I’m superstitious! Even Freud, an ardent materialist and atheist, admitted it was hard for him to shake off some superstitions, whether they be throwing salt over shoulder or knocking on wood…as such, these ladies were part of the victory equation last Sunday, so here they cheer again until the next loss.
That being said, this is a pretty cool image via GP:
2-2 is within reach .500 going into bye is not ideal, but it’s a hell of a lot better than 1-3. 2-2 players still believe, buy-in, and try harder with playoff dreams beckoning. 1-3…would be a miserable bye for all Bear fans.
I’m not going to write some elaborate breakdown about what needs to be done. Think we all know.
1. Stop Ashton Jeanty who despite a 3.1 avg remains dangerous in the open field. I think he’s been hit the most behind the LOS of all starting HBs [or close to it]. Jeanty still has great contact balance, vision and acceleration which would be lethal in open lanes. Bears’ D needs to attack and wrap.
2. On the flip side, our Oline has opened up lanes for D’Andre Swift, but he has yet to take advantage and break out. If ever a ‘get right game’ presented itself to Swift, this is it.
3. I’m not expecting much from our run game TBH. Seems to be all smoke and mirrors; however, Ben Johnson and Caleb have been efficient in the redzone. If that continues, and if Caleb produces a complete game, then that will stress the lowly Raiders.
The Bears’ D simply can’t be Trestmanesque. Contain Jeanty. Get a few key sacks and stuffs. Maybe a turnover or two. Then let BJ/Caleb cook hopefully dominating TOP. TOP is the Bears’ best defense.
Despite this being an away game, I suspect a decent showing of Bear fans in Vegas.
Have no idea what this means, but hey, it’s something! Got hits from Germany, India England, China. Heck, our old Romanian Jericho may even be dropping by from time to time!
In the true American way of hustling and monetizing, I shall do that soon enough. Maybe I too can provide you with a Manscaper while betting on Draftkings and pounding Celsius Heat!
‘Merica!
But for now, enjoy, Regs and Lurkers alike. Maybe I need to invest in a better outfit to get more followers like Jake Browning’s GF.
When Jake Browning’s girlfriend went viral for one of the craziest game day outfits of all time.
Wrote in previous thread, I almost would prefer Eddie Goldman over Dexter, a solid not spectacular, DT holding point of attack. However, when Dexter is on, he’s on. Dexter’s pressure helped create that 2nd Edmunds’ INT in the redzone to seal the deal.
Theo Benedet snaps
Every rep #Bears Theo Benedet took at RT in win vs the Cowboys.
Benedet came out firing, making a point about his ability to move the Cowboys defenders. He displayed quick feet and a powerful, accessible anchor that could mitigate short arms. More reps are needed to determine. pic.twitter.com/Y0drqdmLlX
Best I can say about Benedet: he looks the part. Doesn’t look cement-footed, weak, or lost. Basically everything we thought Ozzy Trapilo would be. If Wright is out, could be worse.
Caleb in context. Indiana Jones new Alex Smith? Kevin Cole
2025 quarterback efficiency (EPA/Play), min 50 dropbacks *Updated for MNF
1) Daniel Jones +0.42 2) Jared Goff +0.38 3) Lamar Jackson +0.37 4) Josh Allen +0.34 5) Jordan Love +0.25 6) Baker Mayfield +0.23 7) Drake Maye +0.23 8) Sam Darnold +0.21 9) Justin Herbert +0.21 10) Patrick Mahomes +0.15 11) Kyler Murray +0.14 12) Dak Prescott +0.13 13) Matthew Stafford +0.12 14) Jalen Hurts +0.12 15) Aaron Rodgers +0.10 16) Caleb Williams +0.09 17) Mac Jones +0.08 18) Geno Smith +0.07 19) Tyrod Taylor +0.03 20) Russell Wilson +0.03 21) Spencer Rattler +0.01 22) Trevor Lawrence +0.01 23) Bryce Young -0.01 24) Jayden Daniels -0.01 25) Bo Nix -0.03 26) C.J. Stroud -0.04 27) Michael Penix Jr. -0.04 28) Tua Tagovailoa -0.07 29) Jake Browning -0.17 30) Joe Flacco -0.23 31) Cam Ward -0.24 32) J.J. McCarthy -0.29
BJ Cooking:
The Bears have converted seven out of eight redzone trips into touchdowns.
It was a fantastic week of football. Bears won. Cowboys lost. Puke Lost [to Browns no less]. 1-2 can easily turn into 2-2, heading into the bye on an up note.
By the PFF scores, Shemar Turner did not have a good game in his first outing.
He had the 2nd lowest PFF score on the defense with 30.0
HOWEVER, before everyone jumps all over this.
He only played 23 snaps.
His pass rush score was 59.6.
While that seems low, 60.0 is the starting score for all players when PFF grades games.
His low overall score is based on 1 missed tackle. Because he had so many fewer snaps than most players, one bad play can swing the PFF score wildly. That put his tackling & run defense scores in the basement.
He didn’t record any pressures & as someone said “looked on ice skates” out there, but I don’t want to rush to judgement yet
It was his first game after missing almost all of training camp
Let’s wait to see a handful of games of reps from him before we draw any early conclusions
Gervon Dexter had a 55.4 pass rush grade in his first Bears game, btw
Some QB/Caleb info.
it's still early but for all the talk of the six QBs from last year's draft class, it's starting to look like only the first three matter – Caleb, Daniels, Maye
Nix is dead last in PFF grade McCarthy is the only QB to ever make KOC's system look bad Penix has been brutal so far
Caleb’s deep ball accuracy, an issue we were all fretting about, has improved which is great because Ben Johnson is taking deeper shots with Caleb than with noodle-armed Goff.
A positive trend for Caleb Williams early in the season has been his improved deep ball accuracy.
On 20+ yard throws per PFF, here are his numbers this year.
7/14, 50% (T-7th) 240 Yards (4th) 2 Touchdowns (T-5th) PFF Grade: 92.8 (7th) 6 Big Time Throws (5th)
One difference between Ben Johnson's lions offense and Bears offense. Bears are attacking downfield.
Goff's average air yards per target with DET was 6.6. Williams is 8.8. And he's not just chucking it. It's by design which makes sense with the skillsets of Williams and Odunze https://t.co/4dZwEbG1Os
What an ass-whooping! For some reason, Bears always lay points on Cowboys since 2010:
2010. Bears W. 27 points 2012. Bears W. 34 points 2013. Bears W. 45 points 2014. Bears L. 28 points 2016. Bears L. 17 points 2019. Bears W. 31 points 2022. Bears L. 29 points 2025. Bears W. 31 points
That means Bears avg 30 points/g vs Cowboys in last 8 clashes; wish Bears could play them whenever they need to kick-start sputtering offense.
Few quick observations.
1. The oline held up vs rush. This is the first game Caleb hasn’t been sacked. That’s both a testament to this oline’s strength as well as Caleb’s mobility, pocket awareness, and frankly, piss poor Dallas pass rush.
On the flip side, the pure run game struggled once more. It wasn’t really ’til late that it began gaining traction.
But to quote the Wolf from Pulp Fiction, ‘Let’s not start sucking each other’s d*cks quite yet.’ Two things I noticed.
1. It seems Caleb sails when his release point looks premature and high. Is this related to height? He does it even when he has a clean pocket, so it’s a matter of consistency. Dunks are great, but gotta make the free-throws as well.
2. Maybe because of #1, Caleb continues missing. In this game, Caleb did hit most of the wide open receivers, yet struggled more with the contested throws. I would love to see his comp% with contested plays vs when the receivers are 2YDs open. At one point the broadcast counted 4 ‘off’ throws. Granted, this happens to all QBs. I watched Mahomes miss Kelce badly vs Gmen, and that’s about as solid a duo as you’re going to find; nevertheless, an issue to track going forward because Ben Johnson specifically addressed improving Caleb’s accuracy during preseason.
Speaking of Ben Johnson, his O has scored 30+ points on Eberflus 5 out of last 7 games.
Reality check:
This is the #Bears' best offensive performance against a bad defense since 2024, when they scored 36 vs. the Panthers and 35 vs. the Jaguars in back-to-back games under Shane Waldron. https://t.co/j81J8M8eWy
Friendly reminder. And let's not forget that Trubisky actually got pulled OUT of this game or else he may be the current QB with the record for most TDs. Let that sink in… https://t.co/OPQcn3noUk
We’ve been through “turning the corner”, “finally arrived” “at last we got a franchise QB!” with Cutler, Trubisky and Fields: all turned out to be fugazi.
This could be Caleb’s “Tampa Bay Christening.” Dallas’ D could simply be that dreadful.
That being said, if you’re given a gift, you take it. Caleb is trending in the right direction, and that’s priority numero uno.
#Cowboys vs #Bears has us puzzled all year long! We need something to help on defense—whether it’s scheme, personnel, or coaching. Is it too soon to tell? We were ranked 29th on defense before this game… where do you all think we’ll be ranked after? pic.twitter.com/DSd7RekdGR
On D, well, raise your hand if you predicted the Bears’ D to hold Dallas to 14 points!
The start of the game continued to look like a horror show. Cowboys were just shredding the D, then, the unthinkable occurred.
Arguably the worst starting CB in the league, Tyrique Stevenson, made a play that completely reversed momentum.
FINALLY, somebody on the Bears’ D made a play like a blue-chipper. Apparently, a player’s only meeting was called that I missed.
Disgusted by the ugly start to the season, Bears safety Jaquan Brisker said he and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett called a players-only meeting for the defense Wednesday. It helped rally them to a 31-14 win over the Cowboys on Sunday.https://t.co/ibKbk4FWe7
Whatever was said WORKED. I frankly wasn’t expecting a win. I only wanted Bears to play with some pride. They did, and then some. Defensive game-ball went to Tremaine Edmunds who made not one but TWO plays when badly needed. Don’t think we’ve seen that from a MLB since Lach.
Bears defense making Dak look like a backup. Pickens' debut going exactly how the Steelers hoped – another Cowboys disaster unfolding. Total meltdown in Chicago.pic.twitter.com/oyqXqmUO0E
Also, tip-o-the-hat to Dennis Allen who called a great game. Look at that 2nd pick. Allen had Sweat peel off into flats to essentially bracket TE Ferguson [who I think was 10/10 at that point] PLUS prevent Dak from booting.
Dak was trying to look-off coverage by feigning the middle, turned right to his true target in Ferguson, spotted a 6’7 monster staring right at him with secondary over the top, quickly shifted left with Dexter right in his face, finally chucking an INT in desperation.
Truly a team effort. Scheme, execution, and playmaking.
HOWEVER, this D still concerns me bigly. Those DTs were on skates; defenders taking bad angles, and seemingly confused [look at how late they were lining-up on several snaps]. CB Nathon Wright specifically played nightmarishly. I feel like a major part of their opportunism was pure Dallas incompetence. No doubt CeeDee Lamb getting INJed helped Bears’ D, but how the heck do you lose a game when you’re basically getting first downs at will and AVGing like 6-7 per rush while the D was ailing giving up 52 previously, with a 2nd string LB, 4rth string CB, and little to no pressure/sacks ’til late?
But hey, that’s a COWGIRL problem. For once it feels fantastic playing a team that chokes more than…[fill in the blank].
A wins a win.
Let’s celebrate Ben Johnson’s first victory. May it be the first of countless. Every journey starts with a step. Let’s go!
Victoire Bears 31-14. Match propre des 2 côtés du terrain. Aucune perte de balle côté chicago vs 4 pour les @DallasCowboysFr 4TDs pour Caleb et 298yds. Pas de sack encaissés. La défense a sorti les Big Plays au bon moment, 2 Int dans la endzone. On peut gagner alors… pic.twitter.com/KN5NaJFt56
Watching TNF MIA@BUFF felt eerily familiar. I know a guy whose first two wives were Asian. Met the 3rd, déjà vu, also Asian. To his credit, 3rd time seems to be the charm. Will that be the case for Da Bears?
It wasn’t for the Miami Dolphins.
Dolphins were 0-2 playing some horrendous football; they lost to the Colts and Pats. Not exactly SB favorites.
On a short week travelling to Buffalo, everyone expected them to get curb-stomped; however, they put up a fight, and the score was tied at 21-21 with 10 mins left. Dolphins made a crucial stop, forcing Bills to punt on 4rth and 7.
Then, Fins Finned, as once the Chargers Charged and the Lions Loined.
Fins ran into the punter, giving the Bills a 1st down [can you imagine how the schmuck who put down $37K on MIA to win felt?].
Predictably, the Bills marched down the field and scored a TD.
Fins clawed back only to end on a Tua INT just the way the universe scripts it.
Despite the close score, the game felt pre-determined from that start.
Somehow, someway, I knew MIA was going to lose. The details were nearly irrelevant to anyone outside bettors and FFers.
Everyone knew MIA would find a way to sabotage themselves, because, well, that’s what atrocious teams do.
Now they’re 0-3.
Sound familiar?
I’m at the point where I simply don’t want the Bears to embarrass the city any further. It’s gotten Trestmanesque, pronto, and if BJ flops, he’ll be the last ‘nerd’ to ever HC the Bears in our lifetime.
I’ll settle for a MIA-type effort where they come out showing some fucking pride and professionalism, even if I know they’ll find someway to blow the game.
The booth showed how Allen changed his mechanics from his rook year. Can get all technical, but essentially Allen’s shoulders are more square while trusting the torque over rifling. He is taller than Caleb, so I wonder if that factors? Also, it’s not as if Prime-Rodgers had picturesque tech, and he’s about the same size as Caleb.
I’m not saying Caleb Williams is on Josh Allen’s trajectory
But Caleb Williams dysfunctional rookie season was statistically comparable Josh Allen’s 2nd year in the NFL.
Here, next time PFF tries to gaslight you that Braxton is actually an above avg LT. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Benedet start over Braxton and Monangai over Swift to send a message.
I just laugh when people throw PFF numbers at me 😂
I can go into a Dataeque deep dive citing PFF, Next Gen Stats, charts, twitter clips and still-shots, all sorts of links to former players/coaches dissecting every Bear minutia, but frankly, they’re not worth the effort.
My only take away: the ’25 Bears are subpar, soft and stupid.
1 Subpar. Or more accurately, substar in that the team rosters no real blue-chips. MAYBE Jaylon Johnson who is INJed. Maybe Thuney who is on the downslope of his career. That’s about it. In a franchise that boasts the most HOFers full of players like Butkus, Sayers, Sweetness, Dent, Hester…studs who made plays especially when the game was on the line; this current Bears’ incarnation of JAGs is the main reason I predicted Bears would finish last in NFCN. What I didn’t expect that they may finish last in the entire league. This mostly falls on Ryan Poles whom naturally the McCaskeys, in their infinite wisdom, decided to extend.
2. Soft. This is something I suspected but didn’t want to manifest into existence. This team is mentally SOFT AF. I’ve never witnessed a team fold like a cheap tent after one loss like this team did after the Washington Hail Mary. That wasn’t anomalous either, but fast forward to this year. Week 1 they were very much in that game until that bogus Wright holding call. After that obstacle, they never recovered. This week again, very much in it, until that bullshit ending to the half where the Viking should have been ruled down and clock expired. Instead, he was ruled out – Vikings rewarded six seconds back. Predictably they scored a TD, and once more, self-implosion. This team can’t handle adversity or setbacks which is a lethal mix with being…
3. Stupid. They just keep shooting themselves in the foot, whether it’s drive killing pre-snap penalties, holding, pass-interference, terrible time management, angles, situational awareness, challenges, blown coverages, going for 1st downs instead of kicking easy FGs, not kicking it out of bounds, seemingly NO professional game plan or counter-punch, and that’s not even considering the lack of execution like killer drops, missed running lanes and big plays [see #1].
This team reminds me of Mush from “The Bronx Tale.”
We all know a Mush. I have a friend who seemingly gets-off on complaining: work, family, relationships, sports, car, traffic, everything and anything. Just always self-pitying, whining, and somewhat permanently disgruntled. I love him, but I can only take so much before my Boomer-itis kicks-in, “Snap the fuck out of it!” [and he’s OLDER than I am].
I introduced him to the girl I’m dating at a happening club with plenty of skimpy clad women; he proceeded to spend half the night relaying to her his last 3 breakups. At some point she turns to me like ‘is this guy forreal? I just met him’ I just shrugged and went over to save her. We danced. He hit the bar.
He expects life to kick him in the balls, and somehow, life obliges.
“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, in both instances – you’re right.”
This team is like that. I get it, TBH. I’ve been on some terrible teams where losses completely demoralize players. Everything transforms to doom and gloom. At the beginning of each season, everyone is angelic shining with radiant hope. After a chain of brutal beat downs, that locker room disfigures into “Paradise Lost”. Sometimes a team climbs out of the fall. Often it doesn’t.
This team can’t apparently. They expect for something in the game to go south, and when it does, they quit. No 3 AM grit. No Lach in Zona refusing defeat. No coach at halftime losing his shit, throwing objects around, calling players out as men.
Meanwhile some 7th rounder named Jacory Croskey-Merritt in WK#1: 10 CAR, 82 yds, 1 TD, 8.2 yd/ra, and looked impressive as hell [if I played FF, he’d be my #1 bid on the waiver wire].
INJ report.
I tend to shy away from these this early in the week since much changes game day. Besides, our own Canada Bear does a fantastic job of updating these up to kickoff, so if you want, you can follow him on Canadian Twitter which involves sending smoke signals and quail calls…or just read his stuff here!
Lions: LB Jack Campbell, [Ankle, DNP] OT Taylor Decker [Shoulder, DNP] RB Sione Vaki [Hamstring, LP] LB Trevor Nowaske [Elbow, LP] CB Terrion Arnold [Groin, FP] S Daniel Thomas [Hand, FP]
Obviously the biggest name here is Taylor Decker. We were all relieved when Dayo didn’t dud vs Vikings, but remember, they were playing with their backup RT. Maybe Sweat takes advantage this week. He was pretty quiet week 1.
Bears:
CB Kyler Gordon [Hamstring, DNP] DT Grady Jarrett [Knee, DNP] RB Roschon Johnson [Foot, LP] WR Jahdae Walker [Ankle, LP] LB TJ Edwards [Hamstring [LIP] WR DJ Moore [Groin, FP] CB Jaylon Johnson [Groin, FP]
Both TJ Edwards and Jaylon Johnson are trending in the right direction and expected to start which are major upgrades especially since Sewell can cover about as well as a Coke machine.
Gordon [who has never played an entire season] is projected as out, while Grady Jarrett and DJ popped up on the report, so stay tuned.
What I expect from Bears
Ben Johnson chastised himself for not getting the run going more. I speculated that vs Vikings he’d likely need to pass to open up the run, and I was somewhat right. The problem was, BJ never seemed to get away from the pass, and was in way more shotgun than I prefer. This translated to arguably the least effective run game of all the openers [outside Caleb scrambles] which he took responsibility for. Also, the boot is moot if the D doesn’t respect the run.
On the other side, the Vikings started bashing the Bears late. They flipped the script and won.
Look for more 12 personnel this time, even if it means starting off more slowly. Maybe more draws to keep the D honest. BJ no doubt has more trust that the Bears’ D can serve court especially early, perhaps being more comfortable playing tight games.
On D, I think Allen won’t blitz that much, especially if Decker is out for the Lions.
For some odd reason, Goff has always mightily struggled vs Bears going back to Rams/Fangio. In fact, it was Fangio’s D which set the blueprint on how to stifle Goff. Belichick essentially used the same D against him in the SB, and they only managed a meager FG. It was so bad, McVey traded Goff to Lions, and here we are. But even Flus discombobulated Goff, and neither Fangio nor Flus are known for blitzing.
The bigger question is if Bears’ D can stop the run? They started off strong against Vikings, but boy did they wilt late [allowing 5.5 yds per run in the 4rth QTR]. Was it conditioning or lack of talent/execution? Allen’s #1 priority is to stop the run. They failed miserably last week when it mattered most; now Monty/Gibbs are revving up. You know a salty Dan Campbell would love nothing more than to ram it down BJ’s throat with Ford Field rocking.
X-Factor:
The Bears had, what, four presnap penalty vs Vikings? Some of that was attributed to Caleb’s cadence. Ironically, Ford Field will be so loud, Caleb will be using much more silent count which basically resolves the cadence issue. The drawback is the Dlinemen can fire-off, meaning more pressures. Something to monitor.
What I expect from Lions:
Well, see above. If they establish the run, then they can boot off it which is what Goff does best. At this point, they can basically call whatever they want, but I suspect they’d target our backup NB on a bunch of middle zones if Gordon is out; then it gets ugly.
On, D, should be interesting. Caleb had success, kinda, vs the zone Flores initially implemented. However, Caleb struggled when Vikes started blitzing. Blitzing Caleb is a dangerous game though. 1. He’s great at escaping and scrambling. 2. He’s actually a better passer on the run. 3. This will leave Rome/DJ/TE one-on-one. This is why teams stopped blitzing Trubisky and just sat in zone which turned him into a backup.
My guess – Lions won’t blitz at first and see how it goes much like Flores.
Overall:
Expect a tighter game with many 3 and outs on both sides. This game will come down to a handful of key plays which I think Caleb will make, and Goff won’t because, for some inexplicable reason, the Bears’ D is his kryptonite. They’ll turn it over more than the Bears, and that will be game [if Santos can actually make FGs].
