Bears Play Eagles Close, But Fall 25-20
December 18, 2022, 9:20 PM CST
How was this game close? Like we had no business being in this game. All those injuries, Claypool and Harry out along with previous injuries to guys like Eddie Jackson and Darnell Mooney. Combine that with the fact that we lost EQSB, Jack Sanborn, and Teven Jenkins during the game. How we held this Eagles team to 25 points and almost had a chance to beat them was insane. Now, I'll be honest. Justin didn't really have a great game. But you can't blame him when his WR5 is his WR1. He did throw a late touchdown to Byron Pringle, a nice 35 yard lob that was unguarded. The Bears actually had a shot then, but couldn't stop the Eagles and lost. Other than that, Fields eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards on the year, which included an insane run on 2nd and 27 in the second quarter that should've been a touchdown, but JF1 stepped out of bounds. Monty did run one in the next play and at the time we took a shocking 6-3 lead. Oh yeah, Kicker might be a position of need next year. Cairo missed another PAT, and later refused to kick a 49 yard field goal. He was automatic in 2020 and 2021, but now he doesn't look the same. He's got to do better or else he will be expendable. Jake Elliott of the Eagles also doinked a field goal in this run, bringing back some old memories of the last time Philly was in Chicago. The defense looked much better today, and you can tell the secondary is improving. Jaylon Johnson had a great game today, and AJ Brown's statline won't tell you it. That was a dogfight between those two, but Jaylon is earning his money. Kyler Gordon and DHC both got interceptions, something that we haven't seen much of either. It's shocking that we got those off Hurts, considering the Eagles QB had only thrown three picks all season coming into this one. However, Hurts did run in three tuddys, which was ultimately the difference. Outside of that, the O-Line was pretty bad today, especially Cody Whitehair, who had a poor game. Also, I don't think Velus Jones might be here next year. Another fumble from him, and Eberflus was not happy about it in his presser. Speaking of fumbles, Mike Pennel forced one and Kyler Gordon recovered it. So there's that. Outside of that, it was a positive game for the Bears. Despite all the injuries, we kept it close. This is going to be a good football team next year.
DHC makes an interception against the Eagles
Cold Weather Affects Bears Offense In 35-13 Loss To Bills
December 24, 2022, 8:49 PM CST
Apparently this is supposed to be "Bear Weather." If that's the case, how did we lose by three scores? Now to be fair, the final score doesn't reflect the level of play. Buffalo scored two late touchdowns, including a meaningless TD with just over a minute left, to win by three scores. For the most part though, the defense held their own against Josh Allen. It was a three turnover game for the defense, as Kyler Gordan snagged an interception for the second straight game, Nick Morrow took one that was thrown right to him, and Elijah Hicks recovered a Joe Thomas force fumble. Turnovers are starting to return for this team. What isn't returning is the run defense. Buffalo's very weak run offense ran for 254 yards and 3 touchdowns on us. That would not be the case for old Bears teams (such as 2018). The trenches are top priority this offseason, and I am starting to like the idea of Jalen Carter and Daron Payne more and more each day. Justin Fields didn't play particularly well, going 15/23 for 119 yards and a touchdown which came on the opening drive to Dante Pettis. That drive we moved the ball very well, but couldn't do anything after that. Buffalo's defense also did a good job denying the QB run, as Fields only ran seven times for eleven yards. The cold was affecting his shoulder, which is still hurt from the Atlanta game. One positive though was Velus Jones. Velus, who many wrote off after last weeks game where he fumbled against Philly, didn't write back as he had a few good kick returns and caught a 44 yard deep ball from Fields. He can be dangerous if he can keep hold of the ball. He has to impress the next two weeks as well. David Montgomery also had a solid game with 62 rush yards on 16 carries and 22 receiving yards on 4 catches. He's coming up on his last two games under contract, and he wants to be extended. Cairo went 2/2 on field goals today, and hit his only PAT try. Meanwhile, Buffalo kicker Tyler Bass missed a field goal and a PAT. We went into half with the lead because of that, however, the Bills scored 29 in the second half to our 3, and we lost the ballgame. I still feel another win is on the cards this year, however, we could still get the first overall pick. Houston upset Tennessee today, and because of their tie in Week 1, all they need is one more win and the Bears losing out for us to secure first overall. If that happens, who knows what kind of trade haul we could get.
Lupe Fiasco performs at halftime of the Bears-Bills game
Bears-Lions, Fields Out, EQ Extension, and More
January 4, 2023, 4:54 PM CST
Before I start this, I want to send my thoughts and prayers out to Bills safety Damar Hamlin and his family. If you don't know what happened, Damar suffered a cardiac arrest on the field against the Bengals, and is currently in medical care at a Cincinnati hospital. The whole NFL world is rooting for you, Damar!
Bears-Lions Game/Injury Report: I have been on vacation the last few days, so I haven't written about anything Bears related since my mock offseason. The first important thing that happened was the Lions game. Many fans believed we had a shot at winning this. I believed we had an outside chance as well. A Cole Kmet tuddy and a Cairo Santos field goal gave us a 10-7 lead after the first quarter. Unfortunately, that lead would not stick. The Lions went on to score 34 unanswered points to win 41-10. A bad overall performance by the team. I didn't get to watch much of this one, and frankly I do not want to watch much of this. The only good thing to come from this was the fact that Fields got closer to the al-time QB single season rush yards record. Unfortunately, he will not get the chance to break it on Sunday. Matt Eberflus ruled Fields out with a hip injury for Sunday's season finale against Minnesota, meaning Nathan Peterman will get the start at QB. A big blow for fans attending the game (like me) who were anxious to see if Fields could break that record. Also out for Sunday are O-Lineman Teven Jenkins and Michael Schofield, along with DB Josh Blackwell. Jenkins reinjured his neck on Sunday, though this time it wasn't to the point where he needed to leave the stadium. Schofield also suffered an injury on Sunday that knocks him out for the Minnesota game. As I didn't watch much of the game, I am unsure if Blackwell was taken out of the game with an injury, but nevertheless he is not playing against the Vikings. Players brought up from the practice squad in their place (those three went to IR) are LBs DeMarquis Gates and Terrell Lewis, along with DE Jalyn Holmes.
EQ Extension: In other news, the Bears agreed to a one year, $1.25 million extension with WR Equanimeous St. Brown. St. Brown is closing in on career highs on yards (328) and receptions (21), just needing two catches on Sunday to pass his reception mark, and nine yards against the Vikings to pass his yards mark, both of which he set in his rookie season (2018). If he can grab a receiving touchdown on Sunday, he will also pass his 2020 mark that he is currently tied with (1 receiving touchdown). He hasn't caught many touchdowns, with only the one against the Niners in Week One, but he's thrived in a blocking role and is actually third on the team in receiving yards and fourth in catches. Not too much cap space this takes up, but it is technically Ryan Poles' first extension he's completed.
Draft Position: The Bears currently hold the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. They can still get the first pick, but they could fall as far down as fourth. Here are the scenarios.
1st Pick: Texans W (Colts) + Bears L
2nd Pick: Texans L + Bears L OR Bears W + Cardinals W (49ers) + Broncos W (Chargers)
3rd Pick: Bears W + Cardinals W + Broncos L OR Bears W + Cardinals L + Broncos W
4th Pick: Bears W + Cardinals L + Broncos L
I am doing something I've never done in my life before, but I'm kind of rooting for us to lose this game. With the current state of the Indianapolis Colts, a Texans win isn't actually unlikely. In fact, ESPN predicts the Texans have a 70+% chance of winning that game. If we, as expected, lose to Minnesota, and the Texans win, the whole offseason would be under our control. Most cap space, first pick. It opens the window for a lot this offseason. Second isn't too bad, but third and fourth are places we don't want to be, hence why I want us to lose. The difference in value just from the second to fourth pick is HUGE. We have to secure one of those top two picks, which would let us choose between Will Anderson, Jalen Carter, or trading back. We just have to wait and see how things play out.
Justin Fields vs the Lions
Bears Secure #1 Pick With Loss To Vikings, Texans Win
January 8, 2023, 9:49 PM CST
The Bears lost a franchise record 10th straight game today to the Vikings, ending their season at 3-14 with a 29-13 loss to the northerners. It wasn't really a close game. The Vikings had an early start, eventually jumping out to a 16-0 lead after 2 touchdowns and a field goal. The Bears did get on the board with a Velus Jones Jr 42 yard touchdown run on an end around. A nice stretch of games Velus has ended on this year, especially after a bumpy start. He also made a nice contested catch. The Bears other score came while down 23-6, when Cole Kmet made a nice RAC effort to get into the end zone, his seventh touchdown of the year. He also became the only Bear to reach 500 receiving yards this year. After that, the Bears gave up two fourth quarter field goals, and ended their season on a low note. We forced two turnovers today, as backup corner Harrison Hand (playing with Kyler Gordon out) forced a fumble and elevated corner Greg Stroman, who was signed just last week to the practice squad, jumped to secure a pick off Vikings backup QB Nick Mullens (Cousins was pulled after the first half). Speaking of QB changes, both Nathan Peterman and Tim Boyle played, with Boyle throwing two picks but being out there for the Velus TD, and Peterman throwing the Kmet TD. The Bears than turned their attention to the Houston Texans vs Indianapolis Colts game. With the Colts up 31-24 late, and Houston facing a 4th and 20, Davis Mills Hail Mary was caught for a TD, and former Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith went for two, got it, and secured the first overall pick for the Bears with a Texans 32-31 victory. Bear fans were very happy, and now there are many routes we can take with this. We could trade the pick, or select a top defensive prospect. It's gonna be a fun offseason in Chicago.
We also have our opponents set for 2023. As we finished last, we will play the Browns, Commanders, and Cardinals, all of whom finished last in their divisions. Washington and Arizona are the NFC teams from the divisions we won't play, and the Browns are the last place team in the division we played two years ago. We will play the NFC South next year, and the AFC West. We won't have a super hard schedule next year, and with a good offseason, we could very easily be set to go from worst to first in the division, just like 2018.
Velus Jones scored a touchdown in todays game
Matt Nagy Is A Super Bowl Champion
February 12, 2023, 10:08 PM CST
The Chiefs have won another Super Bowl. Controversial? 100%. The talk of tomorrow will be the supposed holding on James Bradberry that set the Chiefs in the position to clinch the title with a field goal. And it didn't really even look like holding from the TV angle. Not to mention, both sides got away with much worse earlier in the game, and now that happens at that point? Come on. The refs ruined this instant classic of a game. This was probably the best game since the Philly-Patriots Super Bowl in February 2018, when Nick Foles won it for the Eagles. The Eagles started off on fire, with a very quick drive that resulted in a Jalen Hurts rushing touchdown. The Chiefs responded very quickly, a 3:12 long drive that went 75 yards and finished with an 18 yard Travis Kelce touchdown. The Eagles punted the next possession, and the Chiefs would once again drive. Kicker Harrison Butker missed a 42 yard field goal off the left upright, and it remained 7-7. Philly capitalized on this miss, with Jalen Hurts throwing an absolute dime to AJ Brown in the end zone for a 45 yard touchdown. The Chiefs would punt, and it wasn't looking good for KC. But then, Jalen Hurts would fumble on a 3rd and 6, and Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton scooped it up for a touchdown. The Eagles then went on a long drive, capping it off with a Hurts 4 yard run. A Chiefs punt gave Philly a chance for an end of half drive, and the Eagles went up 10 into the break thanks to a 35 yard Jake Elliott field goal. After Rihanna performed the halftime show, the Chiefs opened up the second half with a 10 play touchdown drive, as Isiah Pacheco ran it in. The Eagles responded with a 33 yard field goal to go back up 6, but Mahomes led another long drive and capped it off with a 5 yard touchdown to Kadarius Toney to give the Chiefs their first lead of the night. Philly would punt the next drive, but Toney made the longest punt return in Super Bowl history that play, going 65 yards to the Philly 5 yard line. The Chiefs needed 3 plays to get in, but Skyy Moore was up to the task on a great playcall by Andy Reid. Philly had no momentum and needed something, fast. After a few plays, Hurts threw a bomb to Devonta Smith, going 45 yards to the Kansas City 2 yard line. Hurts scored his third rushing TD of the game (Super Bowl record for quarterbacks) and he would also run in the game-tying two point conversion. The Chiefs would go on a game-winning drive, which included the controversial holding, and Harrison Butker's 27 yard field goal all but secured KC the win at that point. The Eagles had one play, and Jalen Hurts' hail mary attempt failed. The Chiefs take home their second Super Bowl of the Mahomes era. Speaking of Mahomes, he won his second Super Bowl MVP. Hurts would've won it if Philly took the win by the way. A few former Bears took home rings, such as former safety Deon Bush. But the most notable is Matt Nagy, who you would know was our Head Coach from 2018-2021 unless you didn't start following the Bears until the season. Nagy gets his first ring, which he would've had in 2018 if it weren't for a certain upright. He can celebrate now as a Super Bowl champion. Bears fans celebrate too, the offseason is here. We have the most cap space. And we are officially on the clock for the NFL Draft.
Patrick Mahomes scrambles against the Eagles