With one game left in November, the Chicago Bears are 8-3.
That alone is worth celebrating. Don’t let the opponents’ records bring down the celebration. Don’t let the haters and box score-watchers bring you
down.
The Bears are in first place in the NFC North. The other teams aren’t because they haven’t won enough games.
Ben Johnson is 57 percent of the way to Matt Eberflus’s win total.
When the doubters and the haters point out that the Bears are winning with tiny margins of victory over bad teams, point out that the Bears are without their top two cornerbacks. They defeated a backup quarterback Sunday, sure, but did so with a preseason roster of corners and linebackers.
No apologies for winning!
Stock up
DJ Moore, WR – Moore finally got back into the mix, catching five passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns. After the game, Caleb Williams mentioned budding chemistry with the vet receiver. Hopefully, good things are coming for the pair.
D’Marco Jackson, LB – Making his first career start, Jackson earned himself a game ball with a team-leading 15 tackles. He also had a tackle for loss. He really stepped up for an absolutely decimated defense.
Montez Sweat, DE – Sweat notched two sacks on Sunday, including a key sack/fumble, setting up a touchdown for Chicago. Sweat now has 7.5 sacks, a high for him since he joined the Bears. And he has at least one sack in five of the last six games.
Stock down
Theo Benedet, LT – The old adage is you can’t lose a job to injury. But we all know the reality. Benedet has played really well, seriously. And I wouldn’t be surprised if, when he’s healthy, he gets his job back. But Benedet’s pass protection grades have been his weak spot. However, rookie Ozzy Trapilo played exceptionally well against a very stout Pittsburgh front. Trapilo is a second-round pick. Either way, it’s a good thing for the Bears.
D’Andre Swift, RB – I think both running backs are going to be imperative to where the Bears want to go this season. Both will be a big part of the offense heading into December and trying to get to January. I find it interesting that Kyle Monangai saw more snaps (35 to 29) and carries (12 to eight).
Nick McClould, DB – Look, I don’t know that McCloud played that bad. He was put in a really tough spot due to injuries. Really, he held up pretty well. But this is more of a “I hope we get healthy so some of these guys don’t have to play anymore.”
Who is up and down in your book this week? Sound off in the comments.
