The Chicago Bears Have Officially Entered the Super Bowl Conversation

The time for questioning whether the Chicago Bears are legitimate Super Bowl contenders is over.

The Bears became the first team in NFL history to beat both Super Bowl participants from the previous season in consecutive primetime games.

But Chicago didn’t just beat Seattle. They demoralized them. And they did it in arguably the toughest road environment in the NFL, where Caleb Williams and company put up numbers against a Seahawks defense that no other team has managed all season.

Williams is playing the best football of his young career, and Chicago’s defense improved drastically with the addition of the best defensive tackle in the league, Jeffery Simmons. It appears the sky may truly be the limit for the Bears.

The Bears Did What No Other Team Could Against Seattle

Through seven weeks of the season, no opposing offense had scored on its opening drive against the Seahawks. That all changed when Caleb Williams and his offense came to town.

The Bears put together a 17-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took 8 minutes and 32 seconds off the clock. Those seven other offenses that faced Seattle this year? They combined for a total of 74 yards on all their opening drives.

Williams completed over 70% of his passes for the third time this season. He remains second in the league in completion percentage, trailing only Joe Burrow.

Williams connected on 24 of 34 attempts for 247 yards, becoming the first quarterback this season to throw for more than 200 yards against the Seahawks.

Clearly, this Seattle squad is not on the same level as last year’s Super Bowl team. Between the departures of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker, the usual struggles of a championship hangover and a quarterback in Sam Darnold who appears to have peaked, the Seahawks have their fair share of problems.

But you know what all those issues have in common? They’re on the offensive side of the ball.

Seattle’s defense is still regarded as one of the league’s best. Entering Monday night’s matchup, the Seahawks ranked second in both defensive EPA per play and success rate allowed.

We figured the Bears’ rushing attack would struggle, especially with Kyle Monangai still sidelined. Without him, Chicago had averaged just 3.5 yards per carry over its previous three games. Meanwhile, Seattle allowed the second-fewest yards per rush attempt (3.5) and ranked first in rush success rate and third in rush EPA.

And even last night, D’Andre Swift was held to a measly 2.6 yards per carry on 27 attempts for 69 yards. Still, he executed when it mattered most in the red zone, crossing the plane three times. No other running back had accomplished that against Seattle this season.

Now imagine how much better this offense will be when Monangai returns. With the tandem of Monangai and Swift, the Bears led the league in rushing yards per game (196.3) and sat fourth in yards per carry (4.9) through the first month of the season.

Chicago’s rushing yards per game have dropped by more than 46% in Monangai’s absence, yet the Bears are still finding success offensively, even against some of the best defenses in the National Football League.

And as impressive as Chicago’s offense has been, the defense might have given us an even bigger reason to believe this team can make a Super Bowl run.

Simmons Shines in Bears Debut 

Remember when Khalil Mack joined the Bears and made an immediate impact in his debut on Sunday Night Football at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers?

Mack had a pick-six, a strip sack and three total tackles. There hadn’t been that much life in a Bears team in years. The issue was that Mack and that defense didn’t have an offense to complement them, nor did they even end up winning that game.

Simmons’ debut Monday night gave me a similar feeling. No, he didn’t force a pair of turnovers, but he did record six tackles, a sack, a pass deflection and two tackles for loss. More importantly, he revitalized the defense and helped create opportunities for his teammates.

The defense came out hitting like madmen, and the energy was palpable through the television. Given the amount of double teams Simmons commands, it opened up opportunities for teammates like Montez Sweat, who recorded one sack and had two more negated by penalties in the secondary.

Now that Chicago has a legitimate threat up front defensively, there’s no cap on this team’s potential. Sure, the secondary is still a major concern, but no team is going to be flawless, and there’s still time to address those weaknesses before the trade deadline.

Beyond the improvement on defense, this team has shown it can overcome its own self-inflicted mistakes. Last week against the Patriots, the Bears gave up that ridiculous 48-yard touchdown run to Rhamondre Stevenson to end the first half, but answered with a touchdown of their own right out of the gates in the second half.

On Monday night, Colston Loveland committed the first turnover of his career, which led to a Seahawks touchdown. It felt like the momentum had completely shifted, but the Bears kept their composure and answered with a six-play, 56-yard touchdown drive to push their lead back to double digits.

There’s still plenty to clean up. But it’s evident the Bears have the right personnel in just about every facet to take this organization to the next level.

And boy, I can’t wait to keep watching.