NEWSLETTER
Did you enjoy your Bears-free Sunday? I know I did. It helps a ton that they won on Thursday. But having NFL games as background noise while I did other stuff around the house was a refreshing alternative to spending the afternoon yelling at the television because I disagreed with a play call, referee decision, dropped pass, missed block, or broken tackle.
- The Bears didn’t play yesterday, but there were a bunch of Bears-adjacent things happening during the Week 5 Sunday slate. Patrick covers them (and more!) in the Sunday 7. Among the most notable events was Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson suffering a hamstring injury that caused him to miss a chunk of time late in Minnesota’s loss to the Chiefs. After the game, Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell said it was too early to tell how severe the injury was and how long it could impact him. We’ll continue to monitor this for obvious reasons since Minnesota is next up on Chicago’s schedule.
- Even if Jefferson can’t give it a go in Week 6, don’t expect the Bears to have it easy. You can’t sleep on rookie Jordan Addison (6 catches, 64 yards, 1 TD vs. Chiefs). Tight end T.J. Hockenson is no slouch either. Quarterback Kirk Cousins is on pace for a 5,093-yard, 44-touchdown season that my fantasy football team appreciates. The Vikings put up points. They also do a bunch of goofy stuff, which explains how they can hang tight with the defending Chiefs in a one-score loss just one week after riding the struggle bus in a one-score win against a Panthers team looking destined to deliver the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to the Bears.
- The Bears have the worst point differential in the NFC North. But they have also scored more points (115) than the Vikings (110) and Packers (100). Of course, that could change tonight when the Packers play the Raiders. Nevertheless, folks gush about the Vikings offense (and in fairness, I get it — they’ve got a ton of weapons) but they’ve played the same number of games as the Bears and have scored fewer points. I wonder if we’ll be in for a shootout at Soldier Field between two teams trying to figure stuff out.
- For those of you who care, Brad Biggs (Tribune) tweets the Vikings were installed as 3.5-point road favorites against the Bears this week. Whatever. I like it better when the Bears are underdogs anyway.
- There are four teams on ESPN writer Bill Barnwell’s list of teams vying to be the NFL’s worst in 2023 that rank lower than the Bears. Sure, the Broncos won the head-to-head battle between the two. But that is irrelevant. It is also tremendously frustrating. How differently would we look at the Bears if they were 2-3 and not 1-4? Would we view this team’s trajectory differently? How would we see Justin Fields’ last two performances if they were both in winning efforts? This serves as a timely reminder that this team’s margin of error is razor-thin.
- I wouldn’t say I like saying nice things about division rivals, but shout out to the Lions for knocking off the Panthers. Keeping Carolina winless gives the Bears a better chance to land the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. My pops was curious why I was begrudgingly rooting on Detroit. It was definitely one of those “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” kind of days.
- This tweet sent me down a rabbit hole:
- Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey’s 56.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus puts him 49th among the 68 qualifiers for PFF’s leaderboard. It is early. And McGlinchey can still turn it around. But this isn’t the type of performance Denver was hoping to see from a big-ticket free-agent signing. And it makes me thankful (in hindsight) that the Bears didn’t out-bid the Broncos. Plus, it was a domino that fell en route to Chicago drafting Darnell Wright, who is PFF’s 25th-highest-graded offensive tackle. Wright’s pass-blocking can use some fine-tuning, but the 79.1 run-block grade is PFF’s eighth-best among tackles. Let the kid play!
- The bottom half of PFF’s grade sheet features some notable free agents who signed in the offseason. That group includes Jawaan Taylor (67th of 68) and Orlando Brown Jr. (47/68).
- Would you rather have Mike McGlinchey and Jalen Carter? Or Darnell Wright and the cap savings that come with not paying McGlinchey? Watching this clip and seeing these notes makes this tough for me to answer:
- The Bears are shuffling the deck at running back as injuries pile up at the position. Old friend Darrynton Evans is back. But Khalil Herbert could land on IR and Roschon Johnson is in concussion protocol. Hey, maybe we’ll get to see D’Onta Foreman for the first time since Week 1. Foreman has been a healthy scratch in each of the team’s last four games.
- How Travis Kelce’s afternoon started…
… and how it finished:
- I’ve been in this space for months trying to tell you folks about the healing powers of Taylor Alison Swift. Because if she can help heal my soul with the written word put to musical production, then a non-contact injury after a slip is nothing more than a walk in the park.
NFL NOTES: Sunday’s Best, 49ers Roll, Notable Injuries, More
- Is it me or is it that the Cowboys go from looking like contenders to pretenders whenever a team plays with an ounce of physicality against them?
- This is mesmerizing in all the best ways:
- Happy Birthday to Mike Singletary, whose highlights are visually pleasing to my eye:
- There is still time to vote in this poll from our friends at Obvious Shirts:
- Over at BN’s Cubs wing, Michael explores the Kyle Hendricks decision that is on the horizon and its many nuances. There is plenty to discuss regarding the Cubs’ offseason. And it is just getting started, so I hope you’re in a comfy chair if you’re a Cubs fan reading this. Just know that I need to see Kyle in a Cubs uniform in 2024. If I have to see him in another uniform, I’m going to be highly irritated.
- Tab is keeping a watchful eye on three college stars who happen to be Blackhawks prospects. (BN Blackhawks)
- I don’t care that it was just a preseason game. Anytime I get a chance to share someone nailing a half-court shot is going to result in me sharing it:
