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If you're not convinced that the Chicago Bears are really what they're looking for, they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-1 with a 48-10 win or completed their second three-game winning streak of the season. regular 2018 with a doubled. victory in the tenth week against the desperate Detroit Lions, the Sunday night win against the Minnesota Vikings should do the trick.
Those who left by questioning the new look of the Bears would be well advised to wonder how close 7-3 Chicago is to 10-0. This team lost three games with one point each and 11 points in total.
The first defeat came when Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers made a miraculous comeback to win a point win at Lambeau Field. The second came when the Miami Dolphins made a comeback in the fourth quarter to beat Chicago in overtime in South Florida. The third took place when the New England Patriots needed two special teams to hit the Bears 38 to 31 at Soldier Field.
There were a lot of self-inflicted injuries in these games, and a more experienced team could have won all three. But that's what's so scary about these bears.
They become more and more experienced, more experienced, more resilient.
The Bears early in the season might not have held up in the circumstances between the Vikings Sunday night. But second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky faces points 3 and 8 on a 27-yard line just minutes after reigning champions NFC North reduced the gap in Chicago to a goal at the end of the fourth quarter, launched a 17-yard pass. Dart to Allen Robinson II for a crucial first on the game player.
Trubisky, who carried the ball 10 times for 43 yards and ranks first among the quarterbacks in this discipline, continued on that momentum with a five-yard run that was assessed a penalty for a late stroke and led to a placement that would give to his team an insurmountable. drive.
Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press
The 24-year-old, who is subject to mistakes at times, pitched two interceptions on Sunday night, but Bears head coach Matt Nagy relied on his quarterback to lead the way.
It's a sign that this team believes in itself and trusts its talent.
Ditto for the moment the Bears sent kicker Cody Parkey on the field to score the decisive goal at the end of the game. It was said that they might have been better off trying their luck on the 4th and 4th places on the 30-meter Minnesota line, but Parkey had the chance to give Chicago a two-goal lead with an attempt of 48 yards.
He also managed to spend three evenings on three days after having sadly hit the vertical four times in this victory over Detroit.
Red Line Radio @RedLineRadio
The coach's reaction to Cody Parkey's goal is entirely from Chicago. Https://t.co/JUmDpFe8e5
All of this put together, and you have a potentially galvanizing performance for a young team that now leads the North 1.5 game and has the tiebreaker against the only other team in the division above .500 . The Bears have won two consecutive divisional games for the first time in six years. They have now outclassed their opponents by 16 points in three games this season.
The Vikings will always have a chance, especially since they will face the Bears at home in the 17th week, but they are no more than a 4-4-1 dating back to the second week. Minnesota's offensive has not taken off as planned with Kirk Cousins Dalvin Cook is back and the Vikings are facing a busy schedule (highlighted by consecutive road games in New England and Seattle in December).
Faced with large deficits in mid-November, neither Packers nor Lions seem to have run. And it is likely that the rest of the division will spend a good part of the year fighting, starting with a game of Week 12 between Minnesota and Green Bay.
It is possible that Trubisky, always raw, who often goes from heroes to heroes one after the other, makes a mistake that the Bears can not recover, especially when there is still a margin for them. # 39; error. is tiny in December or January. It is possible that these bears are not ready to run.
But at this point, you have to consider Chicago as the favorite to win the NFC North and as a real competitor. You do not have to group the Bears with the New Orleans Saints 9-1 or the Los Angeles Rams 9-1, but with the Vikings, Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins losing on Sunday, they are the only NFC team other than New Orleans and LA that has less than four losses.
They may well be the best candidate to spoil a NFC Rams-Saints game that has often been unavoidable, especially since they still have only two games to play against current record-breaking opponents.
Aside from their lack of experience (which gets less and less disturbing every week), it's hard to find a major problem with this team.
Nagy has launched a long dormant offense with an innovative and imaginative approach. Its heavy deployment offensive takes into account Trubisky's strengths and places the North Carolina product in a favorable position, especially in third place (where the Bears were at 50% against Minnesota, which gives them a decisive advantage in terms of time). possession).
Colin Cowherd @Colin Cowherd
The Bears' staff really plays with every Trubisky force. The NFL's training is at its best in 2018. Always on the move. So smart and fun to watch.
Despite some bad decisions, Trubisky entered Sunday as the 11th passer of the league, and he continues to make a huge difference with his legs. This helped him to have a solid duet of half-smelters in Jordan Howard, the captive of sliding passes Tarik Cohen, four prime targets in Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, Anthony Miller and Trey Burton and an offensive line that continues to excel thanks to the superb game of Charles Leno Jr., Bobby Massie and Cody Whitehair.
And then there's a defense that held the Vikings to just three points in the first three quarters of Sunday night's game. Even after yielding yards and dots in the time lost to Minnesota, this unit has now lost 22 points or less in four straight wins and has generated 10 points in its last three outings.
Next generation statistics @NextGenStats
Akiem Hicks and Khalil Mack played a key role in the Bears 25-20 win against the Vikings in Week 11.
Hicks (8) and Mack (7) combined for 15 Disruptions, representing the best of all the defensive duets of the 11th week.
#MINvsCHI #DaBears https://t.co/WJVIli3CWp
With defensive linemen Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks have both established All-Pro caliber seasons, Chicago's defense has taken 11th place in the Football Outsiders DVOA standings, and another dominant performance against the Vikes is expected help.
Hicks had five tackles for defeat (according to Pro Football Focus), Mack had a sack and a forced fumble, Eddie Jackson had a huge fourth quarter win (the 18th best season interception of the season in Chicago) and very vaunted Leonard Floyd played several times in the 25-20 win.
Danny Parkins @DannyParkins
#Bears have a legitimate chance to win a Division Title, Coach of the Year, Executive of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and a handful of Pro Bowlers.
Maybe you were not ready to crown the Bears after they fought in Green Bay, that they crushed the Bucs, suspended with the Patriots and hammered the Lions. Your argument would then probably have been that they would not have yet won a signature victory over a worthy opponent.
That changed Sunday night and it's time we all recognize the talent, balance and energy Bears has had for winning the Premier League title since 2010.
Brad Gagnon covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.
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