CHICAGO -- The Bears closed out 2023 and their home slate with a bang Sunday, dominating the Atlanta Falcons from the opening kick-off in a resounding 37-17 win at Soldier Field.
Quarterback Justin Fields put together one of his most complete games, giving the Bears and general manager Ryan Poles something to think about on the day they earned the No. 1 pick. Wide receiver DJ Moore added another 100-yard game to his ledger, and the defense did the rest, suffocating Atlanta's woeful offense from start to finish.
The Bears are now 7-9 and are three inexplicable faceplants away from being a playoff team. The playoffs will have to wait until next year, but Sunday's back-alley smackdown the Bears delivered showed the Bears have pulled themselves out of the NFL's basement and are firmly in the crowded middle with a green arrow pointing up.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Here's a New Year's Eve report card worthy of champagne and the victory cigars the Bears lit in the home locker room after the win:
Passing offense
Fields was sensational from the opening thrown.
The third-year quarterback opened his day with a beautiful strike to Moore along the right sideline for a gain of 32. Fields finished the drive by ripping a dot to Moore in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown.
Fields' first half Sunday was among his best in a Bears uniform, trailing only the perfect first half he put together against the Denver Broncos earlier this season.
Fields missed a couple throws and was late on a few, but he also threw a picture-perfect pass up the seam to Tyler Scott for a touchdown that the rookie couldn't haul in.
The quarterback's day also included an absurd 13-yard scramble on third-and-8, on which he shook off two Falcons defenses to avoid a sack and pick up the first down.
This was Fields at his best.
He finished the day 20-for-32 for 268 yards and one touchdown while adding 45 yards and a score on the ground. Moore hauled in nine passes for 159 yards and a score.
With no Darnell Mooney and with Cole Kmet limited, the Bears' passing game wasn't expected to have a big day against Atlanta's top-10-ranked pass defense.
Instead, Fields sliced them up and sent a message in the process.
Flawless. No notes.
Fields GRADE: A
Team GRADE: A
Rushing offense
D'Onta Foreman was a surprise healthy scratch Sunday, but his absence didn't hamper the Bears' ground game.
Khalil Herbert once again had his juice back, rushing for 124 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Herbert was slippery and showed great vision and acceleration in the open field.
Herbert didn't look like himself during the first handful of games after his return from the ankle injury he suffered in Week 5. But Herbert looked like his old self last week against the Cardinals and again showed his typical burst Sunday while gashing the Falcons.
The Bears rushed for 192 yards at 5.2 yards per tote Sunday.
Atlanta had no answers for a Bears' ground game that wore them down early and ripped them late.
GRADE: A
Pass defense
While the Bears left Soldier Field on Sunday with a big question mark about what to do at quarterback, the Falcons know they have no answer.
Taylor Heinicke was awful Sunday.
If you take away a 75-yard catch-and-run by running back Tyler Allgeier, the Bears held Heinick to 88 yards pass and four interceptions.
The Falcons' receivers struggled to get open against the Bears' defensive backs, and Chicago's defensive line hounded Heinicke all day.
The Allgeier explosive is a blemish, but other than that, the Bears were perfect.
GRADE: B+
Run defense
The Bears' top-ranked run did an admirable job against rookie Bijan Robinson, holding him to 75 yards on 15 carries.
The Falcons got down by two scores early and had to go away from the run game in the second half. Outside of a couple scramble by Heinicke where they lost contain, the Bears' run defense was again good.
It was nothing to write home about but a solid, workman-like effort.
GRADE: B+
Coaching
In a season defined by late-game meltdowns, there were no step-on-a-rake moments for the Bears on Sunday.
The lone questionable decision came when the Bears decided to roll Fields out of the pocket for a shot play late in the game while up by 20. Fields was hit on the play and fumbled, but the Bears recovered.
Head coach Matt Eberlfus said they had a free play ahead of the two-minute warning and wanted to get the lone first down needed to salt the game away.
Still, it was a curious decision to open your quarterback up to an unnecessary hit in a game that was over.
GRADE: B+
Overall
This was the Bears' best all-around performance of the season and probably their best since a Week 7 drubbing of the New England Patriots last season.
Fields was stellar, Moore tormented the Falcons, and the defense continued to be the dominant, elite unit it has been for over a month.
If this is who the Bears plan to be, 2024 is going to be fun.
GRADE: A