Michael Penix Jr. played well enough that a loss feels harsh on him. Coming off the rib injury that kept him out of overtime against Baltimore, he went 19 of 33 for 225 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. He also had to leave for a stretch with an undisclosed issue before coming back in. His ribs held up. The problem was that most of his best work came after Atlanta was already 3 scores down.
Look at the line score. Chicago scored 14 in the 1st quarter, 7 in the 2nd and 7 more in the 3rd. Atlanta's only points through 45 minutes came in the 2nd quarter. Atlanta scored 0 in the 1st and 0 in the 3rd at home, and that's how the Falcons fell behind 28-7 against a defense missing Montez Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo, T.J. Edwards, Keyshaun Elliott and Anthony Johnson Jr.
Then the 4th quarter got tense. A Chicago field goal made it 31-7, and Atlanta answered with 16 straight points to get within 8. A Bears team that had lost 9-3 to Minnesota and 31-7 to Green Bay could easily have blown this. Instead Williams led a long drive that ate the clock and kept the ball away from Penix until it was too late. The quarterback who started the day hot also finished it.
This one cost both sides bodies. For Atlanta, linebacker Kendal Daniels went to Grady Memorial Hospital with a neck injury and was reported alert with movement in all his extremities, which matters more than anything else in this recap. Divine Deablo (arm) was ruled out for the rest of the game, and Billy Bowman Jr. (hamstring) was called doubtful to return, so a thin defense got thinner during the game. Chicago lost guard Jonah Jackson (hip), who was called doubtful to return, on a line already missing Jordan McFadden. On the good side for the Bears, cornerbacks Cam Lewis and Kyler Gordon were both available, which helped with Tyrique Stevenson Sr. out. The box score search didn't show what Bijan Robinson, Drake London or D'Andre Swift did. The score did show that the stripped-down Chicago front held Atlanta to 7 points for 3 quarters.
The Bears move to 4-2 and have now won 3 of their last 5. They also have proof that the Green Bay loss was about who played quarterback, not about the whole team. The Falcons fall to 2-4 and have lost 2 straight, both times with Penix putting up numbers. The 35 at Lambeau and 45 at the Superdome are still in there. So are the slow starts, and against a quarterback this sharp, 3 quarters of nothing was too much to make up.