Dec 24, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields (1) greets fans after the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Good morning, Chicago!
And welcome to a very special Christmas edition of Victory Monday.
We all have things going on, so let’s keep this one short …
I don’t think there’s a team I enjoy watching more than the first-half Bears or a team I enjoy watching less than the second-half Bears.
But all in all, Sunday’s 27-16 win over the Cardinals should go down as a positive. Sure, we would’ve liked to see the Bears turn the Cardinals into the duck at the end of A Christmas Story with surgical precision, but that’s hard to do in the NFL, particularly when you’re a team of the Bears caliber.
The 6-9 Bears have officially doubled last year’s win total and the good news is that the rebuild is well past the halfway point. At least it seems like that? The defense is one additional impact player away from being a real problem for other teams. The offense is probably two or three players away from being the same. Not bad for a team that was stripped bare just one season ago and started this year 0-4.
The bad news? There’s no clear answer on how to take that next step. Everyone has varying opinions on whether the Bears need a new head coach, new offensive coordinator, new quarterback or all three. Whatever the answer, the move will be a tricky one and worlds more difficult than adding, say, a shutdown corner or a Pro Bowl guard.
Plus, as Bears fans, we’re all conditioned to assume that whatever path the Bears take will be the wrong one.
Justin Fields had the most Justin Fields performance. He was amazing on the ground with 97 rushing yards and would’ve had another 32 were it not for a Lucas Patrick penalty. He was good through the air in the first half, but less so in the second. A fourth-quarter interception in the end zone was less than ideal, particularly when a field goal would’ve made it a three-possession game. Like most Fields games, you could take whatever you wanted to take from it.
I still loved seeing him running along the Soldier Field stands while celebrating with the Bears fans who chose to celebrate their holiday at the game. He’s a great Chicago Bear and there’s still a big part of me — the fan part in me — that wants to see the story through to the end, potential consequences be damned.
Would you have taken 8-9 at the start of the season? That’s still in play if the Bears can finish with wins over the Falcons and Packers.
It was a good day for the 39-year-olds! Bears tight end Marcedes Lewis caught a one-yard touchdown pass for the first score of his 18th NFL season. Meanwhile Cardinals kicker Matt Prater drilled a 55-yard field goal. No easy task at Soldier Field, no matter how mild the weather.
Not a big fan of the wave at Soldier Field, but you do you if you show up for a largely meaningless game on Christmas Eve.
