10 Bears Takes Following Yet Another Comeback Victory

The Chicago Bears might be winning games, but they aren’t doing their fans any favors by how close they keep cutting it these last-minute wins. For the second straight week, the offense had to win the game in the final two minutes of the game. Unlike last weekend’s team effort, Sunday’s win was all about their franchise quarterback. Five games ago, I said the Bears needed to go (4-1) over this five-game stretch to remain in the playoff race, and that’s precisely what they did. With the schedule tightening

up starting next weekend on the road, heading into the final eight games at (6-3) was a must.

Before we turn the page to next weekend, let’s take a deeper dive into one of the more hectic weeks of the season.

1. To Summarize This Game As Easily As Possible: Quarterback Caleb Williams Put His Cape On And Won His Team The Game On Sunday.

Was it a perfect game for the Bears’ second-year quarterback? Absolutely not. He had moments of hesitation and a few inaccurate throws, but more than anything, his pass catchers let him down, and he played Houdini for most of the day, avoiding sacks and attempting to make something out of nothing. On paper, his line of 20-of-36 (55.5%) for 220 yards and a passing touchdown won’t look like much. Even when you add his 63 rushing yards and game-winning rushing touchdown, it doesn’t feel like anything “special”.

That’s why box-score scouting can be a dangerous task if not armed with the proper context. In reality, his pass catchers dropped six passes. Another two, maybe three throws should have been caught, but won’t be registered as drops due to the complexity of the catches. Although I’d say the offensive line played pretty well most of the game, it was easy to lose count of how many times Williams was able to evade direct pressure and make a play downfield.

The best aspect of his performance once again came down to the fourth quarter. Despite an offense that accounted for just 10 points through three and a half quarters, Williams played his best football when it mattered the most. On the final two drives of the game, he accounted for 130 of the team’s 139 offensive yards gained. Although there are still plenty of aspects of Williams’ game that need to be refined, there’s no denying that his poise in late-game situations is something the Bears haven’t had since the early days of Jay Cutler.

The Bears have plenty of “gaps” in their game that they need to iron out, and the offense isn’t immune to that. Even so, having a clutch quarterback who plays his best football when the game matters most is invaluable. Even better, their franchise quarterback once again put the team on his back and secured the win, which is something we haven’t seen in quite some time.

2. The Trade Deadline Had Plenty Of Action, Yet Despite The Excitement, The Bears Only Swapped Late-Round Picks For More Depth On The Defensive Line. What Should Fans Glean From Their Lack Of A Splash Move?

In most sports, the trade deadline is easier to handle because it’s not all about trading future draft assets for current players. For the NFL, it’s all about weighing the value of a potential addition, with the loss in value when it comes to draft picks. That’s precisely where the Bears found themselves on Tuesday afternoon. They tried hard for both cornerback Alontae Taylor and defensive end Jermaine Johnson, but in the end, the price didn’t line up with what they were willing to give up. Instead, they swapped picks with the Cleveland Browns to bring in Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, who adds playable depth at best.

It’s easy to understand why Bears fans would be disappointed, but at the end of the day, giving up a Day 2 pick for a player on an expiring contract wouldn’t have been smart business. We’ve taken a look into the future when it comes to their 2026 cap outlook, and although they have some flexibility, it won’t be anything near what we’ve seen over the last three offseasons. They can manipulate the cap to a certain extent, but to maintain fluidity beyond 2026, they need to be strategic. That means they’ll be relying heavily on next year’s draft class to provide multiple impact players for next season. You can’t be tight against the cap, while also trading future high-round picks for players who aren’t guaranteed to be here 10 weeks.

In the end, I’m pleased with general manager Ryan Poles’ approach. The reality is quite simple. The 2025 Bears aren’t likely to be a true Super Bowl contender, so there’s no sense in severely impacting your immediate future for a short-term gain in the moment. With that said, I would fully expect the Bears to go big game hunting for some defensive help in the offseason, but it’s just not going to happen right now, and that’s OK.

3. In Many Ways, It Feels Like The Bears (As A Team) Are Stuck In The Mud On Both Sides Of The Ball.

Sure, they’ve been winning games, but at what point are we going to see them play a complete game? Each week, we hear them talking about putting it all together, and each Sunday, we see the same mistakes and struggles. The secondary is a disaster, and we know that, but despite consistently getting into Giants territory, the offense was only able to come away with seven points in the first half. It wasn’t until halfway into the fourth quarter that the offense finally got into gear and played like a winning team.

As Johnson has said multiple times, teams will never apologize for wins in the NFL. That said, the Bears have continued to make things way harder on themselves than they needed to. Despite being a much better team on paper, it took a heroic effort from their quarterback and a Russell Wilson implosion to squeak out their sixth win of the season.

Outside of the Dallas game, you’d be hard-pressed to find a game in which the Bears have even had a “complete” effort for a single half of football. While it’s great that they are winning games, it’s a lot easier to do that against bad teams. Six of their final eight games are against teams with records above .500. One of the two teams has a record below .500. The Vikings team is one of the two teams with a record below .500, having already beaten them in Week 1. Divisional games can be unpredictable, but if they don’t find a way to play a more complementary brand of football, it’s hard to imagine they’ll win many of their remaining games.

This isn’t meant to cause panic or look negative; it’s just where the Bears are at. They’ve learned to win games, but now they need to know how to play as a team for a full four quarters of football. Maybe it starts to click as they play better teams, or perhaps we are in for a disappointing finish. Only time will tell, but the time for talk is done. It’s time to see it on the field, or I fear that the wins will stop coming.

4. Houston, We’ve Got A (Defensive) Problem…

For those who didn’t get a chance to watch the game, they might see a 24-20 win and believe that the defense did their job. In reality, they couldn’t stop a nosebleed with rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart in the game. In total, the defense gave up 431 yards, allowed a rookie quarterback to throw for 199 yards in the first half, and struggled to get off the field on third down.

As has been customary for most of the season, injuries have ravaged this unit. Even so, it’s hard for me to understand how a defense with so much invested in it can continue to struggle as much as they have, especially with one of the better defensive coordinators in the league calling the plays. Although they registered four sacks in the game, players like Grady Jarrett, Gervon Dexter, and even the new addition Joe Tryon-Shoyinka were virtually invisible. Sure, Dexter registered a half sack, but he has not been the difference-maker that they were counting on him to be coming into the season.

In short, there’s far too much “wasted” money on the defensive depth chart, and a lot of that comes from the defensive line. With Kyler Gordon still at least two weeks away, and no status update on Jaylon Johnson, there aren’t any reinforcements coming, unless they beat out five other teams in the Asante Samuel Jr. sweepstakes. We’ll see if the coaching staff can find minor tweaks to improve the production, but with the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, getting healthy and internal improvements are about the only things that they can hope for. That should be an uncomfortable feeling for one of the worst defenses in the league.

Simply put, there hasn’t been a single defense in the history of this sport that has found sustained success by not getting after the quarterback and having a secondary that struggles to cover receivers. I’m not sure what the “fix” is, or if there is one, but this organization has far too many resources tied up in this group to be this bad. Injuries or not, there are far too many players who aren’t playing up to their contract status or draft slot. There’s only so much blame anyone can put on the coaching staff when the players have looked this bad. More importantly, their two significant defensive additions in free agency have yielded minimal production. One is now out for the season, while the other shouldn’t be on the field nearly as much as he is.

This is a group with plenty of pride, and at some point, hopefully, that’ll kick in. In the meantime, this team just has to hope they can weather the storm before getting back some of their key players from injury in December. If not, it’s hard to see a high ceiling for a team that consistently gives up 400-plus yards to any offense they play.

5. For Most Of The Season, Ben Johnson Has Done A Great Job With This Offense. On Sunday, Against One Of The League’s Worst Defenses, He Laid An Egg As A Playcaller.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least talk about the offensive play calling, win or not.

Bluntly put, Johnson had a rough three and a half quarters as the play caller on Sunday. In fact, I would argue that for all but about seven minutes of Sunday’s game, the Bears’ entire coaching staff was out-coached.

Despite facing the league’s second-worst rushing defense in a bad weather game, Johnson went pass-heavy in the early going. As a whole, there were only 20 run plays called for running backs, and in turn, the production from D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combined wasn’t great. The two running backs combined for 108 rushes and one touchdown on 20 touches, which was still good for a 5.4 average. Coming off last week’s big performance from Monangai, it was disappointing that they didn’t stay more committed to the run in the first half. In the end, they tallied 171 yards and a 6.1-yard average, but 63 of those yards came on scrambles from their quarterback.

The passing game has also been rather stale between the opening two drives and the final few drives. I’m not sure what’s going on, but receivers aren’t getting open. For some reason, players like Olamide Zaccheaus are receiving similar target shares to players like DJ Moore, Colston Loveland, and Luther Burden III. Year 1 in this complex offense was always going to take time, and there were expected to be plenty of bumps in the road. Even so, it feels like certain personnel are being forced, while others are focused on early development and then forgotten about as the game progresses (like Rome Odunze). We’ll dive more into it in a few, but it’s time to steer away from players like Zaccheaus and Cole Kmet in the passing game and start involving the younger players.

We’ll see how things look in the coming weeks against better defenses, but it’s fair to wonder what lessons were learned out of Sunday’s game. Like I noted before, it’s much easier to come back against bad teams, but the good teams won’t let the Bears hang around, which means they’ll need to perform more consistently throughout the game if they expect to come out with wins. Regardless of the reason, Johnson and his coaching staff need to be significantly better than they were on Sunday.

6. It’s Time To Start Featuring The Rookies More In The Offense. All They Do Is Make Plays.

As I noted above, it’s time for the youth movement to take over. Any time players like Loveland and Burden are called on to make a play, they do it. In fact, Burden might be their most explosive downfield receiver. The No. 39 overall pick was targeted three times, while catching all three passes for 51 yards, including a 27-yarder that got them into field goal range on the game-winning drive. In contrast, Zaccheaus was targeted four times and had just one catch for five yards with three drops. Moore was also targeted four times, but was held catchless.

For Loveland, it’s clear that he’s the team’s most reliable pass catcher. That might feel strange to read, but the rookie tight end has been about as trustworthy as you can expect any player to be. After a breakout game in Week 9, including catching the game-winning touchdown pass, the No. 10 overall pick caught all four targets for 55 yards.

Now, by no means am I advocating for Moore to be phased out of the offense. In reality, he’s still a very reliable receiver, but his shoulder injury on Sunday didn’t help his effectiveness in the final few quarters. More than anything, it’s time to get the two luxury picks from April’s draft more involved. Not only does it feel necessary, but they’ve earned it with their play. Despite leading the league in explosive plays, there’s still plenty of meat left on the bone for this group to become even more dangerous in the passing game. Simply put, it’s time.

7. At The Halfway Point In The Season, The Playoff Picture Remains Tight In Both Conferences—Some Additional Thoughts And Predictions On The Months Ahead.

First and foremost, is there a single elite team in the NFL this season? I would argue against it. The Buffalo Bills’ blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins was yet another game where one has to wonder what the Bills are doing every week. The Indianapolis Colts are good, but I’m having a hard time buying them as a true No. 1 seed. Something similar could be said about the Denver Broncos. In the NFC, there are a host of teams, such as the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks, that are playing great football, but again, are they truly elite? I tend to lean toward voting “no” through the first 10 weeks of the season. That’s what makes the 2025 season so enjoyable. Heading into Monday night, here’s how the playoff picture would look in each conference.

AFC:

Colts (8-2)
Broncos (8-2)
Patriots (8-2)
Steelers (5-4)
Chargers (7-3)
Bills (6-3)
Jaguars (5-4)

“In The Hunt”: Chiefs (5-4), Texans (4-5), Ravens (4-5)

NFC:

Seahawks (7-2)
Eagles (6-2) *Pending Monday Night Results
Packers (5-2-1) *Pending Monday Night Results
Buccaneers (6-3)
Rams (7-2)
Lions (6-3)
Bears (6-3)

“In The Hunt”: 49ers (6-4), Panthers (5-5), Vikings (4-5)

So, what are the main takeaways? I would bet on the Chiefs finding a way to get into the playoffs, even if it’s through a Wild Card spot. I’m also not convinced that the Steelers will maintain their weakening hold on the AFC North. All in all, the AFC has some good teams, but I’m not convinced that the teams with the best records are actually the best in the conference.

For the NFC, Seattle looks like the class of the NFC, but that’s subject to change at any moment. They have a pair of blowout wins under their belt, and they look like the most complete team in the conference. All three Wild Card spots will be interesting to monitor. Assuming Seattle holds onto the NFC West, I’d give the edge to the Rams holding onto one of the three Wild Card spots. That brings us to the NFC North, where it looks like a three-team race for the division. The bigger question is, can they return three teams to the playoffs for the second straight year? The last Wild Card spot could come down to the Bears and 49ers. What makes it even more interesting is that the two will play each other on Sunday Night Football in Week 17. That could decide the final spot in the conference. The Panthers are far too inconsistent for me to take them seriously, and barring a significant turnaround with quarterback play, it’s hard to imagine the Vikings going (6-2) down the stretch to pull out a playoff spot.

My predictions: The Bills figure it out and win the division in the last week of the season. The Steelers can find enough consistency to fend off the Ravens and end up out of the playoff picture. The Chiefs get a Wild Card spot, which pushes the Jaguars out. Ultimately, the Texans will finish second in the AFC South. In the NFC, I don’t see a lot of movement, outside of the Lions winning the NFC North again, and the final Wild Card spot coming down to a one-game difference between the 49ers and Bears, with the 49ers edging them out in the end.

8. Sophomore Quarterback Check-In: Drake Maye, An MVP Candidate? Caleb Or Jayden? Plenty Of Storylines Surrounding The Six Former First-Rounders Through 10 Weeks.

Year 2 is always a big season for young quarterbacks, and so far for the 2024 class, it has been no different. Simply put, Drake Maye has been head and shoulders above every other name in this class, whether Bears fans want to hear that or not. While fans should be pleased with Williams’ progress, Maye is a legitimate MVP candidate, leading an (8-2) team. With that said, let’s take a deeper look at the six first-round quarterbacks and how they’ve been progressing in Year 2.

No. 1 overall: Caleb Williams

Through nine games, Williams remains on pace to be the first Bears quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. It hasn’t been a linear developmental type of season, but ultimately, he’s played more good football than bad. It’s fair to expect more from the top overall pick in last year’s draft, but it’s also easy to feel like the best is yet to come for him. Accuracy continues to be an issue, but his ability to win games in the fourth quarter is a rare trait that can’t be taught. Another encouraging marker through the first half of the season has been his ability to avoid sacks. His time to throw is still much higher than usual, but he’s taken just 14 sacks so far, including two games with none. There’s still plenty of meat on the bone, but he appears to be headed in the right direction under first-year head coach Ben Johnson.

No. 2 overall: Jayden Daniels

One year after having arguably the greatest rookie season of any quarterback in NFL history, 2025 has been quite the disaster for Daniels and the Washington Commanders. Not only have they (3-7), but Daniels has also experienced three injuries, including a dislocated elbow that has kept him out indefinitely. When he’s played, he hasn’t looked like the same dangerous weapon, but he’s still been effective as a passer. In total, the former LSU Tiger has started six games, but the Commanders went just 2-4 in those starts. Ultimately, Daniels will need to change his play style if he expects to remain competitive long-term, but the book is far from written on him. Year 3 will be a big one, even if it’s simply proving he can stay healthy.

No. 3 overall: Drake Maye

Year 2 has been good to Maye under head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. As of Sunday afternoon, the former North Carolina Tarheel is the odds-on favorite to win the MVP. Sunday’s win against the Buccaneers was just the second time through 10 games that he hasn’t posted a 100-plus rating. Although he’s still taking more sacks than preferred, his accuracy and ability to threaten with the deep ball have been a huge difference-maker for the Patriots in the first half of the season. In many ways, Maye is looking like a slightly more refined Justin Herbert. The sky is the limit for the former No. 3 overall pick.

No. 8 overall: Michael Penix

Similar to the Falcons, it’s been an up-and-down year for Penix. While many were surprised that he was the fourth quarterback off the board last year, he’s shown flashes of being a Top 10 pick. The bigger issue is that he hasn’t shown enough consistency and struggles when pressured. Through eight games, the numbers have been solid, but his accuracy hasn’t been great, and there’s still a lot to be desired. The Atlanta organization as a whole has some tough decisions to make this offseason, but it’s fair to wonder if a change at offensive coordinator could make sense. Penix has discussed utilizing his athleticism more as a runner, but historically, he has struggled when he’s moved off his spot in the pocket.

No. 10 overall: J.J. McCarthy

Although McCarthy is part of this second-year class, he’s the lone quarterback who made his first NFL start in 2025 following a knee injury in the preseason that cost him all of his rookie campaign. So far, it hasn’t been pretty. Accuracy has been a big issue, as have turnovers. To the surprise of nobody, McCarthy is extremely raw as a passer, and no matter how much of an offensive genius head coach Kevin O’Connell is, there will be plenty of growing pains. To cloud matters even more, the former Michigan Wolverine missed five games due to a high ankle sprain. Without better and more consistent quarterback play, it’s hard to see the Vikings finishing above .500, which will put plenty of pressure on the 22-year-old quarterback down the stretch over the final eight games of the season. We’ll see if things start to click, but so far, there’s been a lot more bad than good.

No. 12 overall: Bo Nix

After an impressive rookie year, Nix has taken a step back in many ways through the first 10 games of his second season. For starters, he’s averaging just 6.1 yards per attempt, and his completion rate (despite many short passes) is down 5.4% compared to his rookie campaign. As a whole, he’s been effective, but he’s left a lot to be desired in such a quarterback-friendly offense. Denver has one of the best offensive lines in football, and Sean Payton has proven time and time again that he’s one of the best offensive minds in the league. Despite that, Nix’s deep accuracy has suffered, and his inability to get going in the first half has become a troubling trend. The Broncos might be (8-2), but they’ll need more consistent quarterback play if they plan to get far in the playoffs.

9. NFC North Lookaround: The Vikings Fall To The Ravens At Home, While the Lions Get Back On Track With A Dominant Win In Washington.

One week after the Vikings shocked the Lions on the road, they came back down to earth against a red-hot Ravens team that is quickly pushing their way back into the AFC playoff picture. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy once again produced a mixed bag of results, with a pair of interceptions and another called back after an official’s review. The Vikings’ defense has continued to play solid football, but after losing Jonathan Greenard to a shoulder injury, their pass rush takes a big hit, depending on how long he’s out for.

As for the Lions, there has been some growing angst surrounding the offense and its offensive coordinator, John Morton. Despite that, they hung 40-plus points on a struggling Commanders team, and look to be rounded back into form, at least for the time being. Head coach Dan Campbell called plays for the offense on Sunday, and that’s something worth monitoring moving forward. There’s no denying that Detroit has plenty of talent, but a bigger factor is them playing consistently from week to week.

The Green Bay Packers will have a key matchup on Monday Night Football against the streaking Philadelphia Eagles. The game will be at Lambeau Field, but it should be a close and hard-fought game. Without knowing the result of the game, we can’t give a complete picture of the NFC North heading into Week 11, but here’s how the standings look as of Monday morning.

Packers (5-2-1)
Lions (6-3) *Wins tie-breaker due to head-to-head win over Bears*
Bears (6-3)
Vikings (4-5)

10. Week 11 Look Ahead: Back On The Road To Finish Out Their Season Series At The Minnesota Vikings.

With the “easy” part of the schedule in the rearview mirror, the final eight games will go a long way in determining whether or not the Bears can qualify for the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. So far, it’s been an exciting season, even if it hasn’t always been pretty. That said, the only way this team will make it into the playoffs is by winning some divisional games. Following their (0-2) start, the Bears will be digging themselves out of a hole against a team where it all started with a Week 1 disappointment on Monday Night Football.

Since that point, both teams have been trending in different directions. Williams has remained healthy and, overall, taken a step forward in Year 2. Despite being a second-year quarterback, J.J. McCarthy will be starting just his sixth career NFL game on Sunday when he faces the Bears. It’s been an extremely mixed bag for the former Michigan Wolverine to start 2025. After two up-and-down starts, McCarthy missed a handful of games due to a high ankle sprain. The young quarterback has yet to string together a consistent four quarters of football, but he’ll look to pick up where he left off in the fourth quarter of Week 1 against this Bears defense, when he hung 21 points in a short period of time. We’ll see if he can get his touchdown-to-interception ratio back in the green.

As always, the Vikings are a tough matchup for the Bears. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is one of the best there is. His defensive coordinator, Brian Flores, has fared well against Chicago in his time, but he’ll be facing a different-looking offense this time around. Historically, Ben Johnson has gotten the better of Flores, but it didn’t play out that way back in early September. We’ll see if Greenard ends up playing after leaving Sunday’s game and not returning.

Both teams need a win. The Vikings need to keep their season alive, while the Bears must secure their first divisional win of the year to have any chance of challenging for the division title. With both teams in different spots, how this game plays out will be telling. As we’ve learned in NFC North matchups, they are always hard to predict. The Vikings always have an advantage at home, but the Bears will be looking for revenge after an early-season stumble. Buckle in, this one should be entertaining, and there’s plenty on the line for a Week 11 game.