The Chicago Bears win column has reached double digits for the first time in six years. They’re in the playoffs for the first time in eight and have won the division crown, breaking the stranglehold the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings have held on it during that time. It’s been quite the magical season for this team and it’s thanks in large part to the players being able to make big plays in big moments.
Every win this season had one of them. A memorable moment that determined the outcome of the action. Perhaps with the stress dying down it’s the perfect time to take a look back at all 10 victories and determine which plays stood out the most from each of them. Think you can take a guess at the ones that will make the cut?
vs. Seattle: Prince Amukamara houses it
Keep this in mind. Russell Wilson had not thrown an interception returned for a touchdown since his rookie year back in 2012. It’s something he just never did. Especially in key situations with the game on the line. Now here he is, driving the Seahawks towards a possible score to tie the game at 17. He thinks he has a relatively easy hitch pass for five yards to make third down more manageable. Instead Amukamara ended his streak and handed Chicago their first win of the season.
at Arizona: Khalil Mack breaks the Cardinals’ spirit
Some might think Bryce Callahan‘s interception was the big play to seal it, but that’s not true. The Bears don’t even get to that moment if not for Mack. The Cardinals still hold a 14-13 lead in the 4th quarter. They’re driving into Bears territory with a chance to add at least three points. Given how the offense had struggled that day, even a four-point deficit might prove too much to overcome. So Mack made sure it didn’t get that point, hitting Sam Bradford on a scramble to force a fumble. Chicago recovered, drove down the field and kicked what would be the winning field goal.
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vs. Tampa Bay: Mitch Trubisky hits Trey Burton to open floodgates
Sometimes the tone of a game is set early. All week leading up to the Buccaneers showdown, Trubisky was hearing it from national experts that he was the weak link of the Bears. This team had no shot at the playoffs with him at quarterback. The frustration got to a point that he apparently decided to take it out on his opponent, and it began with a bang when he hit Trey Burton for a 39-yard touchdown to open the action. He would go on to throw six touchdowns that day.
vs. New York: Anthony Miller toe taps to a touchdown
The first half of the game against the New York Jets was a frustrating affair. The Bears felt they had numerous chances to distance themselves but their opponent clung to them throughout the first half 7-3. Finally, in the 3rd quarter, they had enough. Facing 3rd and goal, Trubisky fired a pretty back shoulder pass to Miller who managed to get both feet in along the back line for a touchdown that essentially put the game out of reach.
at Buffalo: Leonard Floyd finally delivers a big play
Few players had a tougher first half of 2018 than Floyd. He came in with so much expectation and then broke his hand in the preseason. He spent the first half of the year managing just four pressures on the quarterback and failing to make a single notable play. Some were starting to call him a true draft bust. Then he delivered this pick-six. Since that moment, Floyd has had a Pro Bowl-caliber second half of the season. Proof again that sometimes all it takes is one big play to get a guy going.
vs. Detroit: Trubisky seals it with TD to Allen Robinson
After an offensive explosion to start the game, the Bears saw their big lead threatened by the 3rd quarter. The Lions scored 10 unanswered points and it was wondered if this would be another game they might let slip away late. Trubisky knew he had to make something happen and so decided to go with the hot hand in Robinson who’d been torching Detroit all day. The two connected on a slant pass that the receiver turned up the field and into the end for a decisive 26-yard score.
vs. Minnesota: Eddie Jackson to the rescue
The Bears had not beaten the Vikings in a meaningful game in years. Now here they were, in a battle for division supremacy and clinging to an eight-point lead. Minnesota had the ball with a chance to tie the game. Some wonder if the defense, who’d been on the field a lot to that point, had enough gas left to make a stop. Then on the first play, Jackson decided to erase any doubts with a pick-six that looking back turned out to be the critical shot that handed Chicago the NFC North.
at Detroit: Jackson to the rescue part two
Mike Brown made the Bears winners again back in 2001 when he delivered back-to-back interception returns for touchdowns to win games. Seems Jackson is doing his best impression of him, only with a lot less patience. Again Chicago is locked in a tight battle with a division rival who has the ball with a chance to seize the momentum. Again it’s the Pro Bowl safety cutting off an ill-advised pass and taking it the distance for the backbreaking score.
vs. L.A.: Eddie Goldman goes full Kong on Jared Goff
The unsung hero of the Bears defense deserved his own moment but the opportunities had never arrived. Then Goldman got his chance. Tied 6-6 with the top-seeded Rams, the Bears knew they needed some way to break the deadlock. The defense still had bad memories of the week before when a poor second half showing against the Giants cost them the game. Not this time. Goldman made sure this time would go according to the Bears’ plans when he sacked Jared Goff for a safety and the winning score.
vs. Green Bay: Roquan Smith with the tip heard round the world
Jackson may get credit for ending Aaron Rodgers‘ historic streak without an interception, but that doesn’t happen without this excellent play by the rookie linebacker. The Bears defense was desperately trying to prevent the Packers from making it a three-point game with plenty of time left. Rodgers felt targeting Jimmy Graham, a former All-Pro tight end, against Smith was a no-brainer. The #8 overall pick showed him that those days were long gone. The interception cost Green Bay precious time that Chicago used to ice the game and the division title.
