Windy City Gridiron
Despite no national analysts really giving them a chance, the Chicago Bears are (9-3) following a thoroughly dominant 24-15 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in front of a hostile crowd on Black Friday. For the majority of four quarters, the Bears dominated the play and dictated the pace. That’s not something even the most optimistic of fans could have seen coming. All season, the narrative surrounding their hot start has been “they haven’t played anyone yet,” but with back-to-back wins against first-place teams, it’s time to start taking the Bears seriously. With just five days between games, the fact that this team still holds sole possession of first place heading into Week 14 speaks volumes about their development as a team.
Before you enjoy the remainder of a long holiday weekend, let’s dive into our 10 Bears Takes following a nine-point win on the road.
1. And If You Don’t Know, Now You Know. The Chicago Bears Are (9-3) And Very Much For Real.
Haven’t played any good teams yet? How about back-to-back wins against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles? Have you had excellent quarterback luck playing against backups? I raise you shutting down Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts to under 200 yards until the game was out of hand.
The excuses might keep coming, but so do the Bears’ wins. With another two wins, this team will be headed back to the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. Maybe they are a year too early, and maybe getting to the Super Bowl isn’t viewed as realistic, but their (9-3) overall and (2-0) stretch against teams over .500 in the last two games makes them a real contender. Forget the focus of simply making it into the final Wild Card spot or two; this group is a real contender to go from worst to first with their first NFC North title since 2018.
What’s even more impressive is that 12 games into the season, they’ve yet to play a complete game on both sides of the ball. When the offense scores 30-plus, their defense barely hangs on. When the defense holds up its end of the bargain, the offense struggles to find the end zone. On Friday, it was far from a perfect day for the offense, namely the passing game. Quarterback Caleb Williams once again struggled with accuracy, and receivers struggled with their footing. Despite that, the offense was able to cobble together three touchdown drives, totaling 24 points and 425 yards.
What happens if they can put together a complete game? Beating an eight-win team on the road is one thing. Doing it while not playing your best football? The ceiling remains undefined for this team, and that should excite fans.
Now, make no mistake. The quarterback play must start to take another step forward. The defense must keep getting after the quarterback and, more importantly, continue to manufacture takeaways. There will always be improvements that need to be made from a game-to-game standpoint, but...
