Goldman’s Homecoming, The Last Win Against Washington, Broncos Tried to Help, and Other Bears Bullets

I can’t be the only one whose internal clock has been thrown off by the start of the Bears’ 2019 schedule. It felt like an eternity passed between the time the Bears ended their first game and kicked off Week 2, but it was just 10 days. And while you would think that winning in Week 2 would make the eight days between the end of that game and their Monday Night Football appearance in Washington go by quickly, you would be sadly mistaken.

The end of summer is supposed to bring football season, but the Bears have played just twice in 19 days. Bring on the football, you cowards!

Eddie Goldman is returning to play in his home town for the first time as an NFL player:

Goldman is a Washington, D.C. native who has plenty of reasons to be hyped about this game, but his reflections on his past and humble beginnings are eye-opening. Making it to this point in his NFL career wasn’t easy, and it is amazing to think how much he has done to get here. Goldman has played an integral role in the Bears defense and has become a fan favorite among those of us who nerd out over winning the battle at the line of scrimmage. I imagine this return will be an emotional one for Goldman, and it would be neat to see him turn that energy into a big game in front of friends and family on a national stage.

I was a senior in high school the last time Chicago defeated Washington in a game of professional football, so seeing this lineup makes me feel some type of way as I travel back into time:

Here’s the Bears’ starting lineup from December 21, 2003, the last time they beat Washington. Paul Edinger hit a game-winning 45-yard field goal pic.twitter.com/QeBgeJDTpB

— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) September 23, 2019

I can’t lie: I had to look up “Q. Mitchell” and “A. Gibson” on Pro Football Reference’s site just to jog my memory. Clearly, whatever I did to block out the Qasim Mitchell and Aaron Gibson eras of Bears football worked as well as I wanted it to in the first place. Way to go, brain. And if you are curious as to how the Bears were triumphant with a starting lineup featuring those two tackles, it helped that Washington was pushing forward with the likes of Tim Hasselbeck, Rock Cartwright, and Rod Gardner at skill position spots. Also in Washington’s lineup was safety Matt Bowen, who does stellar breakdown work as part of ESPN’s legion of football analysts.

It is wild to think about how Steve Spurrier’s time as an NFL coach wasn’t all that successful, but many of the offensive concepts that made him an all-time great college football coach are prevalent in today’s game. Between the vertical stuff that stretches the field and some of the side-to-side passing action that can serve as de facto run plays, Spurrier’s finger-prints are all over the modern game. And while Dick Jauron’s time as Bears head coach didn’t have too many memorable moments, no one can take away his win over a Spurrier-led team.

If you’re a Washington fan and this is the first thing you read this morning, you’re probably wanting to spike your coffee:

The Redskins are 2-16 at FedEx Field on Monday nights and 6-23 on Monday nights overall since 97. That’s quite poor. https://t.co/AJ3Pg86I0Y

— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) September 23, 2019

The Bears just bucked a big-time trend last week by defeating a Broncos team that rarely ever loses its home opener. Here’s to keeping this particular skid going by beating Washington on its home turf.

This quote from Offensive Coordinator Mark Helfrich on Cordarrelle Patterson (via the Bears’ official site) makes me want to see No. 84 more than ever: “He would love to be on the field every single snap — offense, defense, special teams, whatever.”

Chicago’s offensive decision-makers need to find a healthy balance for Patterson’s work load, but the dynamic speedster can make game-changing plays whenever he is on the field and gets his hands on the ball. It would be neat to see one of those types of plays unfold on MNF.

Looking at this list hurts:

Deshaun Watson became the fourth-fastest player to reach 50 passing TDs in Super Bowl era:

Patrick Mahomes 17
Kurt Warner 21
Dan Marino 22
Deshaun Watson 26
Matthew Stafford 27

— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) September 23, 2019

In case you are wondering where Mitch Trubisky sits, he has 31 passing touchdowns in 28 games. So another six-touchdown performance still wouldn’t bring him close to where he needs to be. Ouch.

If I am forced to eat crow because I am wrong about Daniel Jones, I would like it fried hard, lemon pepper, and mild sauce on it … please:

Giants rookie Daniel Jones is just the second player in NFL history to throw for 300+ yards with 2+ pass TDs and 2+ rushing TDs in his first NFL start as he did in beating the Bucs today. The first? Well, it's Eric Hipple, who did that with the Lions in a 1981 win vs. the Bears.

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 23, 2019

Jones had more passing yards in his NFL debut than Trubisky has in his first two games of the 2019 season. Better ball the heck out, Mitchell.

Coffee, chargers, and luggage are among your Deals of the Day at Amazon today.

Mr. Hicks goes to Washington:

View this post on Instagram

Unleash the beast. #MNF

A post shared by Chicago Bears (@chicagobears) on Sep 22, 2019 at 6:04pm PDT

I guess it’s never too early to look ahead to Week 4:

#Bears open as a 2.5-point favorite over #Vikings for Week 4 meeting at Soldier Field at Westgate SuperBook per my guy @JoeFortenbaugh

— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) September 22, 2019

An injury update to keep an eye on next week:

#Vikings LB Anthony Barr, who sat out today with a groin injury, told me he’s confident he’ll be back for a big game next week against the #Bears. Just didn’t want a one-week injury to turn into two or three.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 22, 2019

Bill Belichick and George Halas are together at the top:

A random historical note: The Patriots' victory today bumped Bill Belichick's all-time winning percentage to .682, which ties him with George Halas. Decent pair.

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) September 22, 2019

The Packers are 3-0, but it’s not as if Phillip Lindsay didn’t do his part to help the Bears’ cause:

https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1175848008656637953

Let’s see how this holds up as Week 3 comes to a close:

Holding penalties plummeted Sunday after a conference call between VP of officiating Al Riveron and refs on Saturday, per @SeifertESPN. Officials threw 41 flags for offensive holding Sunday, an average of 2.9 per game. The first 33 games of the season averaged 5.7 per game.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 23, 2019

Officials still can’t get this right:

This is an EGREGIOUS missed call against Miles Sanders pic.twitter.com/Os6Vp3MjSz

— Dave Loughran (@Loughy_D) September 22, 2019

Sunday Night Football was weird (and not just because the Browns were hosting it):

So… since ESPN began video tracking the NFL in 2007, there has never been a draw play called on 4th and 9 or more, according to @ESPNStatsInfo

— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) September 23, 2019

Everything looks open on a screenshot:

People keep tweeting this frame from the final Browns play suggesting Mayfield should have run for the TD but… he has to go 12 yards without either Rams defender directly in front of him making the tackle. I don't think this is as clear cut as people are making it, at all. pic.twitter.com/KRX6mzidvr

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 23, 2019

“My mans just started throwing babies out the window, and we was catchin’ ’em — unlike Agholor”

The most Philly soundbite goes to this guy who helped catch children thrown from a window during a fire. pic.twitter.com/3rH69gU2fL

— Steve Lindsay CBS (@SteveLindsayCBS) September 23, 2019

Michael: Make fun of Agholar all you want, but his 8 catchers, 50 yards, and 2 receiving touchdowns saved my fantasy football team this week (19.0 points, yo!).