CINCINNATI — How in the holy heck did the Bears emerge from Sunday with a 47-42 win over the Bengals?

How’d they blow a two-score fourth-quarter lead, yet retain the resolve required to score a last-minute touchdown and come out with a win? We’ll spend several days ironing all that out.

A lot of good and a decent amount of terrible was on display in this game, so the grades in this Bears report card will be uneven. That’s how it should be, but the Bears deserve some praise for gutting out a win that seemed to be blown.

“It’s easy to fold, but our guys didn’t do that,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said. “They kept the faith and found a way to come out on top. There will be a lot of tape that we can coach off of and clean up. The best thing is you go in the locker room after an exciting win and there are a number of guys who are pretty disappointed with how they played. That’s the sign of a good football team when they can recognize it immediately.”

Here are the grades from the Bears’ NFL Week 9 win:

Rushing offense

The Bears rushed for 283 yards on 37 carries against the Bengals. And they did so without featured back D’Andre Swift. True freakin’ story.

Rookie Kyle Monangai was excellent, with 176 yards on 26 carries. A rookie seventh-round pick did all that, plus three receptions for 22 more yards. His punishing style wore the Bengals down over time. The offensive line did, too. The line’s right side was awesome all day, especially on outside zone runs.

Even Brittain Brown got into the action — Roschon Johnson also was unavailable — and had five rushes for 37 yards and one touchdown — all NFL career firsts for him.

The Bengals’ run defense is bad, but that shouldn’t supersede excellent execution from all involved in the Bears’ rushing attack, from Johnson’s play designs down to the runners and blockers.

Grade: A-plus

Passing offense

Caleb Williams‘ completion percentage (58.8) still is too low for an offense that values completion volume. The second-year pro wasn’t as accurate as he needs to be. His scrambles while still trying to get the ball down the field are erratic, and all the spinning takes his eyes away from the pattern. There are moments he’d like to have back, but that matters far less when you come through in the clutch.

Williams stood tall when it mattered most, delivering a great ball to Colston Loveland for the decisive score. Williams also was clutch on Johnson’s trick plays that turned him into a receiver.

Loveland had a breakout game, with a career-high six catches for 118 yards and two TDs. DJ Moore was really good in a variety of roles, as he scored on a TD run, threw for another TD and caught four passes for 72 yards. The pass protection was an issue at times, and Rome Odunze surprisingly didn’t have a catch.

It wasn’t a perfect day, but the Bears were good at the right times.

Grade: B-plus

Rushing defense

The Bears had a tough time with the Baltimore Ravens last week, allowing 177 rushing yards in a 300-16 loss. They were far better against Chance Brown and the Bengals, who had just 46 yards on 15 carries.

The Bengals were explosive through the air and played from behind a bit, so they kind of gave up on the run game. The Bears made some good stops, though, and made them one dimensional. That was a plus in this game.

Andrew Billings had a solid game in his return to Cincinnati, and the front overall was stout against the rushing attack.

Grade: A

[READ: Five Bears whose stock went up or down in NFL Week 9 win over Bengals]

Passing defense

Veteran QB Joe Flacco threw for 470 yards and four touchdowns in just his four Bengals start. Tee Higgins couldn’t be stopped, with seven catches for 121 yards and two TDs. Ja’Marr Chase had 111 yards, and the Bengals took yards in chunks. Bears defensive backs had a tough time, but that frequently happens against the Bengals.

Austin Booker had a strip sack. Montez Sweat and CJ Gardner-Johnson had sacks. The Bears were impactful at times — Tremaine Edmunds had an interception in the red zone — but they let up a bit too much down over the last five minutes and allowed a big lead to slip away.

Bears veterans were upset about that after the game, despite the dramatic win. They consider themselves closers, and they didn’t do that Sunday.

Grade: D-minus

Special teams

The Bears allowed the opening kickoff to be returned for a touchdown. A penalty wiped out a long Devin Duvernay return. A Cairo Santos field-goal attempt was blocked. And, worst of all, the Bears allowed the Bengals to recover an onside kick that helped them erase Chicago’s lead.

It was a terrible overall special-teams performance, and it nearly cost the Bears the game.

Grade: F

Coaching

Johnson knew his team had a tough time scoring in the red zone. So, on the first trip down there against the Bengals, he dialed up Moore throwing a TD pass to Williams. Johnson kept the fun plays coming, and they were effective. His run plays were super effective, with a good amount of deception in addition to quality blocking schemes.

While Dennis Allen’s defense gave up 495 total yards, he brought the house on Flacco’s Hail Mary attempt, which rendered the attempt fruitless. That earns him a pat on the back.

Grade: A

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