 49ers. Offensive lineman Larry Borom returned from injury and was solid in his first professional start.

It was great to see Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields bounce back from his bad performance in Week 7. He completed 70 percent of his passes for 175 yards and a touchdown against an interception. On the ground, he eclipsed 100 yards for the first time (of hopefully many) of his career, running for 103 yards and a touchdown.

Fields showed all the reasons why the Bears and their fans were so excited to have him in Chicago. He made some nice throws, including a nice touchdown throw on the run across his body in which he placed the ball perfectly for tight end Jesse James.

He also used his legs when the offense needed it. Damien Williams went down with a knee injury and then Khalil Herbert went down after getting kneed to the head. Fields averaged over 10 yards per run.

Chicago Bears: Larry Borom solid in his first career start

Fields wasn’t the only rookie to impress many, however. Offensive lineman Larry Borom, who had a very good training camp, suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 1. The team activated him from injured reserve this week. Though he was the backup to Jason Peters at left tackle, the Bears had a glaring need at right tackle.

Last week, Chicago had a horrible time at right tackle. Lachavious Simmons after Elijah Wilkinson missed the game because of COVID. Simmons had not seen any practice time at right tackle and it showed. He was embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ pass rushers.

That necessitated having Borom move over to right tackle. Despite having Wilkinson available, the Bears started Borom and threw him to the wolves. His assignment — take on Nick Bosa.

He had himself a pretty good game, however.

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy was impressed with the game Borom had.

"Another guy—a rookie—that really did a good job yesterday. Watching the tape, that’s not an easy challenge when they put Bosa over there on the right side. Bosa played a lot on the left coming into this game, and they moved him a lot to the right, so I thought Larry did a wonderful job. He’s a really good football player and he’s only going to learn and get better and better."

Borom did give up a sack to Bosa and two hurries. That isn’t bad considering he had three days of practice to prepare for the big challenge.

The offensive line has been a mess again. Injuries and COVID again wreaked havoc. Help is on the way, though. In addition to Borom, it looks like another rookie, Teven Jenkins, may return after the bye week. That will really give the line a big boost.

Even though the season may be a lost cause, it will be nice to see the rookies get their work in and become better players. The work they put in today just helps them become big contributors next season.