Bears’ D still as awful as it was pre-bye, and even a pick-6 wasn’t enough to mask it.
Dline pushed around. Bad angles. Slow recognition. Loose coverage.
Pass rush non-existent, and run defense a sieve.
Only thing that slowed down 9ers was their INJs.
It’s hard to imagine this team getting to SB with such a sub-par defense, but one must also remember that the Bears were, again, a throw away from stealing a victory against an 11-win team competing for the #1 seed at their house.
Gotta trust that both Ben Johnson and more specifically Dennis Allen can learn from the beating and adapt.
If not, it’ll be a short playoffs.
Tag: Dennis Allen
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Bears Lose 9er Shoot-out 38-42
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Rapid Reax: Bears Eke Out Another ‘W’. NFCN Leaders
Chicago Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright intercepts a pass intended for Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison during a football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Minneapolis.
(AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
If I had told you on Saturday that Caleb Williams would go 50%, 183 YDs, 0 TDs, 2 sacks, 68.9 QB Rating -that Cairo would miss a vital FG, and Bears’ victory would hinge on a Duvernay KR, would you have even tuned into the game on Sunday?
Nevertheless, Bears won
And almost as sweet, the Lions lost
Which means the Bears are the uncontested Kings of the North!For game highlights, click here.
Ben Johnson post-presser here.
Few general impressions.
1. Wasn’t overly enthused with Ben Johnson’s play calling. Way too much shot-gun on 3rd and short when the obvious strength of the O is the run; it’s not as if the Vikings were shutting it down on Sunday either. Too much “Nagy-ball” for my taste.
And bringing out Bagent as a decoy twice on critical 3rds? Eh
Punting on that 4rth and 5 was also dubious. It would’ve been wrong if not for an improbable Duvernay return or possible Caleb miracle.
2. Caleb still inconsistent especially versus aggressive DCs like Brian Flores.
It was obvious early on that Flores was going to shut down the perimeter attack. He continually sent edge blitzes to stuff the zone-stretch runs, and force Caleb to recognize the blitz and throw lasers over the middle from the collapsing pocket.
Result?
Well, see above stat line.Caleb Williams had season-low marks in completion % (50.0) & first downs (6). EPA/dropback (-0.07), rating (68.9) & YPA (6.0) were second-lowest of the season. The Vikings also threw a ton at him, blitzing 66.7% of the time, per@TruMediaSports
& he did not turn it over – Kevin FishbainIt may very well be that Vikings’ D is that dynamic. They did win 14 games last season and held Lamar Jackson to 58%, 176 YDs, 1 TD.
Regardless, Caleb would be the first to admit his performance is unacceptable. His end of game reaction says it all, and I for one am glad he expressed obvious frustration. Sign of a true competitor.3. I wondered aloud, “Is Allen a better DC than BJ an OC?”
Maybe.
While BJ has definitely gotten results scoring 9 more PPG than ’24 Flus, he’s also played with practically a full deck especially when contrasted to the MASH unit Allen is working with, yet that D out-performed the O. It only relented on that very last series.
Now part of this was JJ McCarthy [in only his 5th start] inconsistency [sound familiar?]When JJ was off, he was REALLY off, which lead to 2 INTs that Caleb, to his credit, never chucked.
But I’m actually shocked the Bears’ run D held up. I mean, have the Bears EVER won a game when Aaron Jones started?
So kudos to Dennis the Menace Allen. He’s squeezed every bit of talent from the lemons Poles and INJs unloaded on him.I’m sure Rev will send Cairo Santos a congratulatory bouquet.
Kevin Fishbain Cairo Santos now has the Bears’ franchise record for most 50+ field goals (24).
On specials, well, they were terrible for a lot of the game, AGAIN, and that big Vikings’ PR essentially resuscitated them to a near victory. Then this happened.
Game. Blouses.
This will technically go down as Caleb’s 5th ‘comeback’ win, but he just handed it off 3 times to get Santos into FG range at the end.Overtime:
Bears have greatly increased their playoff chances according to Rain Men.What in the actual…
Sums it up quite succinctly.
Nevetheless, 7-3 and NFCN leaders, baby!
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Victory Monday! Bears 26, Saints 14
Lots of thoughts, but here’s a condensed version.
The Defense came out on fire [most of] that first half. That was a championship D akin to the famous ’18 and ’06 predecessors.
We heard about ‘bend don’t break’, but the Allen D was more like ‘break but force a turnover’. In that first half, they were not even bending; in fact, fuck you, we’re stuffing the run, sacking your QB, then taking that ball. Absolute dominance.Tez Effect seems to be back, and he was SORELY needed.
Talked about it last week, but TJ Edwards back seems to line up everyone properly, thusly making them play faster and more downhill. Minimized are the wide open lanes, bad angles, missed tackles and total blown coverages.
Tremaine Edmunds [3 INTs] is now free to use his speed; Brisker and Gordon sniffing the LOS is making QBs shit-bricks while Kevin Byard suddenly patrols the back end like Ed Reed.
I also wonder how much Shemar Turner at DE has helped stabilize that line, especially vs run. If Austin Booker returns full-force, watch out.NGL, this offense, specifically Caleb Williams, sputtered for much of the game. It was just funky from the start, from taking the snap, penalties, dropped passes, scramble drills that had little chance to questionable play-calling [like those WR screens]. Did Caleb even complete 5 passes from inside the pocket?
Caleb Williams completed 15-of-26 passes for 172 yards and an interception.
It wasn’t pretty, and Caleb admitted as much. TBH, it’s a bit concerning particularly when one sees what Drake Maye is cooking in NE.
Luckily for the Bears’ O, their run game continued to steamroll.
Trivia Time:
D’Andre Swift had 124 rushing yards and Kyle Monangai had 81, marking the first time the Bears had two running backs rush for more than 80 yards since??? ANSWER
I loved Ben Johnson’s attacks. Yes, it was meat-n-potatoes traps, stretches, and combo blocks; however, he also mixed in some misdirection that perhaps didn’t pop, but at least helped to keep the Saints’ D honest and somewhat freeze them from just busting in.
More importantly, BJ made great halftime tweaks. He finally began using more playaction [boot] to get easy passes for a struggling O. This was enough to milk the clock, scratch some points together, and close it out; other wise, it could’ve been a one score game had the refs not bailed out BJ on that 4rth and goal disaster.
The specials didn’t shit the bed, and the rest was sorta just Judo – letting a bad team defeat itself, and here we are with the Bears at 4-2 riding momentum.
Chicago relying on turnovers and a strong run game?
“History doesn’t repeat but it rhymes”