Not using the Cowgirls for this week. Reserving their big hair, big boots, big…pom-poms for when Bears play!

Teams on bye: Bears, Falcons, Packers, Steelers.

Normally, I’d argue a WK5 bye is way too early, but this year it feels right. Some players badly need it to heal up. Bears go into it after a 2-win streak, including an incredibly dramatic Raider finale. Plus, Ben Johnson is still a rookie HC, so a brief intermission to ‘re-center’ and do some meta to steer the car in the right direction before going off a ditch – not the worst possibility.

The next 5 games aren’t exactly daunting. @Wash, v-NO, @Balt, @Cincy, v-NYG

Bears can realistically go 4-1 in that stretch [esp if the rumors about Poles trading for a Dlinemen are true], then playoffs are well in the mix.