Good morning Chicago.
And welcome to Victory Friday!
The 14-game losing streak is over. The Bears are in the win column. The weather outside is the stuff that fall Chicago dreams are made of.
Let’s have ourselves a weekend!
But not before we get to our first set of victory thoughts …
- Was I too early in proclaiming there’s no way Matt Eberflus could recover from a 3-18 start as Chicago Bears head coach? Maybe. There’s still a big hole to climb out of, but the season is long and seeing the Bears respond to the adversity by going on the road with four days of rest to hang a 40-burger on Washington is encouraging. The Bears couldn’t ask for a better situation than to have Minnesota and Las Vegas coming through Chicago for the next two games. I’d love nothing more than to eat crow.
- 1+2=18! Last night’s performance exceeded even our wildest dreams when Ryan Poles traded for DJ Moore last spring. Moore had eight catches for 230 yards and three touchdowns. He might’ve even had more had the official not blown that one play dead (though the All-22 angles weren’t favorable to the Bears). Justin Fields also pointed out he had an overthrow on another possible touchdown.
- Since CHGO Bears started the #StandWithFields movement, QB1 is 43-for-64 for eight touchdowns, one interception, 699 yards and a 131.3 passer rating. Just saying.
- Credit to Luke Getsy for making the necessary changes these last two games, but can he plan around the intense correction that will be thrown at DJ Moore? Only two other players (both tight ends) caught balls last night and Chase Claypool is off to Miami. Who’s going to step up for that opportunity?
- Whether you’re old enough to have watched him or just have family members who did, the high expectations we have as Bears fans were all set by the play of Dick Butkus. Tough. Fierce. 100 percent effort. He and the example set by Walter Payton are why we get so angry whenever they’re not met.
- Darnell Wright’s truck-strick pancake block was a great tribute to Dick’s dominance.
- This offensive line might just work out if Teven Jenkins and Nate Davis keep contributing.
- Valiant effort by Khari Blasingame in the second half, but let’s hope this extended time off lets the running back room get back to health.
- Are you looking forward to seeing Terrell Smith more? Me too.
- It’s a great day to have Cole Kmet on CHGO Bears for his first postgame appearance. See everyone on YouTube at noon.
PS – Thanks to everyone who contributed to my Chicago Marathon fund for Cal’s Angels earlier in the week! You can still pitch in to help area kids battling pediatric cancer!
More coverage from CHGO Bears
• The CHGO Bears Pod held its first Winners Lounge in almost a year
• Nicholas Moreano went deep on the Fields-Moore connection
• Adam Hoge, Greg Braggs and Mark Carman handed out game balls
• Braggs said the Bears are finally playing to their potential
• Herb Lawrence and I remembered Dick Butkus in a special podcast
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