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BN Chicago Bears The NFL Playoffs Actually Started....

The NFL Playoffs Actually Started Yesterday and Other Bears Bullets

Luis C. Medina Luis C. Medina
Nov 29, 2019
Chicago Bears

My days of participating in the wild Black Friday events are over, but that won’t stop me from safely browsing the deals at Amazon today from the comfort of home. As a reminder, when people shop at Amazon via our BN links, it supports the business with a commission. So thanks in advance, and happy shopping

  • Happy Victory Friday, y’all:

  • That’s a happy bunch of Bears right there. You love to see it!
  • Hyped Matt Nagy had me wanting to throw on some sweat pants and a hoodie, go out, and plow through some unsuspecting Black Friday shoppers on my way to getting something special. Beyond the hype-filled goodness, Nagy preaches about the importance of family and sticking together — which is really what that 24-20 win against the Lions was all about.
  • At its core, Thursday’s win encapsulated what the 2019 Bears were supposed to be about. That team yesterday showed resilience and skill en route to a road victory against an NFC North rival. Yes, I realize it’s just the Lions. And no, the Lions aren’t going anywhere any time soon. But this division plays each other close. And in a game when things went sideways early for the Bears, they pulled through together and rallied when it could have been easy to fold up shop. Short-handed on a short turnaround while facing a 10-point deficit on the road? So many other teams would have been steam-rolled. And yet, the Bears hit the comeback trail and emerged victorious. Good for them. They will need to channel all that energy in order to keep the good times going.
  • A very important graphic update:

  • It’s hunting season, friends.
  • I don’t care what the calendar says, because there is one undeniable truth: The NFL playoffs started yesterday. Essentially, the Bears are in must-win games from here on out. A loss is virtual elimination. But a win means you get to keep on the good fight with realistic (albeit minimal) odds. Every game presents an opportunity to do something special, so keep taking the next chance as it comes, then see where the chips fall at the end of the day.
  • Some teams didn’t have as much fun as the Bears did on Thanksgiving:

  • Matt Ryan got stiff-armed all the way into 2020:

  • We’ll dive into Mitch Trubisky’s wonderful performance on Thanksgiving in due time, but I wanted to take a moment to express how happy I was to see Eddie Jackson get that game-ending interception:

  • Jackson had been shut out in the interception column this year, which is one of the biggest unfortunate surprises of the 2019 season. Between teams not needing to throw risky passes because they were trailing, as well as Jackson’s increased usage in-the-box, the opportunities simply haven’t been there for him. But he got one on Thursday and didn’t miss it. Here’s hoping it is the first of many for No. 39 down the stretch.

    • (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

  • Thursday’s win wasn’t perfect, by any means. The Bears committed 10 penalties that cost them 89 yards. Penalties allowed the Lions to get two first downs. Chicago also allowed David Blough to throw up a 101.1 passer rating until the moment he threw the interception pictured above. Bo Scarbrough averaged 4.0 yards per rush, while Kenny Golladay broke through for a four-catch, 158-yard game. Golladay will do that to a lot of teams before his time in the league is done, but you can’t let Bo Scarbrough run through guys the way he did at certain points on Thursday. Clean it up, and we wouldn’t even be talking about Trubisky’s come-from-behind heroics.
  • Seriously, though … clean it up:

    • https://twitter.com/BN_Bears/status/1200152987752116230

  • This happened on 1st-and-goal from the 2-freaking-yard-line:

  • I can’t stop thinking about this:

  • I get the Trubisky was thinking about the importance of getting to the sideline and stopping the clock. But when your team has two time outs, your lone objective should have been to get the first down, slide, then use a timeout. Again, the lack of situational awareness is one of those things that make Bears fans cringe while watching their favorite team’s quarterback. But at least Trubisky was able to figure it out after halftime.
  • Part of me thinks the extended halftime because of the technical difficulties that were happening during the halftime show helped matters. Prove me wrong.
  • Also, what the heck was that halftime show? Detroit is the home of Motown, and the NFL trots out whatever that was? Talk about a lack of situational awareness.
  • A halftime performance fitting of the first half of that game:

  • Riley Ridley played four offensive snaps, but the one most Bears fans will remember was at the start of the second quarter when he ran on the field late on a run play to start the quarter. That was not the time or place to not have that brain cramp, rookie.
  • Let’s not lose track of this game-saving tackle:

  • In the end, despite their issues, Da Bears got Da Belt:

  • Make sure you check out Fanatics’ Black Friday sale, too.
  • “TaKe a KnEe, CoRdaRrElLe…”

  • This is an all-time great moment in the history of College Football Twitter:

    • Read More

    written by

    Luis C. Medina

    Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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