Arkush: The Bears had one big win Monday night. Discovering Thomas Graham Jr.
A number of Bears are due more props than they've received for just how well they played individually Monday night in spite of all the adversity the team faced just to field 53 healthy bodies.
The defense as a group was outstanding as short-handed as they were.
If the Bears were even .500, Robert Quinn would be a legitimate Defensive MVP candidate and he played like it again against Minnesota.
It's been so long since he's been healthy many had forgotten the fury and purpose that Akiem Hicks brings when he's right and he owned the Vikings offensive line.
Of course David Montgomery and Roquan Smith gave their usual 101 percent.
Perhaps the most interesting man in the NFL world Monday night was rookie 6th-round draft choice Thomas Graham Jr., who had to be flexed up from the practice squad for his first NFL start/game just so the Bears could field a starting secondary. And he was, arguably, the Bears best defender on the field.
Graham finished with 7 tackles and 3 passes defensed.
To give you an idea of how impressive that is, the 3 pass breakups tie him for the third most on the team for the entire season. Only Jaylon Jonson (9), Kindle Vildor (4) and DeAndre Houston-Carson have more in 13, 14 and 13 games, respectively.
Why did it take 14 weeks for him to get off the practice squad and onto the roster?
"First I think I needed the time in general just to help me get back in the flow of things. It took some time for me to regain my confidence."
Remember after starting as a true freshman and playing three full seasons Graham opted out of his final season at Oregon before the Bears drafted him.
"After the bye week is really when it started to come back and I started to feel like who I felt I was and who I am."
After his performance some wondered how the Bears could have allowed Graham to languish on the practice squad with the deficiencies they've had recently at cornerback. But on the practice squad any of the other 31 teams in the league could have come for him at any time.
Knowing the questions the Bears have at corner Graham must start the last three games now to see what they really have, and it would also be wise to try Vildor in the slot after he had a bounce-back performance of his own Monday night.
Maybe the cornerback position isn't as dire as it's looked, also raising the question if there are any other players hiding in plan sight that need to be seen now.
Jesper Horsted immediately comes to mind.
His two catches this year in just 7 games are both touchdowns and he had the game-winning TD grab in Detroit last year on Thanksgiving, but he can't get on the field.
I have no idea if he's a tight end or ever will be but it seems possible, perhaps even likely he's the third best receiver on the team after Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney.
With Justin Fields' development clearly being slowed by a lack of professional targets, get Horsted on the field and find a way to use him to see what you've got.
We assume Larry Borom - fresh off the COVID list - will be immediately reinserted to the starting lineup at right tackle, and it's time to fish or cut bait with Rodney Adams, Isaiah Coulter, Dazz Newsome, Caleb Johnson, Ledarius Mack and Charles Snowden.
If Graham continues to play as well as he did against the Vikings that's a bigger win than the game would have been. And if the Bears have a couple more like him and don't know it, finding them would make these last three games worth playing.
@Hub_Arkush