The Chicago Bears are coming out of the bye at 2-2 and headed for a Monday Night Football Matchup against the Washington Commanders. Bears’ fans’ expectations were flying high with the addition of Ben Johnson and some of the free agent and draft picks the Bears made during the offseason.
Some fans tempered their expectations and just wanted to see improvement from last year, but others expected the Bears to be over a winning record and push for the playoffs.
Question of the Day: Have your expectations for this season changed since August?
I think it’s an interesting question to
pose. The Bears are at 2-2. I think even the most optimistic of Bears fans probably didn’t have the Bears winning more than 11 games. I think most Bears fans were in the 9 or 10 win range.
The way the Bears got to 2-2 is also interesting. They had two really bad losses to start the season, blowing a double-digit lead to the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth quarter, and they got run off the field by the Detroit Lions.
However, the last two games have been interesting; the offense hummed like a BMW against the Dallas Cowboys, and they had a character-building win against the Las Vegas Raiders. Does that momentum carry through the bye and into Monday Night Football and through the rest of the season?
My Answer: My expectations have changed, and they’ve been lowered, but only lowered slightly. Coming into the season, I thought this team was going to be a 9 or 10-win team. After four games, I think they are an 8 or 9-win team.
The reason for this is largely due to the defense. Jaylon Johnson is out for the year, and the interior defensive line has not been as strong as I thought it would be. I didn’t expect much pass rush coming from the outside (which has been the case), but I did think this defensive line would stop the run pretty effectively, but that hasn’t been the case.
I think the offense has been inconsistent, but there are plenty of positives about the direction it’s headed. I just have too many concerns about this defense moving forward to really expect this team to push for a playoff spot. If Dennis Allen gets the defense playing better the rest of the way, that can certainly change, but he may not have the personnel to be able to do it.
What do you say, Bears fans, have your expectations changed? Sound off below in the article comments section!
