adam

Yeah for sure. It will be interesting to see if he gets a 2nd contract though. You can only give out so many of those on each side of the ball.

Yes, with the Conference AND Division Lead at stake. This becomes the biggest game for the Bears since 2018.

If they can beat the Packers in GB, they may not lose another game.

It's my thing lol. I use EPA/Play for CHI offense vs EPA/Play vs GB Defense, then take into account average plays run vs average plays against, then PPG vs Pts Allowed. So if you are running more plays and your opponents run less, your EPA is more impactful than theirs, and vice versa. None of the injuries are really accounted for in a meaningful way, which puts the Bears in a better position going into next week considering Kraft was their #1 Receiving threat and Wyatt was their top DT.

Man that Week 1 loss still sucks. Should be 10-2, a game up on every other team in the conference, but I will take it.

Your NFC #1 Seed Chicago Bears. I thought the Rams were the one team the Bears would lose against if they played in the playoffs. Now I am not. The Bears can beat any team in the league right now head to head.

The DET game really skews the Bears per game average stats. Removing that game puts the defense near league average for scoring and yards.

The Congonkulator says: Using the entire season's stats, GB has the edge 25-23. Only using the last 5 weeks (recent and relevant): the Bears have the edge 23-22. So it seems that the team that scores 24 will probably win.

My order of likelihood of resigning: S - Byard - Most likely, team captain, still playing at a high level, both Safeties are FAs, need to keep at least one, Byard will be cheaper. DB - CJ Gardner-Johnson - Knows DA's system, already an impact player, brings an edge to the defense. CB - Wright - Would love for them to find a way, but unless Wright takes a mid-level deal, someone else will pay him to be their CB1. S - Brisker - Injuries and inconsistent play. Unless he takes a team friendly deal, or they don't resign Byard, I doubt he is back. WR3 - Zaccheaus - He gone unless he takes near a vet min deal that doesn't impact cap. With Odunze, Moore, and Burden, and the TEs, he is now the 6th or 7th passing option. DT - Billings - He gone

I would be fine with that. I think Billings, Brisker, and Wright won't be back. Billings has underwhelmed. Brisker has too much injury risk for a big contract. Wright is a tough loss but there are too many guys waiting in the wings to pay 3 CBs top dollar after Jaylon and Kyler. So Byard and CJGJ would be their only two big name free agents resigning.

And they are all signed beyond this year

These are the guys that are not under contract for 2026 who have been key contributors in 2025 so far: S - Byard (1st INT, 2nd Tackles, 2nd TFL) - Playing at an All-Pro level CB - Wright (2nd INT, 5th Tackles, 5th TFL) - Playing at a Pro-Bowl level, experience with DA. DB - CJ Gardner-Johnson (2nd TFL, 3rd Sacks, 4th QB Hits) - Since joining the Bears, has been a spark plug for the defense. Experience with DA. S - Brisker (3rd tackles) - Playing solid, but feels replaceable. DT - Billings - Run plugger. Don't know if he will be back. WR3 - Zaccheaus (3rd Receptions, 5th Rec Yds) - He wont' be back. With both Byard and Brisker needing deals, with Brisker's injury history, I don't think they resign him. Wright will be interesting with guys like Stevenson, Smith, and Frazier already on the roster. Can they afford to extend him? He fits DA's mold for CBs than Stevenson does.

Byard still on a career year pace - 92 tackles, 9 INT, 10 PD, and 6 TFL.

It is going to be weird for us but the Bears will probably lose some of the depth guys that are not draft picks in the offseason. With money already committed to Jaylon and Gordon, I don't know if you can really pay another DB top dollar. I assume that is why Brisker will be gone, and they will sign/extend Byard for another year or two on a lower deal. For CBs, Stevenson still has another year left on his rookie deal, so I don't know if they will have room for Wright. I hope they find a way.

Wyatt out for GB is big, they are thin in the interior and Edge guys don't play the run well. The Bears could have another 250 yard rushing game next weekend. Brooks and Brinson are their starting DTs now. That is considerably weaker than any DT group the Bears have faced in quite some time.

Looks like the odds slide to Bears +6.5. That's a lot of points. Still no love from Vegas.

Frazier? and don't forget about Terrell Smith. I assume they let Stevenson walk, with Smith and Frazier on the roster. Hopefully they have the money to sign Wright.

I have to give credit where credit is due, and I was wrong on Poles. I didn't see the immediate returns on investment, and highlighted too many of the misses, but when you are getting starter level production from multiple rookies and 2nd year players, the future is bright. Monangai, Loveland, Trapilo, and Burden were non-factors early on in the season and are now key contributors as rookies. Wright just dominated the guy I thought they should draft in Carter. He FINALLY fixed the O-Line, which after hiring Ben Johnson, may be his next best achievement. They are a top 3 unit in the NFL and with a few more games for Trapilo, may end up being #1. What a turn around.

9-3 heading into December, have now been in 1st place since the win against the Vikings to move to 7-3. Bears go to GB then get CLE and GB at home. The 2nd GB game is on Saturday (another short week). GB gets the Bears at home, then travels to DEN, then back to CHI on a short week. There is a real shot that the Bears go 3-0 and Packers go 0-3. Even the most realistic outcome is still Bears 2-1, Packers 1-2, which would extend the Bears lead in the Division to 1.5 games over GB. During that window, DET gets DAL (on THU), in LAR, then PIT. That is either 2-1 or 1-2, which means at worst the Bears gain a game on GB, and maintain their 2-game lead on DET with 2 games remaining. If the Bears do sweep the next 3, crazy I know, Week 18 might be used to rest starters (if they are not the #1 Seed).

That is now 2 INTs on tipped balls at the line. That is a risk for any QB to be honest. I know it looked really bad, but normally you want the Edge defender engaged on the screen side so he can't do that. The most promising thing is this offense is still a work in progress, and Caleb will get better. They are playing like a top 5 team right now, if Caleb gets better, and the defense gets healthy, what will they be then?

This is happening too much to not be on purpose. I think they would rather have better drives earlier in the game, but then the switch gets flipped and they take over. We will see next week, but I almost want to believe that Johnson has been holding back on some things and will unleash them on an unsuspecting Packers team next week. I could be totally wrong on this.

Please take all of this in. This is not something we as Bears fans get to experience very much. A 5-win November, 5 straight wins, 9 out of 10. Guaranteed a winning record for only the 4th time in the last 17 years. The list goes on and on. The Bears have the #1 Rushing Offense (by 200 yards) without a running QB, and lead the league in Takeaways (by 6) on defense. Whatever happens the rest of the way, I think the foundation has been set for some sustained success. I know there have been some disagreements on this board over the years, which is nearing its 20-year anniversary, but we need to keep the personal attacks and demeaning replies for the other team's fanbases, not our own. If you don't agree with someone's post, that's fine, tell them why you disagree. It doesn't need to escalate to anything more than that. You can also just ignore them, or even mute them if you don't like what they are posting. Let's enjoy this success together! #BearDown

The other component is belief. This sequence is the best for describing the team this year: The defense allows a big play TD to Brown, but PHI misses the XP Caleb gets intercepted on a screen pass in Bears territory Wright (who misplayed the Brown TD) gets a forced fumble and recovery on the Tush Push Starting at their own 13, they get an 87-yard TD drive highlighted by a beautiful Monangai 31 yard run that started the drive, and a 4th Down conversion to Loveland The defense comes right back on the field and forces a 3-and-out Caleb leads a 63-yard TD drive capped off with an off-platform TD pass to Kmet in 13-personnel, with 2 3rd Down conversions (Moore and Oz) Just like that, from what would've probably been at least a 12-10 deficit, to a 24-9 ass spanking.

Ben Johnson just outcoached Vic Fangio on a short week. DA had a masterclass with LB5 as his starting Mike. The Bears have scored 24 pts, the 11th time they have scored 24 or more. This offense is still a work in progress, yet still putting up those numbers.

Maye 10-2 Nix 9-2 Williams 9-3 is pretty crazy for 2nd year QBs. 3 of the top 4 records in the NFL in Week 13.