Da Dos

Tag: Rapid-Fire

  • Rapid Reax: Bears Eke Out Another ‘W’. NFCN Leaders

    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 Fishbain

    It 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!

  • Rapid Recap: Bears Beat Raiders

    Rapid Recap: Bears Beat Raiders

    Photo courtesy of AP News

    What a WILD game. I think this was the craziest game since that infamous Zona circa 2006.

    Talk about the Raiders letting Bears off the hook!

    Ashton Jeanty rushed for 128 yds, 1 TD, 6.5 per along with TWO rec TDs

    The #1 key was to stop or minimally contain Jeanty; they failed miserably.

    And before you crown his ass, a 33 yr old Raheem Mostert rushed 4 times for 62 yds at a mindboggling 15.5 per carry. They may as well have been Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl

    Raiders rushed for a total of 240 yds.7.7 avg yet somehow managed to still lose!

    Bears@Raiders Highlights

    I have way too many thoughts on the game to squeeze into one post but few pertinent notes.

    1. The Bears came out slow. I think they had 97 yds total in the first half despite the D spotting them great field position. Four times they started in Raider territory yet flopped.

    This was a combo of Nagyesque small-ball, Crosby scud, dropped passes, batted throws, miscues and way too many stupid penalties. Kmet especially did his best Kellen Davis impression.


    2. Raiders blitzed over 9 times, which was more in one half than Flus the entire game previously; it rattled Caleb. He looked uncomfortable, making iffy decisions [including on RPOs] and off throws. When he did scramble, his cast didn’t help him much. It was all discombobulated.

    3. The run game stunk! 69 yd total, 2.7 avg. Ben Johnson reverted to Nagy-ball of quick screens, flats and dump-offs near the LOS to essentially act as the defacto run game. Only thing missing was empty-set diamond formation. The results were predictable.

    However, all this seemed to change once Braxton was out [benched?], Benedet moved to LT, and Trapilo debuted at RT in the final drive before the half.

    After the half, the oline seemed to settle-in while BJ became more aggressive.

    It appeared BJ just gave up on the run, putting the game on Caleb’s shoulder, and he responded.

    I wrote in real time that Caleb somehow looks more comfortable in the clutch than at the start of games. It’s truly odd. The ‘scripted’ plays didn’t help much today.

    Caleb is a walking Dickenson quote, “It was the worst of halves, it was the best of halves…”

    Then came the final drive where it was all on Caleb.

    Flus’ Bears would’ve folded like knock-off jeans from a sweat-shop by the 4rth, but the Bears kept clawing back, including the D that forced the Raiders to settle for a FG late.

    The Bears’ final drive itself was bumpy as well. As Data keenly relayed:

    Bears were shooting themselves in the foot from the 1st drive. I’m shocked they had any paws to stand on by the last.

    Nonetheless, Caleb matriculated the ball downfield, and here we gotta give Swift some love as he finished when it mattered most.

    Naturally, it’s the Bears, so they [badly] screwed up the 2-point conversion making it 25-24 Bears.

    At this point, our Angelo-Emery-Pace-Poles trauma triggered as we were cynically expecting the inevitable, no Vaseline.

    Sure enough, the Raiders waltzed down field like Fred Astaire through the Red Sea, reaching the Kicker’s Promised Land which felt like anything near the 50.

    Like Pavlovian losers, I wouldn’t be shocked if thousands of Bear fans hit the parking-lot trying to beat Strip traffic or make one last all-you-can-eat buffet before leaving Vegas buzzed, broke and bitter.

    Then, the unimaginable manifested.
    Daniel Carslon lined up for a seemingly chip-shot 54 yd FG…

    Boom-shaka-laka!

    It only took 4 TOs, a slew of Raider mistakes, 4 Cairo FGs [including two beyond 51], a Tori coffin corner inside the 1 plus a blocked FG for a Bears’ victory!

    Crown em!

  • Rapid Fire PS#3

    Rapid Fire PS#3

    This will be short since I left the PS Game 3 thread up over the weekend.

    1. Pass-rush was non-existent. Dayo especially to me looked like a JAG. Everyone else disappeared. Watching Billings try to chase down dad-runner Mahomes was like Benny Hill chasing around bikini-clad buxoms.

    2. The first team O struggled vs first team KC D. Granted, Thuney wasn’t in, but it just looked sloppy and, well, Nagy-esque.

    3. Even if “PS wins don’t matter”, I still put forth that win was good for overall morale. They played in a hostile environment, clawing back.

    Bills, Chiefs, Eagles, Ravens, etc don’t need PS wins.

    Poles’ Bears have done little but lose, so even it’s a PS game, it’s some momentum.

    Better than losing.

    On Blog note, the cuts will happen manana. We may see some early rumors and whatnot, so I’ll likely just post a ‘cut thread’ for Tues.