3 and Out: Chicago Bears lose fourth straight with 27-24 loss to Atlanta Falcons

The Bears couldn’t score on their final drive and lost their fourth straight game, falling 27-24 to the Atlanta Falcons on the road Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:

Three moments that mattered

1. Ballgame: The Bears had a chance to tie the game or go for the win with one last drive after Atlanta took a 27-24 lead with 1:47 left on a 53-yard field goal from Younghoe Koo, but Justin Fields threw an interception that bounced off of David Montgomery’s hands and landed in Jaylinn Hawkins’ with 1:13 left. Fields appeared to be in discomfort following the drive after taking a shot to the shoulder on second down.

2. Staying alive: The Bears tied the game 24-24 with 8:16 left in the game after David Montgomery scored on a 2-yard run. They tied the game on a drive where Fields kept plays alive with his feet, giving himself and his receivers time to move down the field and score.

3. He caught that?: Cole Kmet made arguably the best catch of his young career in the second quarter when he caught a 24-yard pass by leaping and extending his right arm to make a one-handed catch while A.J. Terrell knocked him down midair. The Bears went on to take a 10-7 lead on a Cairo Santos 41-yard field goal with 7:42 left in the second quarter.

Three things that worked

1. Scoring in the red zone: The Bears capitalized when they were in the red zone, scoring on all three of their trips. They first scored in the opening quarter on a 16-yard pass to Darnell Mooney and then on a 4-yard run from Fields in the second quarter. Montgomery scored in the fourth quarter to tie the game.

2. Creating opportunities: Fields continued his run of being a magician with his feet, keeping plays alive with his feet. The quarterback rushed for 85 yards and threw for 153, scoring both on the ground and in the air for the fifth straight game.

3. Creating turnovers: The Bears created two turnovers and took advantage. DeAndre Houston-Carson forced Avery Williams to fumble on a punt return in the first quarter and Jaquan Brisker made Cordarrelle Patterson fumble in the second quarter. The Bears scored a touchdown after Patterson’s fumble.

Three things that didn’t

1. Protecting Fields: Fields has escaped pressure with impressive runs throughout the season, but he can’t escape everything. The Bears allowed Fields to be sacked four times for a loss of 25 yards, which doesn’t count sacks that Fields escaped Sunday. The second-year QB once again took too many big hits.

2. Can’t stop them: The Bears defense allowed more than 26 points for the fourth straight game. The Falcons scored 17 straight points to take a 24-17 lead in the third quarter and then went on a drive in the fourth quarter from the Bears 35 to set up the game-winning field goal.

3. Remember me?: Patterson, who played two seasons in Chicago, set the NFL career kickoff return record when he returned a kick for 103 yards in the second quarter. It was Patterson’s ninth career kickoff return and came after he fumbled on a return early in the quarter. Patterson finished with 52 rushing yards.

What’s next?

The Bears visit the New York Jets on Sunday. Kickoff is at noon.