The Chicago bears shocked everyone on National Television
The Chicago Bears traveled to Foxborough Monday night to take on Bill Belichick & the New England Patriots. They opened as 7-point underdogs & that number ballooned up to 8.5 by kickoff, they ended up winning the game 33-14. They dominated all 3 phases of the game and even held off a quick pair of TDs when the Patriots inserted Bailey Zappe. Justin Fields looked like the playmaker the bears thought he’d be when they traded up in the 2021 NFL draft, Luke Getsy is getting comfortable in play calling and drew up some new plays that the bears borrowed from the Baltimore Ravens. The defense looked incredible, forcing 4 turnovers including Kyler Gordon & Jaquan Brisker getting their first interceptions in the NFL. Roquan Smith looked like a man playing for a new contract, we’re still waiting on Robert Quinn to join the party, but if he does lookout, this team can compete with just about anyone. Cairo Santos continued his great season as well hitting all of his kicks & Velus Jones Jr got demoted for Dante Pettis in the return game which turned out to be the right decision as he fumbled 2 punts in the last 3 games.
Justin Fields needs to continue to ascend
Justin looked good Monday night, and we’ve seen flashes of it in the past. but he needs to build off that success, the bears schemed it up using his legs a lot, but you want to see him make more plays with his arm. He was able to read the defense & hit some shots downfield while going through progressions when he had time. His ability to recognize a 0 blitz by the patriots, call the audible & throw the ball around a defensive lineman for a screen pass touchdown was beautiful! The more comfortable he gets in this offense he will get better as the season moves along.
Ride that 2 headed monster in the backfield
David Montgomery & Khalil Herbert have been cornerstones for this offense this season, both of them ran for 62 yards, Monty scored a TD on the ground, Herbert caught one too. they have been the most consistently successful elements in the offense & the bears need to ride that as long as they can. The running game kills the clock & helps their defense stay rested.
Defense wins championships
The old saying stays true even in today’s game with all the high-flying offenses & the rules being slanted more toward the offensive side of the ball. Even in games where the offense was struggling the defense of the Chicago bears have prevented them from being blown out. The Vikings game looked ugly at first, but the Chicago bears defense has allowed just 2 touchdowns in the second half of games this year & shutout the Patriots on Monday night. They need to create more pressure with their front 4, but the secondary has been solid & Roquan Smith has had a good season thus far. Not sure if it’s been a 22-million-dollar season, but that’s a question to worry about in the off-season. If the defense continues playing like this, I feel like they can keep any game close, and the 2 second round pick rookies Jaquan Brisker & Kyler Gordon continue to get better & make Ryan Poles look smart when everyone questioned that move in the off-season.
Offensive Line needs to improve
The offensive line has looked like the worst in the league at times this season and would probably look even worse if Justin Fields wasn’t so physically gifted. Braxton Jones has been solid at Left Tackle other than the game against Washington where Montrez Sweat was able to get the best of him. The 5th round pick from Southern Utah has made a lot of people eat crow saying he’d be completely overwhelmed at the next level. Tevin Jenkins has been the best lineman this year finding a home at right guard which fits his skillset as a big powerful mauler with a mean streak who’s the first one to stick up for his quarterback anytime he takes issue with a late hit.
Weapons in the Passing game need to improve as well
Darnell Mooney is heating up after a few solid outings against the Vikings, Commanders & Patriots, the numbers aren’t huge, but he’s come up with some clutch catches, none would’ve been bigger than the game winner in Washington, but he bobbled it & couldn’t get across the goal line. Cole Kmet has been putting it together too, making big catches to go along with blocking well, he’ll never be a Travis Kelce or George Kittle type, but a solid Kyle Rudolph shouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for him. His ceiling could be a Jason Witten type. Dante Pettis’ route running has been good, but his hands are average at best. Equanimeous St. Brown has shown his value in the run game being a great blocking WR, but also has made some clutch catches on 3rd & medium to keep drives alive. With the run game being one of the best in the league the bears receivers have to be able to take advantage of the play action game.
Bottom Line
with this defense & running game the Chicago bears can compete with anyone, even in a rebuilding year where Ryan Poles came in to start fixing the roster. This has to be a big year for Justin Fields so the bears can find out if he’s the guy or if they need to draft a guy, but in my humble opinion Fields is better than any player you could draft this year. The Bears need to focus on finding foundational pieces that they’ll build on with their 100 million dollars of cap space this off-season as well as having their full slate of draft picks to build for the future, they’ve shown the ability to exceed expectations, but I don’t expect this to be a playoff team, but they have enough talent & coaching to surprise some teams, but they’re still young enough of a team to get surprised by lesser talented teams as well.
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