If the Chicago Bears have a defense that can keep them in games when the offense gives the ball away five times, then this team truly deserves to be in the Super Bowl conversation. The addition of Jeffery Simmons has changed the look of the defense, and it’s changed what defensive coordinator Dennis Allen can do.
The bye is coming at a perfect time for Allen and his coaches to self-scout and rework how they want to attack offenses now that they have a game-wrecker on the defensive line.
Ben Johnson
and the offense could use a recalibration as well after Caleb Williams’ worst game of the season with four interceptions, and a run-pass ratio of 17 called run plays (not counting the two kneel-downs) to 41 pass plays. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ fantastic defense had a lot to do with the latter, but you know the Bears will dive into their run game and make some tweaks for the second half of the season.
But even with the offense having a stinker on Sunday night, it’s still a top-10 unit, and with the defense coming along and leading the NFL on third downs, the Bears are closer to becoming a complete team.
The third phase came up big with the game-winning field goal, but overall, it’s been inconsistent this season. The bye will allow special teams coordinator Richard Hightower to get in some self-scouting as well.
All in all, the 7-2 Bears are in a great position to continue the playoff push through the season.
Check out our latest Bear & Balanced right here (or on YouTube), live today at 6:00 p.m. CT as we talk through the 27 to 24 win over the Bucs.
Podcast version right here:
Here’s our usual bullet-point outline for Bear & Balanced.
- Intro: We’ll both share some general thoughts about the game.
- Trench Tribute: Our weekly pick for the best Bears lineman.
- Caught up in a numbers game: This segment features one number or statistic from the game that we found interesting.
- Sweet Tweets: We’re both active on social media (be sure you’re all following us at @gridironborn & @wiltfongjr), so we highlight one Twitter interaction/Tweet each week. We’re both also on Bluesky here and here.
- The Caleb Corner: We’ll talk about quarterback Caleb Williams before we take our commercial break.
- The 3 Bears: You all know the story of the Three Bears, don’t you? In this porridge-themed portion of the show, we give our picks for the Bear that was hot, the Bear that was cold, and the Bear that was just right in the game against the Bucs.
Our 2nd City Gridiron Podcast Channel is available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Audacy, and other popular podcast platforms, so hit subscribe wherever you get your audio. Our YouTube home is also called 2nd City Gridiron, so subscribe there for our pods and other video content.
