Windy City Gridiron
If you didn’t know any better, you’d think Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears were fighting for a Wild Card berth, not currently owning the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
And that’s exactly the way he wants it.
When asked by reporters about the Bears sitting atop the NFC after their win on Black Friday, combined with the Los Angeles Rams’ lose to the Carolina Panthers, the first-year Bears head coach gave a seasoned veteran’s answer.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “There’s five games left. We got a long ways to go. We have not been guaranteed a spot in the tournament yet. We have to earn that right. … The job is not done. We haven’t accomplished anything yet.”
For certain, Johnson and the Bears must be happy with being the top dog in the NFC at the moment, especially considering where they were this time last year. But Johnson’s approach is the correct one: not allowing his team to let the standings and outside noise alter their mindset.
After all, beating the Eagles last week was only the first stage of their challenging playoff stretch.
The final five games of the season will tell us plenty about Chicago’s resolve, starting with taking on the archrival Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field this Sunday. Then, after a visit from Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns, they get the Packers again, followed by the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. A slip-up in any of those games could snatch not just the NFC’s top seed but the NFC North crown. There couldn’t be more at stake to finish the year.
Throw in the fact that the Lions and Packers could be fighting for which one sneaks into a last Wild Card spot, and we might get some truly inspired football these past few weeks.
Fortunately, we already know the Bears are built for the struggle.
They’ve overachieved thus far not through talent but guile and will, out-executing opponents in crunch time and, as they did with the Eagles, out-muscling them in the trenches. They might be the toughest team this franchise has seen since that 2006 squad, and they’ll need every bit of it to keep their spot at the top over the last five weeks. Assuming they do, the playoffs won’t be easier.
That’s why Johnson doesn’t want the Bears feeling themselves right now. If they’re going to win a playoff game—or, dare we say, go even further—there’s no room for complacency.
Then again, the fact that they’ve kept their composure through the ups and downs of this season is exactly why, as of now, the NFC’s road to the Super Bowl has a real chance of going through Chicago.
