CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bears injected some intrigue two weeks ago in their primetime road win in Minnesota. After the bye week, the Bears had a chance to avenge a brutal loss in Detroit three weeks ago. And they used an incredible second-half performance defensively to blow out the Lions, 28-13. Huge win, impressive performance. Truly a spectacle along the lakefront.
Thoughts and Observations
1. I don't fully understand why the Bears continue to take the ball when they win the toss. The middle-8 is a real strategy, and this coaching staff doesn't embrace it. It's so weird. Meanwhile, the Bears' offense is unbelievably predictable -- move the ball well on the opening drive and score. And then completely shoot themselves in the foot unless they have the opposing defense help them out. The 4th and 1 play that was stuffed completely killed the game.
2. Ben Johnson is in his bag today -- he is dialing up some beauties. He's routinely scheming players open, moving people around and keeping the Bears' defense guessing. It's been phenomenal to watch. Despite a surface-level strong start by the Bears, Detroit has been the better team today. Consistent play success in both the run game and the pass game. And Chicago's tackling has been quite weak.
https://x.com/DhruvKoul/status/1733925575843315955?s=20
3. Through halftime, Justin Fields has made two great plays today -- the Houdini act inside the Bears' own five-yard line to keep the FG drive going, and a beautiful throw to Cole Kmet for 41 yards. Other than that, he's been meh. It's consistently just meh with this team. They lack rhyme, reason, rhythm, and juice. It's tough to watch. And Lions fans are making themselves heard. The Bears' OL has also struggled a bit with the games Detroit is playing on the DL -- they must adjust in the second half.
4. Good start to the second half for Chicago... defensively, they forced two three and outs, sandwiching a good-but-unsatisfactory drive that resulted in a field goal to tie the game. Going 65 yards on 12 plays to get to 1st and Goal... should result in a touchdown. Very aggravating stuff from the Bears.
https://x.com/DhruvKoul/status/1733937441311215682?s=20
5. Bears defenders NEED to spend some time on the JUGS machine, man. They drop an opportunity to score seemingly every game -- going back at least the last four games and some more earlier in the year. This time, Jaquan Brisker was the culprit in a tie game.
https://x.com/DhruvKoul/status/1733938871698915379?s=20
6. A 1st and 10 at their own 48-yard line to start the drive and they end up gaining... one total yard. Undisciplined football. No matter if the Bears are 'improved' in their last nine games... this just isn't it. They squander opportunities left and right. Improvement in a base level of play is fine, but this is simply not good enough to compete with the NFC and broader NFL's elite consistently.
7. Pretty stunning turn of events here at Soldier Field. On a brutal sequence that set up a 4th and 13 for the Bears in Lions territory, they kept the offense on the field to go for it. They got the Lions to jump for a free play, and Fields hit DJ Moore perfectly on a bomb for a touchdown. Unconscionable mistake from the Lions.
Jared Goff then fumbled the snap on the next possession, and TJ Edwards recovered inside the Lions' 30. And Fields ran in a 3rd and goal from the 11-yard line to make it a two-possession game. Huge touchdown. It's 25-13 Bears in the fourth quarter. Can they finish this game off?
https://x.com/DhruvKoul/status/1733948732419510582?s=20
8. Unbelievable from the Bears -- the Lions went for it on 4th and 1 from their own 34-yard line after a couple of nice first and second down stops from Chicago. A counter play -- blown up initially by Montez Sweat -- kept Gibbs moving outside into the arms of Jack Sanborn for a four-yard loss. Amazing. A huge stop.
https://x.com/DhruvKoul/status/1733948732419510582?s=20
Chicago kicked a field goal (eerily similar situationally as in Detroit, unfortunately) to go up 28-13. Fields had Darnell Mooney wide open on 3rd and 2 and missed him badly. I would've preferred going for it, but 15-point lead is better than 12-point in this situation.
9. Ben Johnson showed exactly how he feels about Jared Goff on that next drive -- especially early on. Some gashing runs to get Detroit past midfield... quite quickly. But a huge sack from Montez Sweat and Gervon Dexter on 3rd and 10 put Detroit in a 4th and 17. And thankfully, Amon-Ra St. Brown dropped a would-be conversion for the Bears to take over. Huge break.
The Bears can smell a victory...
10. Justin Fields, man. Needed to hit DJ Moore WIDE OPEN on that drive. Airmailed it. Bears end up punting it back to the Lions.
But the defense simply clamped down. They learned from their mistakes three weeks ago and closed it out. A sack by Montez Sweat again, another one from Justin Jones, and a 4th and 24 INT from Tremaine Edmunds slammed it shut.
https://x.com/DhruvKoul/status/1733954443224485893?s=20
11. Incredible win from the Bears. I'll admit, the first half played out way too poorly to feel good about this team. But they did it. They're 5-8 and ... may still be in the hunt! It's conceivable to think a performance like this puts a stamp on the "upswing" the Bears find themselves on... and justifies that they may be finding their way.
https://x.com/DhruvKoul/status/1733955391271342523?s=20
12. Bears travel to Cleveland next Sunday, home of Fields' disastrous first NFL start. The Browns are a shell of their original team, but Joe Flacco is playing way better than Deshaun Watson ever did for them. Tough matchup for the offense against a killer Cleveland defense. The magic may run out here.
Early prediction: Browns 20, Bears 16.
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