Despite my meatball-ish given name, Mongo Peanut, I’d consider myself a fairly level-headed fan of the Chicago Bears. Context is important. Never too high. Never too low.
That’s why I am here to say that Bears fans need to recognize the opportunity in front of them.
The Bears can win the Super Bowl this year.
I’m not saying that in the same way that every franchise can win the Super Bowl every year. I mean that they have a real chance to win it all.
And before a bunch of naysayers and Packers fans get
all silly in the comments section — I am not saying that the Bears should be favored or are likely to win the Super Bowl. Instead, that they have a realistic shot at it.
Let’s go ahead and break down the case as to why.
Reason #1: The Bears are good, and getting better.
Think back to September. The Bears were 0-2 after two gut punches to division rivals. It looked like this team was a full season away from clicking. But here we are, 10-2 in our last 12 games, and things look considerably different.
The Bears have progressively shifted from a team that eeks out wins against the Raiders and Bengals, to a team that puts on clinics against the Eagles and Browns. While they lost to a good Packers team by a TD, it’s a far cry from their blowout loss against a good Detroit team in week 2.
The Bears defense has been viewed as limiting their ceiling this season. However, in their last five games they have limited their opponents to 18.2 ppg, which is a vast improvement over their 27.4 ppg allowed in their first nine contests.
Meanwhile, their offense has remained consistent across that same span, averaging 25.2 points in their last five games, and 26.5 ppg in their previous nine. However, the Bears have improved greatly in the margins recently. Across the last five games, the Bears are averaging 5 penalties and 40 penalty yards, compared to 8.3 penalties and 67 penalty yards per game in the previous nine. A sign of the team finding a real groove.
Reason #2: The NFL is wide open.
This season is proving to be one of the more volatile in recent memory.
Recent legacy franchises are struggling:
- The Chiefs have been eliminated from the playoffs and are facing their first losing season since 2012.
- The Bengals have been eliminated and the Ravens have a difficult path to the playoffs.
- The Eagles have been wildly inconsistent and will make the playoffs only because the NFC East is so bad.
- The Buccaneers are on a slide and are hanging by a thread at 7-7.
- The Lions have had their worst season at least 2022, and are at risk of missing the postseason.
- The Packers have lost to bad teams and are decimated by injuries.
The only teams that seem to have matched expectations this season are the Bills and Rams though both have had bizarre losses to bad teams as well.
Meanwhile, there are loads of teams that are among the best in the league that were bad last season:
- The Bears have improved their win total by at least +5.
- The Patriots have improved their win total by at least +7.
- The Jaguars have improved their win total by at least +6.
- The Niners have improved their win total by at least +4 despite a slew of injuries.
- The Panthers have improved their win total by at least +2.
The Bills, Rams, Seahawks, Broncos, and maybe Chargers look to be favorites given their success this season coupled with past success – but there appear to be a lot more challengers and a lot fewer blue bloods in the field this season.
Reason #3: The Bears are built for the postseason.
The Chicago Bears are elite in two categories this season. Both are vital for postseason success.
- The Bears are the 2nd best team in the NFL at rushing the football.
- They average 152 yards per game on the ground, and have only gotten better as the weather has gotten colder, as they are averaging a whopping 187 yards per game rushing in their last three contests.
- The games are only going to get colder, and the defenses are only going to get tighter as the postseason approaches. The Bears’ ability to consistently get 5+ yards on carries is massive for their success in the postseason.
- The Bears are battle-tested in close games.
- The Bears are 6-2 in one-score games, with four of those being comeback victories.
- The Bears aren’t likely to be playing in many (if any) blowout games moving forward, so their ability to win games in at the end will serve them well.
As Bears fans, we have been conditioned to always look towards the next season. Who’s the big name free agent? Who can we draft and develop? While this Bears team is imperfect, I want us to understand what is in front of us.
A golden opportunity to compete for a championship.
You better believe that Ben Johnson knows that. Given how quickly championship windows can close, you cannot take for granted any opportunity. So why not us?
