After Chicago Bears fans checked in with a season high 88% confidence in the direction of the franchise last week, this week saw a slight dip from our fans to 81%. The Bears are coming off a bye, so there’s no loss that cut into the results. They’re also relatively healthier off the bye week, so there should be no angst over injuries.
So why the dip?
My guess is it’s a preemptive negative vote from fans expecting a poor Monday night performance against the Washington Commanders.
Which is certainly possible.
The Commanders are favored in the game, they are coming off of an NFC Championship game appearance last season, and they are a win away from having a share of the NFC East lead.
On paper, this will be a tough matchup for the Bears because what Chicago is really bad at (stopping the run) plays into the strength of what Washington does really well (run the ball).
The revenge factor has been played up quite a bit because of the Hail Mary and how that game torpedoed the Bears’ 2024 season, but there’s another revenge factor that may come into play.
The Commanders ended the 2024 season of the Detroit Lions with a 45 to 31 win in the Divisional round, which has to sting for Bears head coach Ben Johnson, who was Detroit’s offensive coordinator, as well as current Chicago assistants and former Lion staffers J.T. Barrett and Antwaan Randle El.
It’s just Week 6, so this isn’t a “must-win” game; however, a win here could really give this team a jolt of confidence as they continue through the first half of the season.
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