1. Rookie
Dominique Easley drew a critical holding penalty (12:42) that stunted the initial momentum the Bears had on the opening drive. He aligned in a two-point stance in a wide split to the outside shoulder of tight end
Martellus Bennett, and took an initial step to the inside that initially opened up the edge for running back
Matt Forte. But Easley showed good play recognition and the ability to shed Bennett’s block attempt to re-establish his outside position. That led Bennett to hold him, which looking back, was a big play in the game. Easley had talked about having patience on the edge compared to playing inside, and that was a good example as he filled in for the injured
Chandler Jones. He was competitive on the edge again at 7:59 on a 4-yard Forte run.
2. Easley perfectly executed against a designed screen pass on third-and-19 on the opening drive, sacrificing his initial rush against left tackle
Jermon Bushrod (6-foot-5, 320) to chip Forte. That effectively blew up the play. So we often talk about defensive linemen and their impact on the game through the lens of sacks and pressure, but Easley’s edge-setting and play recognition on drawing the hold, and then stopping the screen, were just as high-impact plays.
3. The play didn’t have the desired result, but after linebacker
Jamie Collins rightfully took some heat for his struggles playing downhill in the running against the Chiefs on Sept. 29, his physicality showed up on the third play of the game (2-yard run, Forte, 14:00), when he exploded into the hole on third-and-1 and met Forte head-on. That’s the type of decisive, explosive play we’ve been looking for from Collins, who followed up with another nice play in tackling Forte on a 1-yard gain (13:17). Collins was solid against the run in this quarter in maybe his best 15-minute stretch of the season.
