Three Things I Think Will Happen:

• Cordarrelle Patterson will cut the Bears to ribbons, rushing for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns, and catching another 3-4 passes on pivotal third downs.
• Justin Fields will keep the train rolling, and he’ll do it with his arm. Yes, he’ll get his 50-75 yards on the ground, but this week Fields will go over 300 yards passing for the first time and once again be one of the biggest stories in the sport on Monday morning.
• There will be under 1.5 punts in the game.

Chicago Bears 34, Atlanta Falcons 30

Let’s bowl, let’s bowl, let’s rock and roll…

Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears this Week?

I.

Always.

Like.

THE.

Chicago.

Bears.

Stats of Relevance

• Due to the emergence of Justin Fields, the Bears are now rushing for 201.7 yards per game. That’s obviously best in the sport. The Falcons are fourth in that category, but they are FORTY yards behind. The correlating stat is also interesting. Chicago has thrown the fewest passes (208) in the league, while Atlanta has thrown the third fewest (231). Passing aficionados might want to spend their Sunday watching the FIFA documentary series on Netflix.
• Of the teams in the top ten (including ties) in sacks, only the New Orleans Saints have a losing record. There are so many interesting stats in the NFL these days, but the sport still comes to playing well at quarterback and stopping the other guys from playing well at quarterback.
  • Chicago is 28th in sacks. Atlanta is 31st.
• These teams are very similar. Is turnover differential the reason for their differing records? No. Both have a turnover differential of 0.

Three Bears Who Need to Start Playing

(3) Chase Claypool. Kadarius Toney was acquired by the Chiefs around the same time the Bears acquired Claypool and the former is already a prominent contributor in Kansas City’s offense. Come up with a dozen plays for him and run them.

(2) Velus Jones Jr. It must be “tough love” coaching because benching Jones on Sundays makes no sense otherwise. Jones has speed and this offense desperately needs it. Who cares if he is struggling with his route tree? Who cares if he misses a few blocking assignments? Put the ball in his hands a few times each Sunday and see what he can do with it.

(1) Alex Leatherwood. It is time to see everyone in the offensive line room. This is a pivotal eight weeks of evaluation, and the Bears can’t waste a day of it.

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The Bears have had the ball with a chance to win three times in the last five weeks and have fallen short every time. But anybody suggesting that means the young quarterback is incapable of leading the team to wins in those situations is misguided. There is no question that at some point the Bears and Justin Fields have to come through with game-winning scores. There is also no question that can develop with experience.

Turn back the clock a handful of years and you’ll see that in Aaron Rodgers’ first season as the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, the team went 1-7 in one-score games. Worse yet, they had chances to win most of those games only to fall short.

On Oct. 5, 2008, the Packers had the ball trailing 20-17 against Atlanta with about seven minutes left only for Rodgers to throw an interception. Atlanta went on to score a touchdown and won 27-14. Less than a month later, the Packers had the ball with a chance to break a 16-16 tie but punted. Tennessee missed the game-winning field goal in regulation, only to make it in overtime.

On Nov. 30, the Packers had the ball, trailing Carolina by four before a Rodgers interception. They were tied with Houston the next week but had to punt and the Texans won the game on the next possession. It became three straight weeks in which Rodgers failed to deliver as they had the ball trailing 20-16 before a Jacksonville Jaguars interception essentially ended the game.

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Are you serious, @justnfields?!

: #DETvsCHI on FOX pic.twitter.com/aNYLmrOpSx

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 13, 2022

Where do the off-season needs rank? We’ll keep updating our top five.

5. Corner. Jack Sanborn showed that Roquan Smith’s replacement is quite possibly on the roster. Jaylon Johnson showed the Bears don’t have a top tier corner in the building. Johnson is good. Kindle Vildor is serviceable. Kyler Gordon has potential. The Bears need to address the CB position with urgency in March.

4. Right Tackle. Braxton Jones is having the kind of rookie season one might expect. But the Bears need to improve their protection and if there’s an elite tackle prospect available to them in the first round, they have to consider it.

3. Wide Receiver. In Claypool and Mooney, the Bears have solid pieces to a receiving corp. But they need to find game-breaking talent at the position. This wasn’t just evident watching the Bears Sunday, but it was vividly on display in the Vikings v. Bills game, where two top receivers on two top teams squared off.

2. Defensive Tackle. The Bears get blown off the ball every Sunday. They need size in the middle.

1. Pass Rush. There is no such thing as a contending team that can’t pressure the opposing the QB. The Bears can’t do it without blitz packages, and even those are failing to get home. Strengthening the pass rush will remain the focus for the next six months.

Quarter One

• Fields is an athletic mismatch for every defense he faces. On the opening drive he simply ran around the Lions defense. When that athleticism is paired with a serious passing attack, the Bears are going to have one of the best offenses in the league. And there’s no reason to believe that isn’t possible for September 2023.
• The Bears now have a pretty horrific defense, and it all starts up front. This defensive line is blown off the ball weekly.
• The story of the quarter for the Bears offense was two penalties. A bad call on Braxton Jones derailed the opening drive and a 50/50 facemask on Cole Kmet put the Bears behind the chains. When calls like these get made, I always ask the same question: who wants the game called this way? How does this increase the entertainment value of the sport?

Quarter Two

• Already in this game, Nick Morrow, Jack Sanborn and Joe Thomas are making plays. They don’t completely account for the loss of Roquan Smith, but they are showing – quite vividly – that spending $100 million at the position is not necessary.
• Bears well aware they have nobody to rush the passer and are selling out on blitzes. When they haven’t batted down the Goff pass, they’ve been burnt. The number of wide-open receivers on these plays is jarring but expected.
• Bears could easily have Fields drop back and throw every down, but they need to possess the ball for as long as possible. Their defense can’t stop anyone. They’ve got to stay on the field offensively as long as possible.
• What a play by Aidan Hutchinson on David Montgomery at the goal line. He looked like Jake “The Snake” Roberts.

Overall, I’m not sure I have watched a first half with less to write about.

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The lions, they come,

To an inspired lakefront.

A quarterback waits.

Four Things I Think Will Happen.

• The Bears have been building to this game. Their offense is improving weekly. Their quarterback is taking the leap before our very eyes. And Chase Claypool will have a full week of practice and certainly see an increase from his 26 snaps against the Dolphins. This is the week where the Bears offense, at home, simply isn’t beatable.
• Jared Goff will throw two interceptions, both in the middle of the field, and one each to Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker.
• Bears stat line for the game: 31 carries between the two backs and QB, 224 yards, 3 touchdowns. (Quite possible Velus Jones adds to these numbers as well.)
• Bears learned in the fourth quarter of the Miami game that they must blitz to generate pressure. They’ll sack Goff three times, with none of those sacks coming from a defensive lineman.

Chicago Bears 34, Lions 20

Does the question even need to be asked?

Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears this Week?

I.

Always.

Like.

THE.

Chicago.

Bears.

Here’s the Game.

• The Bears allow 147.2 yards per game on the ground. Only two teams are worse in that category, including the Lions, allowing 148.8. That’s a push.
• The Bears have the league’s top ranked rushing attack, anchored by their quarterback’s ability to gain huge chunks of yardage. But the Lions are ranked ninth in that category. Might not be a push, but pretty close.
• The Bears have only 13 sacks on the season. Only three teams are worse in that category, including the Lions, with 12. That’s a push.
• Jared Goff’s last four QB ratings: 62.7 (Patriots), 71.2 (Cowboys), 108.1 (Dolphins), 78.5 (Packers).
  • When one watches Goff tape, two things stand out. First, he throws 3-5 balls a game that should be intercepted. Second, Amon-Ra St. Brown is now his only reliable weapon, with T.J. Hockenson shipped off the Minnesota. He’ll look to force him the ball on most third downs.
• Justin Fields’ last four QB ratings: 71.5 (Commanders), 85.2 (Patriots), 120 (Cowboys), 106.7 (Dolphins).

With both of these teams being able to run it, neither being able to stop the run, and neither being able to generate pressure, this game will come down to quarterback play. And right now, that is a mismatch that favors the Chicago Bears.

Tweet of the Week, Lions Edition

pic.twitter.com/AXxozCgFtD

— Bodega Cats (@Bodegacats_) November 8, 2022

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It should not be possible for a quarterback to run toward the line of scrimmage, leave his feet for a pump fake, come back to the ground, and then outrace the defense for a 61-yard touchdown.

But that’s what Justin Fields did on Sunday and such plays are becoming a weekly occurrence.

What makes Fields special isn’t just what he’s doing, it’s that so often the defense appears to be in position to make a play and they don’t because he is too good. Perhaps most telling are the comments from opponents. 

Melvin Ingram has been around the block, he said Fields is special five times. Jaelan Phillips called him a monster, Mike McDaniel said Fields is “as dynamic with the ball in his hands as any player in the league really.”

Luke Getsy deserves credit for checking his ego and installing an offense that works for his quarterback. It’s fair to question why it took so long to do that, but that’s old history. The true challenge for Getsy will be coming up with a counter when opponents are able to adjust.

That said, the Bears offense is taking off because of the quarterback.

Did Poles Mess Up?

Imagine if this offense was paired with a top fifteen defense? It isn’t that crazy because that’s exactly what the Bears had prior to the trades of Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith.

When the Bears entered the season, the common thought was that the defense would be good, and the offense would be only as good as Justin Fields. That proved true through the first seven weeks as the team struggled to score points. The defense was still pretty good.

Now they have an offense that looks like an absolute machine, but they’re still not likely to win many more games simply because their defense cannot get a stop.

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Justin Fields has thrown for 1,322 yards and ten touchdowns.

He has now rushed for 602 yards, with four touchdowns.

That gives the young quarterback a total of 1,924 yards and 14 touchdowns.

If you project that production for the rest of the season, Fields is looking at 3,634 yards and 26 touchdowns.

The Bears don’t just have their quarterback of the future. The Bears have one of the most dynamic talents at the position in the sport.

Coach Mike McDaniel yelling at Justin Fields to “STOP IT” pic.twitter.com/YkbZ869ZYJ

— Big E (@ian693) November 6, 2022