Sep 28, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (2) runs the ball for a touchdown during the second half against the Chicago Bears at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
The Chicago Bears are not a complete team by any measure. They have flaws, some of which are deeply rooted. One of the most alarming is their run defense. Across four games, they’ve given up an average of 164.5 yards per game. That is dead last in the NFL. This isn’t a new problem. Outside of 2023, the Bears have ranked 31st, 28th, and 32nd against the run since 2022. It is clear that there are some serious issues with the personnel makeup of that front seven for it to be this consistently bad. Head coach Ben Johnson is aware of it. He’s not happy about it.
Also, he isn’t stressing over it. That isn’t because he doesn’t care, mind you. It is more because he knows there isn’t anything the Bears can do about it. Not right now. His comments after the win in Las Vegas were telling in that regard.
“At the end of the day, the most important thing is limiting the opposing offense in the number of points scored. If that means that we’re giving up some rushing yards, but yet we’re keeping them low on the scoreboard, we’ll manage with that. No one likes seeing 6 yards, 7 yards per carry. That’s not what Chicago Bears football is about. That’s not what we want to be about. We’re working very diligently on getting better in that regard.”
Johnson seems resigned to reality. There is no magic fix for the Bears. The only way the run defense can improve is if the players they already have perform better. Getting linebacker T.J. Edwards back from injury will help, as will cornerback Kyler Gordon. It will have to be enough.
Ben Johnson knows the challenge ahead for the Bears.
Their next game is against Washington, the #1 rushing team in the NFL at 154 yards per game. They just put 155 on a pretty good Los Angeles Chargers defense. It is hard to imagine the Bears will be able to do any better than them. That puts serious pressure on defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to find solutions. Thankfully, this isn’t uncharted territory for him. His first year with New Orleans in 2015, they were 31st against the run. Although it was never great, there were signs of improvement as the season progressed. Allen demonstrated his ability to find ways to slow down opponents.
He has already seen the defense play significantly better in critical situations, such as third down and the red zone. Washington presents the toughest test of the season. Ben Johnson trusts him to do what is necessary to prevent games from getting out of hand. Meanwhile, he will direct the offense to score more points. The partnership has worked well so far. Next offseason, there will be time to address these personnel issues.
The Milwaukee Brewers cruised to a 9-3 win over the Chicago Cubs to begin the NLDS and Pat Murphy quickly named left-handed pitcher Aaron Ashby as Milwaukee’s Game 2 starter. Ashby, who has been one of the best relievers in the Brewers’ bullpen for the past two years, is expected to be the opener Monday night before Murphy hands the ball over to a bulk pitcher. Craig Counsell has countered by not starting Michael Busch and instead going with right-handed hitting veteran Justin Turner.
Busch, who has looked great this postseason and began Saturday’s series opener with a leadoff home run, has been handcuffed against left-handed pitching throughout his career. In 2025, Busch was limited to 95 plate appearances against lefties as he slashed .207/.274/.368, against them. Meanwhile, Turner finished the year with a slash line of .276/.330/429, in 109 plate appearances vs. left-handers with three home runs.
Ashby made 43 appearances in the regular season for the Brewers and recorded a 2.16 ERA in 66.2 innings. The lefty struck out 76 batters. He pitched 1.1 innings in Game 1 against the Cubs, striking out one and allowing no one to reach base.
Meanwhile, QuinnPriester, is expected to be Milwaukee’s bulk pitcher following Ashby’s outing. Priester recorded a 3.32 ERA in 157.1 innings in the regular season with the Brewers. Busch, Nico Hoerner and Seiya Suzuki have all homered against Priester in their careers, so that also plays into Murphy’s decision to limit the starting pitcher’s matchups against those Cubs’ hitters in Game 2.
The Cubs will have Shōta Imanaga on the mound to start on Monday night. The lefty allowed a two-run homer to Manny Machado in four innings of work in the Wild Card series. Imanaga started three times against the Brewers in 2025. The Cubs’ lefty had a combined 3.57 ERA in 17.2 innings in those three starts against Milwaukee.
Christian Oppor prepares to deliver a pitch during a June 18 start. Courtesy Winston Salem Dash.
When you think of White Sox top prospects, left-hander Christian Oppor is a name that often gets overlooked.
The White Sox selected Oppor in the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Florida Gulf Coast State College. In just three seasons as a pro, he’s already climbed to No. 8 on the team’s prospect list, according to MLB Pipeline.
This comes after a breakout season in the minor leagues that saw him post a 3.08 ERA across two levels in 87.1 innings of work. Oppor began the season with the Kannoplis Cannon Ballers and quickly turned heads in his first five starts, striking out 11.3 batters per nine innings and limiting opponents to a .160 batting average. His 2.42 ERA in low-A earned him a promotion to the team’s High-A affiliate in Winston-Salem, where he continued to impress with a 3.31 ERA and 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings over his final 17 starts.
Oppor had been on the White Sox’s radar since his high school days, but the Athletics beat them to the punch by selecting him in the 2022 Draft. When the A’s failed to sign him, the White Sox got a second chance the following year after Oppor opted to play college ball.
Oppor was viewed as a raw prospect coming out of college, posting a 6.24 ERA over 13 appearances. Still, his electric stuff on the mound quickly caught the attention of White Sox scouts. His fastball sits in the high 90s and touches 98 mph, while his low-80s slider features sweeping movement that generates plenty of whiffs when he commands it for strikes. Adding to his deception is a low three-quarters arm slot, which makes it difficult for hitters to pick up his delivery, given his 6’2 frame.
Best Changeup In Baseball?
The 21-year-old southpaw’s best pitch, though, is his upper-70s changeup, which features late fade and is a pitch he can throw confidently in the zone.
Christian Oppor with his 10th K. He has been taken out after he's hit his pitch count at 4.2IP of no hit baseball. #Ballers up 3-0. pic.twitter.com/UG6Di1m0RH
This past season, Oppor’s changeup generated a 47.8% whiff rate and found the strike zone 67.8% of the time. Baseball America took notice, grading it at a remarkable 99 Stuff+ score — the highest among all pitchers. His ability to command his changeup and throw it with confidence also helped produce a 32.2% chase rate.
Oppor saw his walk rate drop from 6.6 batters per nine innings to 4.3 this past season. As he continues to develop, he is quickly emerging as one of the most exciting young arms in the White Sox farm system.
Aug 19, 2017; Glendale, AZ, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) warms up prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Few people have led a more charmed life than Mark Sanchez. He was the star quarterback at USC, living it up in sunny California. Then he became the fifth overall pick for the New York Jets and made back-to-back AFC Championship appearances. He’d make millions of dollars in his career and eventually settle into life as a commentator for NFL games. Unfortunately, life can spiral out of control fast if you’re not careful. Sanchez found that out the hard way with news coming out of Indianapolis. Initial reports said the former Chicago Bears quarterback had been stabbed in an altercation.
Many thought he’d been either mugged or assaulted. However, details began filtering out that painted things in a far darker light. Sanchez, apparently drunk, got into a scuffle with a 69-year-old delivery truck driver. As the much younger former athlete continued the attack, the driver pulled a knife and stabbed Sanchez multiple times. Police soon arrived on the scene. Even by then, the former QB was still unruly and had to be pepper-sprayed. It still isn’t clear what set him off, but the evidence against him appears to be damning.
Current charges suggest he could face anywhere from one to six years in prison.
Authorities in Indianapolis have announced at a press conference that former NFL quarterback and Fox analyst Mark Sanchez now also faces a Level 5 felony battery charge, which carries a 1- to 6- year sentence.
Chicago Bears fans must wonder how Sanchez went this long without incidents.
Typically, people don’t go their entire lives without something like this coming to light. There are patterns. Yet Sanchez had stayed out of trouble for years. Most saw him as a typical former athlete who had managed a long career and was enjoying retirement. It makes you wonder if there might be more skeletons in his closet than people realize. Assaulting an elderly man nearly to the point of killing is ugly stuff. Some might try blaming the alcohol, but that is a poor excuse. Booze tends only to reveal the person you already are, just with no filters. It is hard to imagine where Sanchez goes from here.
Staying out of prison is obviously the goal, but it’s a reasonable assumption that he will never work with or near the NFL ever again. Chicago Bears fans can only be grateful he wasn’t their problem for long when he was here.
Oct 5, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel talks with a reporter at the end of the first half of the Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images
The Chicago Bears kept the door open for possibly a run at the playoffs with back-to-back wins. They have a somewhat manageable stretch of schedule coming up. What they could really use is one more jolt to the roster that might give them a competitive edge. With the free agent market devoid of options, their best course of action is the trade deadline, which arrived at the end of October. The problem is typically finding out which teams around the league might be sellers. That doesn’t happen until the deadline draws near.
After another wild Sunday of action in week five, it’s become pretty obvious to people with modest intelligence who those teams are this year. Four stand out above the rest. Here is who they are and which players the Bears should have varying degrees of interest in acquiring.
The Chicago Bears must carefully weigh their options.
Probably the trickiest thing about the trade deadline is making sure to find the right player at the right price. Teams will want big returns for whoever they make available. The trick is to talk them down to something more realistic or find alternatives. Sometimes the market won’t cooperate. In general, pass rushers and left tackles don’t get traded this time of year. Anything is possible, but it feels like if the Chicago Bears make a move, it will be for help at running back.
Looking at the options, the two most likely are Achane and Kamara. Achane is a speed demon with good vision who’d fit well in Ben Johnson’s offense. Miami has wanted to get rookie Ollie Gordon more involved. This would provide them with the excuse. As for Kamara, he’s on the tail end of his career with a large contract that New Orleans has no reason to pay anymore. If he has any gas left in the tank, he would be a strong addition to this backfield.
Precise details of who could get dealt will emerge over the next two weeks. We should know by then if the Bears plan to do anything.
Sep 21, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) gestures after throwing a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
We are going to see where Caleb Williams falls in the latest quarterback hierarchy as the 2025 NFL season enters week 6. Entering Week 5, with the Bears on bye, Williams has shown growth in his second season with new head coach Ben Johnson, but how do experts stack him against the league’s best? I compiled quarterback rankings from several major outlets — including NFL.com and PFF — to find each QB’s average ranking. Let’s dive in.
Rank
Quarterback
Team
1
Josh Allen
BUF
2
Patrick Mahomes
KC
3
Justin Herbert
LAC
4
Jalen Hurts
PHI
5
Lamar Jackson
BAL
6
Jared Goff
DET
7
Matthew Stafford
LAR
8
Baker Mayfield
TB
9
Dak Prescott
DAL
10
Jordan Love
GB
There aren’t many surprises in the top 10, but let’s take a closer look at Caleb Williams:
Average Rank: 19th in the NFL.
Williams comes in with an average ranking of 19 across major outlets.
Caleb Williams is currently on pace to finish the season with:
Through four games, he’s completing 62.3% of his passes for 927 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.
I think that’s a fair spot for Williams right now, though his play feels closer to that of a top-12 quarterback. If he continues to show growth as a young QB, his rise up the rankings will only continue.
He’ll be back in the national spotlight next Monday night in a rematch against Jayden Daniels — part two of their matchup. It’s a great opportunity for Williams to either prove he’s becoming one of the league’s top signal-callers or fall into the same familiar story for Chicago. Still, while this game is big, it won’t define his second season.
Insider Believes Chicago Bears Have A Shot At Star D-Lineman
Sep 28, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) runs out of the pocket during the second half against Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Every time an NFL team hits its bye week, fans get the same recycled talk: rest, self-scouting, adjustments. Coaches love to say, “We’ll use this week to clean things up.” Most of them come back looking just as sloppy as before. But Ben Johnson? He’s not most coaches.
If you’ve been paying attention since Johnson took the wheel of Detroit’s offense in 2022, you already know the man doesn’t waste time. He uses that extra week like a damn weapon. And the numbers back it up: under Johnson, the Lions went 2-1 after bye weeks — and the trendline is screaming upward. What started as a disaster in 2022 turned into a full-blown demolition derby by 2024.
Let’s break it down, because this isn’t your standard “coach improves over time” narrative. This is about how one of the sharpest young offensive minds in the league *learned to weaponize rest *— and why Bears fans should start thinking bigger than a typical midseason reboot.
2022: The Baptism by Fire (aka The Dallas Disaster)
We’ll start with the ugly. Johnson’s first post-bye game in 2022 came against Dallas — a road matchup where the Lions’ offense managed just 246 total yards and coughed up a 24-6 loss. That’s not just bad, that’s Dan Campbell threatening to chew kneecaps out of frustration bad.
But let’s give Johnson a little grace here. It was his first full season calling plays, Campbell had recently reinserted himself into play-calling, and the offense was still finding its identity. You had Jared Goff learning a new system, a banged-up line, and a running game that didn’t know what kind of team it wanted to be.
It was a learning year — one that exposed where the Lions were fragile: protection schemes, motion timing, and turnover discipline. Still, Johnson’s film work after that loss was the foundation for what came next. He didn’t just fix problems; he redesigned the architecture.
2023: The Breakthrough in L.A.
Fast forward one year, same situation — road game after the bye, this time against the Chargers. Different story. Detroit walked into SoFi Stadium and turned it into a track meet, outlasting the Chargers 41-38 in one of the most chaotic shootouts of the year.
The Lions put up 493 total yards, with nearly 200 coming on the ground. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs looked like a two-headed monster straight out of a Madden fantasy. Johnson didn’t just come out with new plays — he came out with a new personality for the offense. It was fast, balanced, and perfectly tailored to the roster.
That’s what Johnson does with a bye: he doesn’t rest, he retools. He finds your weakness, your predictability, your habits — and then he nukes them. His motion-heavy, play-action-infused offense caught the Chargers’ defense guessing all day. And when Johnson smells hesitation? He goes for the throat.
That 2023 game wasn’t just a win; it was a proof of concept. It showed that Johnson’s system could evolve, reload, and hit harder every time it reset.
2024: Revenge Served Hot Against Dallas
Two years after that embarrassing 24-6 loss, Johnson circled Dallas again on the calendar — same team, same post-bye setup. But this time, he brought a blowtorch.
Final score: Lions 47, Cowboys 9.
Let that sink in.
Detroit racked up 492 yards, 184 on the ground, and 308 through the air. Jared Goff looked surgical, throwing for three touchdowns with zero turnovers. The Lions forced five takeaways on defense and never once coughed up the ball.
This wasn’t just a win; it was a clinic. Johnson’s offense was humming like a well-oiled supercar, slicing through Dan Quinn’s defense like it was made of tissue paper. Every motion, every shift, every play-action fake was timed to perfection. The Cowboys bit hard on misdirection all game long, and Johnson kept feeding them poison candy.
That’s the Ben Johnson post-bye experience: prepare for a different animal. The man spends his off-week like a film-obsessed maniac dissecting every frame, finding every inefficiency, and building his next ambush.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
If you zoom out across those three years, the progression is wild:
Year
Opponent
Result
Total Yards
Rushing Yards
Points Scored
Turnovers
2022
Cowboys
L 24-6
246
108
6
2
2023
Chargers
W 41-38
493
193
41
1
2024
Cowboys
W 47-9
492
184
47
0
Average post-bye output: 31.3 points, 410 yards, and a rushing attack that averaged 161.7 yards per game. That’s not a trend — that’s an evolution.
Turnover margin flipped from negative to elite. Offensive efficiency skyrocketed. Johnson didn’t just improve his playbook; he improved the entire ecosystem—motion efficiency, red zone conversion, and balance between power runs and play-action shots.
Lions Post-Bye Offense Under Ben Johnson, 2022-2024.
The Secret Sauce: Motion, Play-Action, and Ruthless Adaptation
Johnson’s offenses have always leaned on motion and play-action, but post-bye? That’s when he dials it up to 11.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, the Lions’ motion usage jumped nearly 20% after their bye in 2023, and their yards per play on motion snaps climbed to an absurd 8.8 by 2024. That’s elite territory — think Kyle Shanahan meets Andy Reid, but with Motor City grit.
And when the run game clicks? Forget it. The Lions averaged 4.7 yards per carry under Johnson overall, but post-bye, that number often jumped to over 5.0. Healthy line, rested backs, and a refreshed scheme — it’s a cheat code.
The red zone? Even nastier. Tight end packages and misdirection plays became Johnson’s calling card, creating wide-open touchdowns for guys like Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright. You could almost hear opposing defensive coordinators begging for the bye week to end faster.
Health, Preparation, and the Chicago Implications
Here’s the kicker: Johnson’s post-bye success directly tracks with roster health. When his line was banged up in 2022, the offense sputtered. When it was intact in 2024, they looked unstoppable.
Now, Johnson’s bringing that same system to Chicago — a franchise that’s been allergic to post-bye success. The numbers don’t just look bad, they look cursed:
Matt Eberflus: 1-2 after bye
Matt Nagy: 0-4 after bye
John Fox: 0-3 after bye
That’s nine straight post-bye faceplants. So yeah, expectations in Chicago are subterranean. But if history’s any guide, Johnson might be exactly the kind of guy who breaks that curse.
If 2022 in Detroit was his warm-up, 2025 in Chicago might be his next 2023 — a year where the offense stumbles early, learns, and then explodes. And by 2026 or 2027? Expect the Bears to come out of the bye like a pissed-off freight train.
What Bears Fans Should Expect
Based on Johnson’s arc, the Bears’ post-bye offensive identity should look something like this:
Year 1 (2025): Learning curve, growing pains, flashes of brilliance.
Year 2 (2026): Consistent offensive rhythm, better use of motion and play-action, red zone growth.
Year 3 (2027): Fully weaponized offense — high tempo, elite efficiency, and that unmistakable Johnson flair.
It’ll hinge on a few things:
Offensive line health and continuity – Johnson’s scheme needs chemistry up front. No shortcuts.
Running back tandem efficiency – Expect him to lean on a combo, not a workhorse.
Creative motion and misdirection – Watch how he hides intentions pre-snap.
Tight end versatility – His TE usage is not a side note; it’s a cornerstone.
When those four hit, Johnson’s post-bye record isn’t just good — it’s inevitable.
Final Verdict
Ben Johnson doesn’t come out of a bye looking rested. He comes out looking reborn. His offensive game plans after the break have shown clear, measurable evolution every single year he’s been in charge.
If you’re a Bears fan, stop worrying about “rust” or “momentum.” This isn’t the old Chicago where bye weeks meant confusion and flat starts. This is a coach who turns reflection into reinvention.
When the Bears come out of their first bye under Johnson, expect something different. Expect balance. Expect creativity. Expect violence on offense. Because if his Detroit trend holds true, the only ones who’ll need a nap after the bye… are the defenses trying to stop him.
It is one of the most infamous plays in Chicago Bears history. Nobody argues it almost single-handedly ruined their 2024 season. Players won’t ever admit it, but the locker room never seemed to recover from it. They had everything in hand. Caleb Williams had just led the offense to a go-ahead touchdown. All they needed was a defensive stop to win the game. The Washington Commanders drove far enough to have one last shot via Hail Mary. Everybody knows what happened next. Tyrique Stevenson had his back to the play, jawing at fans in the stands as the snap was taken. By the time he realized what was happening, his assigned man to cover, Noah Brown, had already slipped behind the secondary. Stevenson then tipped the ensuing pass right to Brown. Game over.
The media fallout was brutal. Stevenson became the target of every criticism and joke you can imagine. It was one of the dumbest plays in NFL history. People wanted him cut. It was inexcusable. The young cornerback hasn’t said much about what happened in the months since. That finally changed when he sat down with teammate Kevin Byard on his Intercepted show. For the first time, Stevenson opened up about the Hail Mary, why it happened, how it affected him, and most importantly, what lessons he took from it.
It sounds like the experience humbled Tyrique Stevenson.
He’d had a reputation for being overconfident a lot since arriving in the NFL. Now, confidence is not a bad thing. Cornerbacks need that level of swagger to function in this league. However, it can be a double-edged sword. As Tyrique Stevenson said, he let the intensity of that game in Washington blind him to reality. He should’ve been focused on his own business, not the team’s. He paid a hefty price for that reminder.
There were points over the following months where Stevenson could’ve lost his job. Yet to his credit, he persevered. In the past two games, he’s played some of the best football of his career. Opponents have targeted him 12 times, completing only three passes for 16 yards. It feels like he’s finally maturing before our eyes, and the genesis was that game last year. Best of all, he has a shot at redemption next Monday night.
Oct 12, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe (4) follows Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman Parker Brailsford (72) and Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor (74) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama defeated South Carolina 27-25. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images
If there is one thing we’ve learned about Ryan Poles since he took over as GM of the Chicago Bears, it’s that he tends to fall in love with certain players every draft cycle. It was Velus Jones in 2022, Darnell Wright in 2023, and Rome Odunze in 2024. The thread connecting all of them is that Poles fixated on them pretty early in the draft process. Once that happens, it becomes difficult to change his mind. That is why it feels noteworthy when information surfaces about a new name he really likes.
Sources informed SM that the player to watch over the final months of the college season is Parker Brailsford. He is the center for Alabama and was a transfer from Washington. He is undersized at 6’2, 275, but has earned a reputation as an explosive athlete with excellent range, intelligence, technique, and toughness. He’s at his best as a run-blocker, getting to the second level frequently. While he struggles against power and size in pass protection, he is rarely caught off guard by anything.
Ryan Poles’ interest in Brailsford is not a surprise.
The Bears GM’s track record shows a preference for athletic offensive linemen, especially along the interior. Braxton Jones, Doug Kramer, Kiran Amegadjie, and Luke Newman all fit that profile. The same is true for Joe Thuney and Ryan Bates. Poles has often wanted to run an outside-zone type of offense, similar to those used in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minnesota, and Green Bay. For that, you need blockers who can move. That is why the Bears invested a significant amount of money to sign Drew Dalman in free agency. Brailsford would be a perfect fit in that type of offense.
Current projections have him going somewhere on day two of the draft in the late 2nd or 3rd rounds. Interior offensive line probably won’t be their early focus. Still, if the board falls a certain way, don’t be surprised if Ryan Poles works to go get his guy.
Oct 5, 2025; Tottenham, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz (11) passes the ball against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter of an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
They say the bye week is a stress-free time for fans of teams. That is true to some extent. They don’t have to sweat through actual games watching their team. However, that doesn’t mean the schedule can’t impact them in other ways. The Chicago Bears discovered this during their time off. After rallying to reach 2-2, it feels like they are in the conversation for the wild card spots in the NFC. To improve their odds, they needed certain teams to falter elsewhere. Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out that way.
Minnesota escaped the Browns in London to reach 3-2, giving them a significant advantage in the race after already beating the Bears last month. Green Bay remains ahead of both, courtesy of their tie in Dallas. Washington cruised to a 27-10 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. That puts them at 3-2 and another big threat for the wild card. Chicago plays them next week in what will be a titanic rematch. If that weren’t enough, both the Rams and Seahawks are 3-2 and are also in the mix.
The Chicago Bears won’t get any help from outside sources.
It’s becoming clear that the NFC is every bit as deep as it was last year. Maybe more so. There are too many good ones to trust that enough will falter to give the Chicago Bears a window. That means one thing. They must control their own destiny by winning football games. Four of the next five games the Bears play will be against struggling teams: Saints, Ravens, Bengals, and Giants. Those are four that they can and should win. If they don’t, they have the 49ers, Eagles, Vikings, Lions, and Packers all waiting down the stretch.
Even a supposedly easier game against Cleveland in the middle of that is misleading because the Browns are a tough team. Part of making the playoffs is taking advantage of the opportunities your schedule gives you. The Bears haven’t done that in years. We’re about to find out if they really have changed.
