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The perks of your favorite team winning a Thursday Night Football game: You get to celebrate with a Victory Friday, then circle back and do it again and call it a Victory Monday. How can you not love it?
Is it time to call off the tank? An odd and unexpected set of circumstances has the Chicago Bears feeling like they’re on the periphery of a playoff spot. The combo platter of a Thursday Night Football win against the Commanders, a Packers loss to the Raiders on Monday Night Football, and news of Minnesota Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson going on IR with a hamstring injury might change some perspectives among Bears fans. At a minimum, it should have us thinking differently about the next few weeks.
After having a few days to think about it after Thursday’s win, here’s where I land: If the Bears win because Justin Fields is great, then I can vibe with it. Fields needs to be great in order to drag a bottom-10 defense to a victory — even against sub-par teams. The best-case scenario for the Bears (that doesn’t involve taking USC QB Caleb Williams first overall) is Fields balling out and proving he deserves an extended look. And if some wins come along the way as a result, then so be it.
Meanwhile, the NFC North Tank Watch is on. The Bears (5.5% — which is up from 1.3% last week), Vikings (20.3%), and Packers (24.3%) all rank in the bottom half of NFL teams when it comes to ESPN’s FPI playoff odds projections. All three of those teams are in that hodgepodge of teams who are in the range of landing a top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. But that could change if the Vikings decide to trade quarterback Kirk Cousins (and that’s if he decides to waive his no-trade clause). And the Packers could continue bottoming out if QB Jordan Love continues his fade. In short, these next four weeks are crucial and will go a long way toward shaping the future of this division.
Jordan Love’s first two games: 29/52 (55.8%), 396 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT, 118.7 passer rating. Since then: 61/110 (55.5%), 687 yards, 2 TD, 6 INT, 57.7 rating. That Week 1 showing sure looks like an anomaly — and it has me mad all over again about the Bears laying an egg after coming out wholly unprepared in the season-opener … at home … against your biggest rival … in a potential statement game. It infuriates me to think about how the Bears coughed up 31 offensive points to that unit.
It doesn’t. Because the reality is the Bears defense, as constructed, ain’t it. But at least I tried. Although, I’ll say this: I find it enjoyable thinking about Packers fans getting a taste of what it has felt like to be a fan of every other team in the division that hasn’t been blessed with decades of HOF-caliber QB play. Now who’s laughing!? This is how the other side lives!
And let me be clear: I don’t want the Packers or Vikings to bottom out and end up with Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. That is a worst-case scenario to me. For me, the best-case scenario as a Bears fan is that Green Bay and Minnesota win enough games to be in the middle of the pack — which would put them far enough away from a spot to land a premier QB prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft.
I’m really glad Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus is looking into employing a senior defensive assistant. After watching the Raiders stifle the Packers’ offense, Coach Flus needs to be seeking answers to questions regarding how his defense made Jordan Love look like a future star. At a minimum, a new voice could offer some helpful solutions. The last thing this defense needs is a “yes man” on staff. So I’m hoping Eberflus doesn’t bring one in who parrots ideas and concepts that haven’t been working for this unit.
For as bad as Eberflus’ defenses have been, at least they haven’t been “cover a top-5 wide receiver with an edge rusher” bad:
If it feels like I’m picking on the Bears defense, it’s because I am. Let’s keep it real. When your general manager invests five Day 2 picks in two NFL Drafts, $60 million worth of new linebackers, and $20 million in new defensive ends over two offseasons, your defense needs to be better. Full stop. With that being said, Mark Potash (Sun-Times) underscores that Chicago’s offense still has much to prove.
Kevin Fishbain (The Athletic) explores how Bears optimism could be on the rise if the likes of Justin Fields, D.J. Moore, and that much-maligned defense can find ways to build off a TNF win on the road against the Commanders.
Happy Connor Bedard Day to all my friends who are celebrating such an occasion. Check out our pals at BN Blackhawks (here, on Twitter, and on Facebook) for more coverage of Chicago’s ice hockey savior.
NBA rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama was dropping jaws in his first preseason game. Part of me is sharing this because I’m so interested in seeing his game develop. But there is also a part of me that wants to get the muscle memory down to type Wembanyama without having to think about it. Like Kwiatkoski … or Samardzija … or Iyiegbuniwe. Anyway, more on Webmanyama via our friends at BN Bulls.
That Braves-Phillies finish was so wild that “WHAT AN ENDING” was trending on Twitter. More from MLB’s postseason from our friends at the OG BN site:
The annual announcement of the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year award came with a little twist this year. In a very cool moment captured on video, you can watch how Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus surprised Justin Jones...
This is a very interesting bit of reporting here from long-time NFL reporter Josina Anderson, who hears the Chicago Bears "are expected to have interest" in Washington Commanders assistant coach Eric Bieniemy. https://twitter.com/josinaanderson/status/1732061557880754598?s=46&t=U02QfOvkevNNl1wqUjnTzQ Bieniemy, 54, is in his first season...
Are you following Bleacher Nation Bears on Facebook? If not, then you should change that. We'll start Bullets with a nugget about someone who isn't even on the Bears. Well, not yet anyway. USC quarterback Caleb Williams won't play in...
The Chicago Bears are back from the bye and Head Coach Matt Eberflus just had his first press conference since taking the extended time off after the team's Week 12 Monday Night Football win against the Minnesota Vikings. Eberflus addressed...
We've come back to December. And for Chicago Bears fans, that means we're watching the 2024 NFL Draft positioning like it's a horse race. This is what it looks like for the Bears as we start December: https://twitter.com/BN_Bears/status/1731533028692836661 Don't get...
Just when you thought the Bears being off meant that your Sunday couldn't be ruined by football, here come the Packers to prove you wrong. Chicago's football team returns from the bye as 4-point underdogs against Detroit (h/t Brad Biggs)...
Thankfully, the Bears are on a bye this week. Bears-less Sunday allowed me to sleep in on Sunday. I felt as if I earned the right to sleep in after staying up late to watch my alma mater (SIU Carbondale)...
While ESPN's NFL FPI gives the Chicago Bears just a 2.3 percent chance of making the playoffs entering this Sunday's action, my favorite college football team (my alma mater, SIU Carbondale) returns to action TODAY for a second-round postseason battle....
Normally, the bye week presents an opportunity for Bears fans to hit the reset button on the season. But because it's in early December this year, folks can use teh break to start looking ahead to the offseason. There will...
Happy Holidays! With gift-giving season in full swing, it's time to do some shopping for those near and dear, and what better gift to give to the Chicagoan in your life than Bears stuff! Let's take a look at some...
Tight end Kyle Pitts is looking at a matchup versus the 28th-ranked pass defense in the league (257.9 yards allowed per game) in Week 14, when his Atlanta Falcons meet the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.Should Pitts...
In Week 14 (Thursday at 8:15 PM ET), running back Jaylen Warren and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet the New England Patriots, who have the third-ranked rushing defense in the NFL (88.7 yards allowed per game).With his upcoming game against...
Wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown is looking at a matchup versus the 25th-ranked pass defense in the league (239.5 yards conceded per game) in Week 14, when his Detroit Lions meet the Chicago Bears, Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.When setting your...
Tight end Will Mallory faces a matchup against the 27th-ranked pass defense in the league (254.3 yards allowed per game) in Week 14, when his Indianapolis Colts play the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.With his upcoming game versus...
In Week 14 (Monday at 8:15 PM ET), RB A.J. Dillon and the Green Bay Packers will face the New York Giants, who have the 28th-ranked rushing defense in the league (136.1 yards allowed per game).Should Dillon be someone that...
Dalton Kincaid and the Buffalo Bills will play the Kansas City Chiefs and their sixth-ranked passing defense (183 yards conceded per game) in Week 14, on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.Is Kincaid a worthwhile starting option in fantasy this week?...
James Cook and the Buffalo Bills will face the Kansas City Chiefs and their 19th-ranked run defense (114.7 yards allowed per game) in Week 14, on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.Is Cook's game against the Chiefs this week a good...
Luke Schoonmaker and the Dallas Cowboys will play the Philadelphia Eagles and their 29th-ranked pass defense (260.3 yards conceded per game) in Week 14, on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET.Should Schoonmaker be a player that you insert into your fantasy...
In Week 14 (Sunday at 1:00 PM ET), running back Pierre Strong Jr. and the Cleveland Browns will play the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have the fifth-ranked rushing defense in the league (93.1 yards conceded per game).Is Strong a worthwhile starting...
In Week 14 (Sunday at 1:00 PM ET), WR Cedric Tillman and the Cleveland Browns will meet the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have the 30th-ranked passing defense in the league (261.7 yards conceded per game).Is Tillman worth starting in fantasy this...
