Bear & Balanced: Chicago Bears rookies make a statement

We’ve talked about some crazy games during our time doing Bear & Balanced, but none quite as crazy as yesterday’s 47 to 42 Chicago Bears win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Eight lead changes, 1,071 total yards of offense, 31 fourth-quarter points, and a couple of firsts in NFL history by the Bears.

Chicago shook off that loss in Baltimore, and they fought for a full 60 minutes to get back in the win column. The win itself was exciting, but even more exciting is that there’s still a lot of room for improvement in year one of the Ben Johnson era.

Speaking of year one, how about the fantastic games from rookies Kyle Monangai and Colston Loveland? Chicago’s first pick in the 2025 NFL draft (Loveland at 10th overall) and Chicago’s last pick in the draft (Monangai at 233) combined for 294 offensive yards and two touchdowns.

Check out JB and me on our latest Bear & Balanced right here (or on YouTube) live at 6:30 p.m. CT as we talk through Chicago’s fifth win.

Podcast version right here:

Here’s our usual bullet point outline of Bear & Balanced.

• Intro: We’ll both share some general thoughts about the game.
• Trench Tribute: This is our weekly pick for the best Bears lineman.
• Caught up in a numbers game: This segment features one number or statistic from the game that we found interesting.
• Sweet Tweets: We’re both active on social media — so be sure you’re all following us at @gridironborn & @wiltfongjr — and we highlight one Twitter interaction/Tweet each week. We’re both also on the Bluesky here and here.
• The Caleb Corner: We talk about quarterback Caleb Williams before we take our commercial break.
• The 3 Bears: You all know the story of the Three Bears, don’t you? In this porridge-themed portion of the show, we give our picks for the Bear that was hot, the Bear that was cold, and the Bear that was just right in the game against the Bengals.

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