Before Ben Johnson broke it down with a more subdued version of “Good, better, best” Sunday night inside the Bears’ locker room, he had a clear message for his team:
“We’re building. Our best football is yet to come. All right? Believe that. We’re going to take a nice little break, have a nice little rest over the bye week, but then when we come back, that’s when the real season starts. We all in agreement there?”
The players emphatically responded in unison:
“Yes, sir!”
Following the Bears’ 27-24 win over the Buccaneers, Johnson might even get a little rest over the bye week himself. Emphasis on “a little.” Chances are he’ll be looking into ways to make the 7-2 Chicago Bears even better, including Tuesday’s 3 p.m. CT trade deadline.
The Bears have been good. Better than last year. But if they want to win the Super Bowl, their best is still needed.
Last year, Johnson repeatedly emphasized a similar message: The Bears were building towards playing their best football in December and January. They won 11 regular season games and made it to the divisional round of the playoffs.
The reality, though, was that they peaked on Black Friday with a complete 24-15 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles – the defending Super Bowl champions. After rushing for 281 yards in that game, their run game was inconsistent the rest of the season, which contributed to them finishing 3-4 the rest of the way, including the playoffs.
Like last season, the Bears’ most complete victory this year was against the defending champions on the road – a 34-17 win over the Seahawks. But Sunday’s much less impressive win over the Bucs was a reminder that the win over Seattle can’t be their peak.
With that in mind, here are 10 areas the Bears need to improve after the bye if they want to make a realistic run at the Super Bowl:
1. Dial in the run game and get the running backs healthy.
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