The Bears Are Back in First Place! And Other Bullets

Oct 29, 2018

Baseball season ended on Sunday night with the title-starved city of Boston winning yet another World Series. Now there are no excuses not to be fully invested in the Chicago Bears moving forward. (Wink, wink.)

After a two-week hiatus, it’s good to have #ClubDub open again:

Back-to-back losses against the Dolphins and Patriots put things in perspective for the Bears and their fans. Winning is hard, so players (and fans) should celebrate wins for what they are, whenever they come around. And who knows, maybe Matt Nagy will be forced to develop some dance moves by the time the regular season ends. More wins, more chances to bust a move. Can you dig it?

I’m a believer in the “you win as a team/lose as a team” concept, so I’m itching to say the best thing to come out of Sunday was the well-rounded nature of the win. A Mack-less Bears defense limited the Jets to just 10 points, showing that it could overcome the lack of star power at pass-rusher (at least for one game). And the offense showed it can be a balanced attack (27 carries from RBs, 29 pass attempts from the QB). This is what it can look like when good coaches make adjustments and good players execute.

But perhaps Jordan Howard’s performance was the best thing we saw. Howard finished the day with 81 yards on 22 carries, and his late-game heroics iced the game. He gained 34 yards on four rushes to extend the Bears’ lead to 14 after the Jets made it a one-score game in the fourth quarter. The Bears responded in kind by attacking with Howard, who racked up 53 rushing yards on 10 carries on the final two drives. Most importantly, those drives ate 7 minutes and 35 seconds off the game clock in crunch time. Clutch yards in big moments for Howard should not be overlooked.

Howard tends to get better whenever he builds up a lather and that’s exactly how things played out on Sunday. Yes, Tarik Cohen is the game-breaker, but the modern NFL has shown that depth and variety make for a winning backfield. Seeing how Cohen and Howard work so well in a tandem makes it difficult to process thoughts of trading Howard at this particular moment. The Bears are competitive and need a player with Howard’s skill set in order to get where they want to go this year. If Howard can keep this moving in the right direction, Chicago’s offense is that much more difficult to slow down.

Alright, the ACTUAL best thing about the Bears’ win was that the victory (combined with losses by the Packers, Vikings, and Lions) moved Chicago from worst to first in the NFC North:

First to worst to first! #DaBears #FirstPlaceBears pic.twitter.com/D7sYlw4iRR

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) October 29, 2018

We figured the NFC North was going to be a dog fight, and here we are at the end of Week 8 and the division is clustered. The best part is that head-to-head matchups will ultimately decide it. Here’s how many games each NFC North team has against their division rivals: Bears (5), Vikings (5), (Lions (5), Packers (3). Buckle up, folks. It’s going to be some ride.

First place never sounded so good:

Today was a good day! pic.twitter.com/Z46uKCW9VU

— Ⓜ️arcusD ᴿᴵᴾ ᴹᵃʳᶜᵘˢᴰ² (@_MarcusD3_) October 29, 2018

Let’s not overlook that the Bears’ are 3-1 in conference games because that’s no small feat. Chicago was 1-11 against the NFC in 2017 and 3-9 in 2016. One more win against a conference foe this season will match their production from the two previous years. Progress!

This might be the most underrated aspect of Sunday’s win:

I don't find it confusing at all. Matt Nagy is a rookie NFL coach finding out just how much he can trust his players when they say they can go. Last week was a mistake to play Robinson/Mack. Nagy isn't making the same one twice. That's a good thing. https://t.co/cduEronSXd
— Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) October 28, 2018

Nagy has tried to emphasize the importance of not making the same mistake twice to his quarterback since he arrived in Chicago, so it’s good to see he’s willing to take his own advice.

Speaking of which:

Mitchell Trubisky and Matt Nagy talked about having that killer instinct and finishing games for the past two weeks. The #Bears found that killer instinct in the 4th with a TD run to make it 24-10 and a defensive stop on that ensuing drive
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) October 28, 2018

I’m here for Anthony Miller paying homage to the first receiver to catch a touchdown from Mitch Trubisky:

I see you young fella.. keep dancing on em!! RT @ChicagoBears: Can we have some chips with that salsa, @AnthonyMiller_3?? pic.twitter.com/UtSLKyDOH4

— Victor Cruz (@TeamVic) October 28, 2018

We figured Miller’s time would come with Robinson sidelined and inactive because of a groin injury, and that’s precisely how things played out. Miller led the Bears with seven targets, but came away with just three catches and 37 yards. But he did score a touchdown, thanks to some nifty footwork and excellent body control in the end zone. Miller might be the Bears’ most well-round receiver, which is a high compliment to pay for a rookie, but there’s an argument that it’s deserved. Miller is an excellent route runner, has reliable hands, creates separation, and can be a productive run-blocker. Now let’s imagine how good he can be once Mitch Trubisky starts hitting those deep balls.

As we discussed yesterday, Trubisky had a quietly solid second half as he hit 11 of 16 passes (68.8 completion percentage), threw a touchdown, and didn’t turn the ball over. After watching Trubisky turn it over twice in what ended up being a one-score game against the Patriots, it was encouraging to see him not make turnover-worthy throws against the Jets. This is what progress looks like from a young quarterback.

Move over, McMahon. You’ve got company:

Mitch Trubisky's showed a lot more poise than most #Bears QBs have early on in their career & with his 2nd TD pass today, he moved alone into 2nd on this all-time franchise list pic.twitter.com/u8FWfvIFAi
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) October 29, 2018

You can see by his sharp route-running and excellent run-after-catch ability why Taylor Gabriel is coming on strong as a top target for Trubisky:

Run that back Turbo! @TGdadon1 pic.twitter.com/3PmMg3i9s1

— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr) October 28, 2018

I want to further drive home that the Bears earned a team win with this nugget from Pro Football Focus pointing out that Josh Bellamy started and played the most snaps of any bears receiver, tight end, or running back yesterday. It’s not what we expected, but it’s good that Bellamy didn’t stand out for the wrong reasons. He even made some tough catches in traffic. All things considered, it was great to see him bounce back with a strong showing.

Bellamy wasn’t the only surprise starter on Sunday. Chris Emma of 670 The Score made a note that rookie defensive lineman Bilal Nichols got the call to start against the Jets. Nichols played 20 snaps and has seen his role grow. For as much as some of the Bears’ first-round picks have struggled, GM Ryan Pace has snagged some late-round values with Nichols being the latest.

Kylie Fitts made his NFL debut in Sunday’s win (h/t The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain) but did not register any statistics in the box score in his seven-snap cameo.

All hands on deck! There are only nine games left in the regular season.

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The Bears Are Back in First Place! And Other Bullets

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