Preseason Preview: What To Watch For
August 14, 2021, 10:34 AM CDT
Bears football finally returns tomorrow, as they will take on the Miami Dolphins at noon central time in preseason week 1. Obviously, there will be a lot to watch for. One of the main things will obviously be the QB battle, but what about some of the under the radar things? Well, I'm here to tell you some things that could shape our roster that you should be watching for.
Justin Fields Debut
This is the most obvious one. Fields has been performing really well these past few practices, and it will be interesting to see if he can continue that momentum going into the preseason games.
Who Is Jon'Vea Johnson?
Jon'Vea Johnson has been a practice squad player throughout his career. The Bears signed him late last month to be a reserve/depth receiver. However, Johnson has performed extremely well in training camp, becoming one of Justin Fields favorite targets. The question is, will he be just a training camp star, or can he shine in the preseason to secure a roster spot?
How Will The Offensive Line Do?
Late last year, we finally figured out what our best offensive line combination was. We drafted Teven Jenkins to play left tackle, and then cut Charles Leno Jr to free up salary. With James Daniels returning, it was time for us to become one of the best offensive line combos in the league. However, most of our starters have been plagued with injuries, including Teven Jenkins, who is dealing with a lingering back injury. This is extremely concerning, as left tackle is not a natural position for him, and he needs time to adjust. Outside of Jenkins, we need to know how our reserves will play. 5th Round Pick Larry Borom has been impressive in Teven's absence, so maybe he gets the left tackle spot and Jenkins moves back to right tackle. There's a whole bunch of flaws going on in the line, and hopefully they can be solved by the end of preseason.
Will Alec Ogletree Continue His Training Camp Dominance?
The day after I posted the previous article, I went out of town for a few days. During this time, the Bears signed Alec Ogletree to be a reserve OLB. However, Ogletree has been super impressive in just the few short days that he's been here. With 6 picks in camp, can he continue to impress and win a starting job?
The Cornerback Battle
This will be fun to watch. Jaylon Johnson is CB1, but CB2 is up for grabs between Desmond Trufant and Kindle Vildor. Can the veteran show that he's still got it, or will the second year man continue his impressive camp into the preseason. Remember, Vildor is ahead of Trufant in the first unofficial depth chart. But then you've got some other younger players like Duke Shelley and Thomas Graham who could surprise and win jobs. Either way, it's going to be a fun preseason.
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Bears Take Down Dolphins 20-13 In First Preseason Game
August 14, 2021, 3:19 PM CDT
Chicago Bears football is back and we get started with a win over the Dolphins in our first preseason game. This game was highlighted by the debut of rookie quarterback Justin Fields. Following a slow offensive start to the game, including 4 straight drives of 3 and outs (2 Dalton, 2 Fields), Fields led a breakout drive to score three points late in the first half off a Cairo Santos 53-yard field goal. Fields then came out and scored his first career touchdown to open up the second half. He did it by evading pressure in the pocket and then scrambling through an opening in the defense for the score. The next drive he once again drove down the field and capped it off with a wide open touchdown to Jesse James and that put the Bears up 17-13. Later in the fourth quarter, following a long Artavis Pierce 51 yard run, backup kicker Brian Johnson hit a short field goal to extend the lead to 20-13. A defensive stop and a Ryan Nall long run later, and the Bears would take the last kneel to end the game. The defensive unit performed really well too. Alec Ogletree continued his training camp dominance, basically showing that he should be considered for a starting role. The defense also forced takeaways, something new DC Sean Desai is reimplementing into this unit. The new "takeaway bucket" is also a highlight as well, with it being a fun way to celebrate turnovers this season.
In other news, the Bears signed former Eagles Offensive Tackle Jason Peters following the game. This is worrying because this could signal that Teven Jenkins may be out longer than we originally thought. However, it will give us a good veteran for when he eventually returns to the team.
Mitch Gets His Revenge, Bills Best Bears 41-15
August 21, 2021, 6:04 PM CDT
Well, that just happened. Mitch got his revenge on us. A terrible game that I barely watched. When I realized that we weren't going to do anything I just left. Kind of like the Green Bay game last year. So any details that may be foggy that's why. Ok, let's get into the recap.
The Bills were able to drive down the field quickly to score on a Devin Singletary 14 yard run, with a missed Quinn tackle in there. They then scored again at the end of the quarter when Jake Kumerow got a TD from Mitch. They went for two for an unknown reason and failed. Once Reggie Gilliam scored the one yard touchdown and Jacob Hollister caught a two point conversion I left. Gilliam would score another one yard run to make it 28-0. Then, the offense did something as preseason standout Rodney Adams made a 73 yard reception to cut it to 28-6. The Bills would kick 2 field goals and then Marquez Stevenson brought a 79 yard punt return to make it 41-6. We then got a TD off of Khalil Herbert, and backup kicker Brian Johnson hit a nice 54 yard kick to finish it off 41-15.
So what can we takeaway from this game. The big thing, Dalton is not a good answer. Fields should be the week 1 starter. Will he be? No, cause Nagy and Pace promised Andy the job. Maybe he can play better against Tennessee. Please.
Jesper Horstead Dominates, Bears Beat Titans 27-24
August 28, 2021, 10:01 PM CDT
Jesper Horstead is amazing. I read that he would've had 33 fantasy points in ESPN scoring if this was a regular season game. But this isn't article all about Horstead, although he does feature in the title. His final stat line was 5 receptions for 104 yards and 3 touchdowns. Enough about Horstead (for now), let's get into the recap.
The Titans were able to score on a 4th and goal from the 1 yard line after a hard fought stand by the Bears. Mekhi Sargent was the one with the carry, and this opening score came in the second quarter. Justin Fields would start this game, but would be unable to do anything in the first quarter, or the first second quarter possession. However, Trevis Gipson, a 2020 5th round pick who was a project player, continued his impressive preseason by getting pressure on Logan Woodside, who threw a pick six to Tre Roberson. This was the teams second pick following a Danny Trevathan first quarter interception. Sam Ficken of the Titans hit a field goal late, but Justin Fields led the team quickly down the field, throwing a dime to the aforementioned Horstead for a great touchdown to take the lead. In the second half, Nick Foles came in and returned to Super Bowl form by leading the team on another Jesper Horstead touchdown drive. Unfortunately, the Titans would respond with a Javian Hawkins one yard rushing touchdown, and a Cameron Batson 6 yard reception. However, Jesper Horstead was tired of them scoring, and would make a great one handed snag (pictured) and take it 54 yards to the house to put the team up 27-24. We would wind up winning from there.
So what can we takeaway from this game? First, Jesper Horstead made serious noise about keeping him instead of JP Holtz as TE4. Rodney Adams (nicknamed Hot Rod by Damiere Byrd) is almost guaranteed a spot as well. Fields should start week 1, and Foles will be a solid backup if he does need to play.
Keys To The Game: Los Angeles Rams
September 12, 2021, 4:50 PM CDT
It is that time of year, and that time of the day for my Keys To The Game. I started this late last year, and plan to use it throughout the season this year and beyond. This is going to be a very important game for us, so the keys need to happen.
1. Neutralize Aaron Donald
The o-line has to do it's job. If we can neutralize Donald, Monty can run and pressure will be off of Andy. This way, Mooney can torch Ramsey again. So Mustipher, Daniels, and Whitehair, we are counting on you.
2. Feed ARob
Jalen Ramsey is gunning for Mooney. You know who he's leaving open? Robinson. This is the perfect scenario for ARob to get a ton of stats, and lead us to a victory. That Rams D-Line is going to be ferocious, but if we can handle them, their secondary will have no chance.
3. Get To Matthew Stafford
Its no secret that our secondary needs help. Bryce Callahan rumors have been swirling, but obviously nothing will happen before the game. So we need to help them as much as possible. Khalil Mack is playing, so he can get to him. Alec Ogletree looked really good in the preseason, so hopefully he and Roquan can be a dynamic duo with one rushing and one staying back. Robert Quinn needs to get back to form. But the man in charge today is rookie Khyiris Tonga. Tonga has a golden opportunity to put some pressure on the o-line with Eddie Goldman out. This is arguably the most important key of all. Oh, and you can't forget about Akiem Hicks and 2020 breakout star Bilal Nichols either.
Bears Fall To Rams 34-14 In Season Opener
September 12, 2021, 10:10 PM CDT
Good god our defense is terrible. Especially our secondary. Look, my favorite player is Eddie Jackson (I met him before the 2018 Rams game) but he played like garbage today. In fact, the entire secondary was garbage, apart from Jaylon Johnson. On the offensive side, it wasn't necessarily garbage. Dalton did have some good traits, he was able to get the ball out quickly, was relatively accurate, and was able to scramble when needed. David Montgomery was the real star of the offense, getting the ball fed to him 16 times for 108 yards and the first touchdown of our season. Let's actually get into the recap before I spoil anything else.
Khalil Herbert had a great return to open the game, taking it past the 40 yard line. I definitely think he will be a solid return option with Patterson gone. Anyways, Monty took one inside the redzone just a couple plays later on a long run. It looked like we could take an early lead, but Andy Dalton threw an interception into the endzone. Then, Van Jefferson caught a long 67 yard touchdown pass after Eddie Jackson and Tashaun Gipson refused to touch him down. The Rams would kick two unanswered field goals to take a 13 point lead. David Montgomery would cut the lead closer at the end of the half with a 3 yard touchdown run to open up our season scoring. To open the second half, the now infamous coverage left Cooper Kupp all alone for a 56 yard touchdown. The Bears ate up over 9 minutes on the next drive, but it ended positively with Justin Fields running a triple option in for his first career touchdown. Unfortunately, we couldn't stop them on defense again as Darrell Henderson took in a one yard carry right at the end of the quarter. The only fourth quarter score would be a Robert Woods two yard reception late, which just put salt on the wound.
So overall I would say that the Keys did not go as planned. We were able to neutralize Aaron Donald surprisingly, but we only got ARob receptions 5 times. There was a pass to him that should've been defensive PI, but the refs let it slide. And we did not get to Matthew Stafford, with us getting just one sack.
Keys To The Game: Cincinnati Bengals
September 19, 2021, 9:25 AM CDT
For the first time in 8 years, the Bengals come to Chicago to face the Bears. They sit at 1-0 after a win over the Vikings last week, and the Bears are 0-1 after losing to the Rams last week. Despite this, the Bears should be able to win this game, if they follow my keys.
1. Run Monty, Run
Monty just plowed through that Rams defense like they were rag dolls, that includes Aaron Donald. His speed is also tremendous, as he clocked in a 20.80 MPH on his 41 yard run on the first drive. He is a top 10 running back in the league, and is well on his way to being in the conversation as the best RB.
2. Let The Kid Throw
Andy Dalton does not have a deep ball arm. We know that Fields is going to get more plays this week. So what we should do is let the kid take the big chunks out with deep balls to our speedsters (who weren't effectively used last week) and let Dalton handle the short passes. After all, I need fantasy points with ARob and Mooney this week.
3. The Secondary Needs A Bounce Back
Last week, our secondary was exposed when the Rams scored 2 deep touchdowns that really summed up their win. Eddie Jackson looked terrible, so did Tashaun Gipson, Kindle Vildor, and don't even get me started on Marqui Christian. Jaylon Johnson was the only good CB out there for us. We need to give him some help with a huge bounce back, especially facing guys like Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, and Tee Higgins.
Score Prediction:
Bears 24, Bengals 23
Defense Has Huge Bounce Back, Bears Win 20-17
September 19, 2021, 4:03 PM CDT
Welcome Back Defense! They showed up in a big way against the Bengals. A low scoring affair through 3 quarters, we ended up taking off in the fourth quarter behind three straight interceptions on three straight passes. It wasn't done yet though. The Bengals stormed back and scored two touchdowns to make it close. However, we were able to pull through in the end with a couple of key first downs to win. But let's get more in depth with this insanity by looking at the recap.
Our first score came on the first drive of the game. Nagy scripted that drive really well, as Dalton was able to get it downfield and wound up connecting with ARob for his first touchdown of the season. Nothing really happened the rest of the first or the second, except for the defensive line having a bounce back, especially Robert Quinn who finished with 2 sacks. The Bengals ended up getting on the board on their first possession of the second half after Evan McPherson hit a 53 yard field goal. The Bears punted their next drive, but on the first play of the next drive, Eddie Jackson, coming off of his worst game as a Bear, forces a fumble which got recovered by Tashaun Gipson. Cairo Santos would finish the drive with a 28 yard field goal. On the next drive, we got the Bengals to a 3rd and 3. Then, Roquan Smith picked off Joe Burrow, who hadn't thrown an interception in 200 attempts (it was jinxed as you'll see later) and he took it 53 yards to the house. It was his first career pick six. The next drive, Joe Mixon had a four yard run. Burrow was looking to go on another no-interception streak, but Jaylon Johnson got his first career interception (which I predicted back in May) which made it 2 straight passes with interceptions. Unfortunately we would lose yards and punt. But Alec Ogletree would deflect the next pass and DT Angelo Blackson snagged it out of midair and brought it to the 9 yard line. We would end up kicking a 22 yard field goal. Oh, and Andy Dalton exited the game back in the second quarter after doing something to his left leg on a run, and Justin Fields closed out the game in sort of an unimpressive manner. Cincy would get a long 42 yard touchdown on the next possession though, after Kindle Vildor blew coverage on Ja'Marr Chase for a score to cut it within 2 possessions. Then, Justin Fields got picked off the next drive, and Tee Higgins would score on one play for 7 yards and in 4 seconds. Luckily, Justin Fields made a clutch first down scramble on a 3rd and 9, and Monty would get a first down to close the game out.
So how did the keys go? Well, Monty didn't have as good of a game as last week (he lost a chance to tie a Walter Payton record) but he did ok still, fighting for every yard which you love to see. Fields didn't really take deep shots, even after he had to come in for Dalton. He did try and move the ball (a couple were dropped). And lastly, the secondary had a major bounce back, as it proved that last week was definitely a wake up call, as the tackling was much better today.
Bears MVP: Roquan Smith
Keys To The Game: Cleveland Browns
September 26, 2021, 10:22 AM CDT
Here we go, Cleveland Browns day. Justin Fields is making his first start today, as Andy remains out. In fact, yesterday a report came out that he could be back by next week, but a report negated that today and basically stated that Dalton has a lingering knee issue and could miss more time then expected. So for now, its Justin's time. But what are the keys to winning his first start?
1. Utilize Marquise Goodwin's Skillset
Goodwin is basically our speed demon. A former Olympian, Goodwin runs a 4.27 40 time. Now, you may say that he's gotten older, but he still had the ability to compete in the Olympic trials this year. His speed is crucial, as he can run mid-range routes, such as slants. His speed can allow Fields to get the ball out quickly while still gaining good yardage.
2. Monty Bounce Back Game
The Browns are without Jarvis Landry today, and OBJ is back from a torn ACL. They have probably the best 1-2 running back punch with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. So how do we counter this? Defensive line has to play well but we also need our running back to dominate. Enter David Montgomery, who is likely seeking vengeance following a disappointing performance against Cincinnati. If he bounces back, this offense can be explosive.
3. Defense Keeps Up Success
The defense came into last week looking for a rebound following a terrible week 1 performance against the Rams. And they did just that, with 4 turnovers, reminiscent of the 2018 defense. Now, we need that success to be continued, especially against Nick Chubb. The best corner in the league in Jaylon Johnson needs to play lockdown against OBJ, and our defensive line is going to need to shut down Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Hopefully Robert Quinn can keep up last weeks breakout performance against the Bengals and add a couple of more sacks to his total.
Score Prediction:
Browns 20, Bears 25
#FireNagy: Bears Fall To Browns 26-6
September 26, 2021, 3:47 PM CDT
#FireNagy is officially trending on Twitter. And for good reason. His football IQ is not at an NFL level. He cannot call effective plays. He cannot adjust to his quarterbacks abilities. Its now clear that Mitch was not the problem, it was Nagy. His playcalling is terrible. The worst part, he thinks its going to be ok. He makes no adjustments to his calling. Compare him to Sean Desai. In Week 1, Desai's defense was abysmal in the first half. While the secondary couldn't do anything, the D-line did make some slight adjustments coming out of the locker room. And then look at week 2. They adjusted and played well. This is shown well by looking at some of the players and their step-ups under Desai. He builds his schemes based on his players abilities. Like Robert Quinn, who had 2.5 sacks in the first 2 games. He had 2 all last year. And then he continued that dominant performance today, along with Khalil Mack. Now enough rant, lets get to the recap.
The Bears actually took an early lead on their best drive of the game, mainly because they could run the ball. Santos hit a field goal to end the drive. Oh yeah, this followed an incredible Robert Quinn/Angelo Blackson 4th down sack. The Bears would hold that lead until Chase McLaughlin tied the game with a 57 yard kick. Baker would later throw to Austin Hooper right before half to take the lead. Both sides would knock in field goals the following quarter, with the Bears getting lucky on theirs after a would be interception was called back for PI. Kareem Hunt would expose the Bears continuous tackling problems with a touchdown run to ice the game. Chase McLaughlin hit two more field goals as well.
So how did the keys go? First of all, the Bears had one passing yard. ONE. Fields was sacked nine times. NINE. About Goodwin, he didn't have a catch. This is due to the fact that Justin Fields threw 4 times in the first half, finished with 20 attempts, and completed literally 6 passes. Monty had a solid first drive, but the O-line sucked this game, particularly Germain Ifedi. Lastly, the defense didn't continue their success entirely, but they did force the Browns to kick 4 field goals, had 2 fourth down stops, and had one bad tackling incident that ended any comeback chances.
Bears MVP: Robert Quinn
Keys To The Game: Detroit Lions
October 3, 2021, 11:15 AM CDT
It's gameday in Chicago, as the 1-2 Bears take on the 0-3 Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. Justin Fields will be making his second NFL start with Andy Dalton being out for the second straight week. Last week was a disaster for the Bears offensively. They couldn't move the ball downfield, and the only reason they got to 6 points was because of a defensive PI that gave them the ball in the redzone. This week, we should be able to get more offense against the Lions. We don't know who the playcaller is exactly, but there is a high probability that it is Bill Lazor, who did a much better job at playcalling last year than Nagy. However, the Lions are not going to be as easy to beat as we thought. If you watch their games, they've put up a fight in all of them. They should've beat the Ravens with a missed delay of game penalty costing them a win. They look like a solid team, so we need to play this right to win.
1. Fields Needs To Get The Ball Out Quicker
While the o-line does deserve a lot of the blame for the 9 sacks allowed, Fields should get a bit of blame as well. When you look at the film, you can tell he was holding onto the ball for way to long sometimes. This isn't college anymore. His receivers are open, especially ARob. Fields has to get the ball to them before he gets sacked 9 times again.
2. Have The Tight Ends Block
When you look at the game last week, you could tell that there wasn't much blocking out of the tight ends. It just shows Nagy's inability to adjust. When something is not working, fix it. Put the tight ends on the line so they can help block. Otherwise, Fields is going to be eaten up by the defense yet again. Also, throw to Jimmy Graham. He's had more veteran rest days than catches this season. Give your tight ends some respect, Nagy.
3. Secondary Has To Play Well
I cannot name a single Lions receiver off the top of my head. TJ Hockenson is a tight end so he doesn't count. But this is a golden opportunity for our secondary to bounce back and get some turnovers. We need a big confidence boost this week, especially with the Raiders game looming next week. So if the secondary can control the Lions receivers, we should be able to win this football game.
Score Prediction:
Bears 23, Lions 17
Offense Bounces Back As Bears Beat Lions 24-14
October 3, 2021, 4:07 PM CDT
Back on track. Hopefully. See what happens when Nagy doesn't call plays? Yes, it was Lazor calling the plays, which was confirmed by Nagy after the game. It was pretty obvious with the way this offense played. We've never really taken deep shots until today in the Nagy era. Fields to Mooney. As I try to think of a nickname for this dynamic duo, let's talk about this performance. Now, Fields still doesn't have a touchdown pass in his career yet. Monty has been doing a lot of the scoring, which he continued today with 2 touchdowns and 100+ yards rushing. We got a HUGE scare late in the game when Monty suffered what appeared to be a gruesome knee injury. What it seems like, based on his latest tweet and other reports, is that he avoided a serious knee injury. That is huge for us, because our workhorse could be available against the currently undefeated Raiders (if they win tomorrow they will be 4-0). Damien Williams got his first tuddy as a Bear as well, though he has a groin injury that the severity of remains unknown. Khalil Herbert could be a good fantasy pickup for next week if both RBs miss. The defense was also decent as well. Mack, Hicks, and Goldman were back! Well, until Hicks exited with a groin injury after the first play. He did not return, so we hope he will be back next week. The secondary was decent as well. Our redzone defense was great with a couple of huge stops and takeaways. Let's recap the game though!
We won the coin toss and elected to receive surprisingly. That would work out because Fields would lead this team downfield to a Monty touchdown run. This drive was highlighted by a spectacular Mooney catch. The Lions got to the redzone the next drive, but a miscue on the snap led to the ball being snapped off of Jared Goff's shoulder into the hands of Bilal Nichols. A 64 yard pass to Mooney would set us in golden field position, in which Monty would get his second touchdown of the day. The Lions got to the 5 the next drive, but they couldn't complete a pass on 4th and Goal and turned the ball over. The next Lions drive we would force a fumble off yet another Robert Quinn masterclass and get the ball back. Fields would throw a pick after the ball was tipped at the line. We were up 14-0 at half. Damien Williams would score on our first 2nd half possession on a 4 yard run. The Lions would score on a Kalif Raymond 4 yard catch towards the end of the 3rd. Santos would hit a 33 yard field goal to extend his consecutive field goal streak to 32 in a row. The Lions would make it 24-14 after Kalif Raymond helped out fantasy owners late in the fourth. On their last drive, they got to our 8 before throwing an incompletion on 4th and Goal and we won the game.
So how did the keys go? Fields definitely got the ball out quicker today, while also getting those deep balls to his receivers effectively. The o-line helped him out a lot though. I couldn't really tell about the tight ends blocking, but I do know that Kmet missed a wide open deep pass that would've gotten a huge chunk of yards on a drive which I believe resulted in us getting no points. And as I mentioned earlier, the secondary did play well today as we beat what is probably the best 0-4 team in NFL history. Look, the Lions are not bad. They have some fight, and with all the draft picks they have, they could sneakily rise their way into the NFC North title conversation in a few years with the Bears and Vikings.
Bears MVP(s):
David Montgomery and Darnell Mooney
Keys To The Game: Las Vegas Raiders
October 10, 2021, 10:39 AM CDT
Today we take on the Las Vegas Raiders in Vegas for the first time ever. Unfortunately, Akiem Hicks is out for this game. Monty was placed on IR yesterday as well, but that was expected. However, Danny Trevathan is back from IR, though I personally would prefer Ogletree to start over him. I have a deadline for this article to get out, so let's get to the keys.
1. Keep Doing What Is Working
Basically, this means have Lazor call the plays. Fields looked tremendous last week, with a lot of deep shots down the field (mainly to Darnell Mooney). So, the Bears should continue that this week. The Raiders secondary is.... not good. So we have to take those deep shots and take out chunks of yards to score.
2. A-Rob Needs To Get More Targets
ARob has had a reduced role for some reason this season. To lower his wage demands is not a valid excuse. You are trying to win games, not lower a players value. ARob is Justin's best contested catch target, and with the aforementioned Raiders secondary not being good in coverage, we can exploit that with multiple deep targets to AR.
3. Defensive Line Feast Day
The Raiders offensive line has been one of the worst in the league. The Bears currently lead the NFL in sacks. That combo could mean a massive day for Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn. We will get some sacks, or force throws that can be intercepted. If this D-line can get through, we will win this game.
Score Prediction:
Raiders 20, Bears 14
Bears Use Defense, Run Game To Down Raiders 20-9
October 10, 2021, 7:46 PM CDT
The Bears have found their identity. They are a team that runs the ball into the throats of other teams. That identity was finally realized against the Raiders. Both Damien Williams and Khalil Herbert were great runners today. Williams ran 16 times for 64 yards and a tuddy, and Herbert made a strong case for RB2 with 18 carries for 75 yards. Passing wasn't much of a threat in this game, though Fields had a great pass to Darnell Mooney on 3rd and 12 that had it not been converted, the Raiders would've had a chance to drive and take a lead on us. Instead we got a field goal to put us up by 8 and put the game out of reach basically.
The first quarter appeared to have a Josh Jacobs touchdown on the Raiders first series. However, a penalty negated it, and they were forced to settle with a Derek Carr field goal. After a solid next series by the Bears, Justin Fields threw his first career touchdown pass to Jesper Horstead. After forcing the Raiders to turn the ball over on downs, we would run a 16 play drive solidified with a Damien Williams touchdown to put us up 14-3 going into half. There was no third quarter scoring, though DHC had an interception. Scoring wouldn't return until the fourth quarter. The Raiders took a drive starting in the third down the field and eventually scored on a Josh Jacobs one yard one. However, Khalil Mack, who's been playing at an All-Pro level this season, sacked Carr on the two point conversion to keep it at 14-9. We would drive down and score on a Cairo Santos 46 yard field goal to extend our lead to 17-9. We forced the Raiders to a turnover on downs, and Ice Cairo sealed the game with another 46 yarder to put us up 20-9, which finished the game.
So how did the keys go? I do believe Lazor called the plays, but we didn't really take many deep shots downfield. We did run, which was working. Fields went more mid-range passes in this one, but he did score a touchdown through the air on a short route. A-Rob saw 4 catches for 32 yards in this game, a slight step up from previous weeks. And this week was a complete domination on defense. The line kept up with their season pace (although Mario Edwards had some unnecessary roughness calls). Khalil Mack is back and has been outstanding under Desai, returning to All-Pro levels. So has Robert Quinn. The Bears have a league leading 18 sacks (despite having just one in week 1). Lets hope they can keep this pace up and be the best defense in the NFL again.
Bears MVP:
Khalil Herbert
Keys To The Game: Green Bay Packers
October 17, 2021, 10:23 AM CDT
This is the most important game of the season so far. Bears vs Packers. Justin Fields versus Aaron Rodgers. Winner takes sole possession of first place in the North. The Packers are 4-1 after starting their season 0-1. So they have a lot of momentum right now. We need to slow that down. Now, we are coming off of a two game win streak which included a win against the Raiders last week, who were off to a 3-1 start. So we definitely have a chance in this one. But, how will we capitalize on this chance? Let's look at the keys.
1. Fields Will Need To Take Deep Shots
In order to beat the Packers, we will need to outscore them. How do we do that? By having Justin take deep shots to Mooney and ARob. We need those explosive scores, and today is just the day to do that.
2. Khalil Herbert Season
One of our biggest strengths has been the run game. However, our top runner in David Montgomery is out until at least Week 8. Damien Williams looked solid last week, but he is out with Covid. So its time for Herbert to step in and dominate. Herbert was actually our top rusher last week, although Williams scored the touchdown. Expect Herbert to get 20+ carries today, because we are done for if Ryan Nall gets any touches.
3. Desai Masterclass
Sean Desai has been everything we dreamed of so far. Despite a poor Week 1, he adjusted and we have been dominating on defense ever since, getting lots of sacks and forcing many turnovers. Aaron Rodgers has been more of a checkdown guy this season. If we can get pressure on him and limit those checkdowns and explosive plays, oh do we have a shot at this one.
Score Prediction:
Bears 24, Packers 21
Refs Help Packers Beat Bears 24-14
October 17, 2021, 4:24 PM CDT
Well that was a pain. The refs certainly made everything worse. If the refs weren't (or at least didn't seem) paid, we might've won this game. Instead, we lost by 10. I could rant all day about the refs, but to get this pain over with, I'll just get into the recap now.
We actually started this game off pretty well. We got a couple of sacks on Aaron Rodgers, and then we scored on Khalil Herbert's first career TD run. Then, it broke apart. Momentum swung to Green Bay after a free play that wasn't turned into an interception. The Packers scored a touchdown to open the second, and took the lead into halftime when Mason Crosby hit a field goal to make it 10-7. The Packers would then score halfway through the third on an Aaron Jones run. We brought it back to one score in the fourth with a Mooney 5 yard touchdown, but the most annoying QB in NFL history Aaron Rodgers had a 6 yard TD run to ice the game.
So how did the keys go? Fields deep shot on the free play that wasn't got picked off, and he didn't truly recover after. Herbert was a workhorse, with 19 carries for 97 yards and his first career tuddy. The defense started strong, but we couldn't really keep up the momentum after the first drive.
Bears MVP:
RB Khalil Herbert
Keys To The Game: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
October 24, 2021, 3:00 PM CDT
It's Thomas week again. This time, we go on the road to face him. Last year, under Nick Foles, we beat the Bucs off a solid defensive outing. This year, its the largest age gap in starting QBs with Justin Fields under center for us. Sadly, Foles is inactive so we won't get any of his magic against Brady. So, how will we beat them this year? We will have a different strategy obviously, so lets see what I think needs to happen to win.
1. Run Game Needs To Get Going
Last year, Monty couldn't get much going against the Bucs. Now, we are left with Khalil Herbert, and luckily Damien Williams is back as well. This run game is our strength, and if its not clicking, then we will likely lose.
2. Get To Tom Brady
The biggest way to beat the Bucs is defensively. Khalil Mack is having a monster season. So is Robert Quinn, but he is out with Covid. We need surprise star Trevis Gipson to have a major impact on the game. I also see Khyiris Tonga having a big impact as well, with Akiem Hicks being out. Maybe Alec Ogletree comes to help with pressure as well.
3. Exploit The Receiving Holes
The Bucs are missing Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski this week (as well as Lavonte David). The secondary has not been great this season, with Jaylon Johnson being the best. A recent civil war happened over Eddie Jackson, who we know has struggled at tackling this year. But looking more in depth, you can see his coverage has been great. We need to use him to keep teams from throwing to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. If we shut them down, we should be able to win.
Bears Get Destroyed By Bucs 38-3
October 24, 2021, 7:08 PM CDT
Don't make Tom Brady mad. That's the important lesson to take away from this game. We made him mad last year. And guess what he did this year. Demolish us. It was like watching a High School blowout, where one team is up so much at the end of the first half that they barely score the second. Oh yeah Brady got his 600th TD pass as well in this game. The only positive was Khalil Herbert becoming only the second player to rush for 100 yards on this Bucs Defense in the Brady Era.
Lets start at the beginning. Our offense could do nothing to start the game. The Bucs quickly scored on a Leonard Fournette touchdown. They scored again later when Chris Godwin caught a 4 yard pass. And #600 for Brady came on a Mike Evans TD with 6 seconds left in the first. The Bears were able to drive (mainly thanks to Herbert and Alex Bars) to kick a field goal from 28 yards out. The Bucs would respond with back-to-back Mike Evans touchdowns right before the half. I, like many other Bears fans, turned the game off at this point. It didn't really matter, as the only other points were scored on a 22 yard kick by Ryan Succop in the fourth quarter.
How did the keys go? The run game got going with Herbert, but it wasn't enough. We couldn't get to Tom Brady enough, largely because Robert Quinn was out with Covid. Lastly, we could not exploit the missing receivers on the Bucs offense.
Bears MVP:
Khalil Herbert
Bears sack Tom Brady (in 2020)
Keys To The Game: San Francisco 49ers
October 30, 2021, 10:26 PM CDT
Ok, so tomorrow I will be at my first Bears game since 2018. This will be my second game against the Niners. But because I will be at the game, I will have no time to write this in the morning. So, I figured I'd do it the day before. Now, not everything is certain about the game. What we do know is Nagy is out with Covid, Larry Borom is back, Robert Quinn is back, and Khalil Mack is out. So that changes a lot. First, Borom being back means we don't need to rely on Elijah Wilkinson or Lachavious Simmons at Right Tackle. Quinn will help being back, but Mack being out sucks. But how can we cope with the loss of Mack? Time for the keys to see what we can do.
1. Play Action Is Key To Success
One of the Niners biggest strengths is using the play-action to their advantage. Look at their one touchdown drive from SNF last week. 3 plays, 70 yards, all play-action. Pretty obvious they will use that this week. So why not do that ourselves? Nagy won't be in Bill Lazor's ear all game, so he will be able to call plays his own way. Looking back to the Detroit game, where it was all Lazor, we had a lot of long play-action gains. Do that again this week, and we might just have a chance.
2. Keep The Run Game Going
Khalil Herbert has been dominant in David Montgomery's absence. In my last article, I said he was the only RB outside of Dalvin Cook to rush for 100+ yards on the Bucs the last 2 years. He should have yet another big performance tomorrow, as long as our o-line doesn't let up.
3. Adjust To The Loss Of Mack
Losing Khalil Mack stings, but it isn't the end of the world. The last time we were without Mack, we won 41-9. That game was heavily based off turnovers. We need an Eddie Jackson interception in this game. A Jaylon Johnson pick. Robert Quinn force fumbles. You get the point. Desai has been the master at adjusting to scenarios this year. There's no saying he can't do it again.
Score Prediction:
Bears 24, 49ers 20
Bears @ 49ers 2018
Defense Collapses As Bears Lose 33-22 To Niners
October 31, 2021, 7:34 PM CDT
That sucked. Like a lot. I had great seats for the game too but we couldn't win the game. The fortunate thing was I got to watch Justin ball out in this one. Passing was decent, but he showed what he could do running the football. Especially on that touchdown run in the fourth, I don't think any Bears quarterback in history has done that. It gave me flashbacks of when Cohen ran the wrong way, made a juke, and ran the right way for a touchdown. The defense collapsed though, especially in the fourth quarter. That ruined the Justin Fields masterclass that was taking place. But, how did we score all those points? Let's get to the recap.
The first quarter we had two field goals, one by each team. We hit a 39 yarder, and the Niners hit a 48 yarder. Niners kicker Joey Slye did miss a kick on the first drive of the game though. The second quarter Fields had a beautiful TD pass to Jesse James from 8 yards out. The rest of the quarter was field goals, the Niners hit two and Santos hit one. So it was 15-6 at half. We opened up the second quarter with a 25 yard field goal. The Niners drove down the field and scored on a Jimmy G 2 yard run, but Slye missed the PAT and it was 16-15 going into the fourth. The Niners opened the fourth with a touchdown by Elijah Mitchell, and they got the two-point conversion to take a 7 point lead. But on fourth down the next Bears drive, from the 22, Justin made a miracle Mike Vick/Lamar Jackson type run and scored what we thought tied the game, but Santos somehow missed the PAT. The Niners scored a tuddy the next drive, and sealed the game with a 32 yard field goal. The Niners won 33-22.
So how did the keys go? Well, we did some play-action but couldn't contain the Niners especially at the end of the first half when Kindle Vildor blew coverage. The run game did stay up and running (get it) but it was mainly Justin who had 104 yards and a touchdown. Herbert did go out for a short time and Williams exited the game. Unfortunately, they scored 33 points so I don't think we adjusted to the loss of Mack.
Bears MVP:
QB Justin Fields
Justin Fields hyped after running for clutch TD vs Niners