Over the past week, the Chicago Bears have taken 1st place in the NFC! They have been on fire lately. Currently, they are 9–3 after finishing Week 13. Last year, after Week 13, they were 4–9, so as you can see, they have made a major improvement. The last time the Bears had a winning season was in 2018. Right now, they are being discussed as one of the best teams in the NFL. Last year, they were 28th in the league. Bears fans are all super excited, as the team has been consistently pulling off late-game wins. They have pulled off five 4th-quarter wins this season, and some of them happened in just one play. This happened against the Commanders with Jake Moody’s kick, and also against the Bengals with Colston Loveland’s crazy catch on the last play.
The Bears are guaranteed a winning record now, and if they beat the Packers next week, they are guaranteed a playoff spot. The Bears have proven they can be a great team. The Packers and the Lions could not get past the Eagles’ defense, but the Bears just had both Kyle Monangai and D’Andre Swift rush for over 100 yards. To put that into perspective, the last time this happened was in 1985 with Walter Payton (arguably the greatest running back of all time) and Matt Suhey. That feat also happened during the 1985 Bears season, and that team is considered one of the greatest of all time.
The Bears also have a chance at setting some records this year. So far, they are the only team in NFL history to score over 20 points in each of their first five games of the season. Another record that could be set is Caleb Williams becoming the first quarterback in Bears history to pass for over 4,000 yards in a season. Currently, Caleb has 2,722 yards after Week 13. So far, the Bears have struggled the most on defense. They are great at forcing turnovers—three of the league’s interception leaders are Bears players—but they struggle to stop the run. They have a pretty strong linebacker core with players like Tremaine Edmunds, Noah Sewell, and T.J. Edwards. They also have other standout defensive players such as Jaylon Johnson, Montez Sweat, Nashon Wright, Kyler Gordon, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Jaquan Brisker.
This week is Week 14, and the Bears need to bring their best. They play their biggest rivals in one of the most important games of the season: the Packers. The Packers are currently 8-3-1. If the Bears win, they keep 1st place in the NFC. If they lose, they give it up to their rivals. The Packers have had a great season, but they have also lost to some weaker teams like the Browns and the Panthers. They lost to the Eagles twice, and the Bears beat the Eagles, which gives the Bears even more hope. This is one of the biggest games of the year. Let’s see if the Bears can win and stay #1!
I also interviewed some Bears fans at EMS. I asked them three questions:
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Are you excited about the Bears’ performance this year, and why?
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What improvements have they made that you like?
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What things still need to be fixed?
Here is what they said:
Mr. Bellini:
“1) Yes, we are coming together as a team, and our coaching staff is great!
2) The team is having fun and having each other’s backs.
3) Edge rushers!”
Mr. Bane:
“1) Yes, it feels like a special team this year with all the right pieces in the mix.
2) The coaching change was a big improvement, as well as beefing up the offensive line with veterans.
3) Edge rusher, and maybe a guy who can clog the middle on the defensive front.”
Brady Thompson:
“1) Yes, we have a great coaching staff and even better players.
2) The new improvements that I like are our coaching and THE Kyle Manungi.
3) Some things we need to fix are continuing to improve our O-line and getting a more explosive defense, especially in our pass rush.”
