The NFC North Leading Bears Need to BE MORE AGGRESSIVE
The Chicago Bears Lead The NFC North For The First Time Since 2018.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOUR CHICAGO BEARS ARE 7-3 AND HAVE SOLE POSSESSION OF FIRST PLACE IN THE NFC NORTH.
Albeit it wasn’t pretty (which seems to be the trend), the Chicago Bears took care of business on Sunday with a 19-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings. With a bit of help from the Philadelphia Eagles winning against the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football, the Chicago Bears have sole possession of first place in the NFC North for the first time since 2018.
Folks can say whatever they like about the strength of schedule or the way that the Bears are winning these games. The bottom line is that you should NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR WINNING IN THE NFL. This fanbase had watched the Bears devise new ways to lose games weekly. It feels amazing to be on the other side, finally.
Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams have entirely transformed the direction of this franchise within the last eight games. Even when things aren’t going to plan, good teams find ways to win, no matter how ugly – but most importantly, BELIEVE that they will find a way to win. That belief is strong in these Chicago Bears.
Heading into the toughest stretch of the season with a 7-3 record, the Bears are in a prime spot: winning 4 of the final 7 games should be more than enough to secure a playoff spot. That being said, for this team to win those four games, something has to change, particularly in Ben Johnson…
BE. MORE. AGGRESSIVE.
The Chicago Bears need to be going for it on more fourth downs (which is a wild statement considering this is a Ben Johnson-coached team).
Let’s take two fourth-down plays against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday as an example.
4th and 3 ball on the Minnesota 15 yard line, 2:11 left in the 3rd Quarter, Bears lead 13-3
After an incompletion to Colston Loveland on 3rd and 3, the Bears decided to take a chip shot field goal by Cairo Santos on 4th down to go up 16-3 near the end of the 3rd quarter. The 1st down play-call was a run by D’Andre Swift for 4 yards, followed by another Swift run on 2nd down for 3 yards. My interpretation of that kind of play-calling, especially in the red zone, is that you intend to pick up 10 yards on 4 plays. The Bears are already up two possessions.
JJ McCarthy and the Minnesota offense have been abysmal up until this point. I don’t care what the final score ended up being; this is an opportunity for a killshot to go up three possessions heading into the 4th quarter. The decision to take the field goal gave Minnesota life late in this game when they didn’t deserve it.
4th and 5 ball on Minnesota 43 yard line, 3:21 left in the 4th quarter, Bears lead 16-10
Ben Johnson simply trying to get the Vikings to jump offside and then punting this football was absolutely infuriating. Field position DOES NOT MATTER HERE. The Vikings need a touchdown; they aren’t trying to get into field goal range. The 28 yards you gained in field position by punting this football means absolutely nothing. Instead of just giving the football to Minnesota, give Caleb Williams and your offense a chance to pick up 5 yards and effectively win the game.
If you convert on 4th down, Minnesota has two timeouts remaining, and there’s a good chance you could at least get the clock down or close to the 2-minute warning – you’d be in field goal range for Santos to up two possessions and leave Minnesota with no timeouts. Mind you, that’s if you aren’t able to pick up another first down and go into victory formation.
If you’re content with giving Minnesota the ball back anyway, why do it without giving Caleb Williams the chance to win the game, given how heroic he has been this season?
I digress; At the end of the day, the Chicago Bears are in first place in the NFC North – can’t complain.
We’re on top of the world right now.
Let’s beat Aaron Rodgers on Sunday, yeah?
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Categorized:Bears