Written by: John Stocco
Twitter: @realJohnStocco
The Bears won a football game that they should have won. Even with Eddy Pineiro on a bad leg or Bobbie Massie being a late scratch because he was sick, the Redskins offense were no match for this Bears defense, and the Redskins defense haven’t been able to stop a bloody nose all year, let alone trying to stop Mitch Trubisky, Montgomery, and Allen Robinson. This was a game that the Bears were supposed to win and gain confidence in their team heading into a tough divisional game. The Bears did exactly that, and as the Bears won, they found their way to get to the Super Bowl.
The talk of regression in this Bears defense are all dead. They held Aaron Rodgers to 10 points, they stopped the Broncos on the road with zero help from the offense, and they put an absolute beatdown on Case Keenum and the Redskins on Monday night. When people told you all offseason that Adrian Amos was a significant loss for the Bears' defense, it told me that they didn’t watch any of Bears games. Amos was the weakest link, and signing HaHa Clinton-Dix to a one year, $3 million contract, showed last night that it was the biggest steal of the offseason. The Bears have two free safeties out on defense that have hands just as good as wide receivers, and they have a front seven that can and will dominate any offensive line in football. If you’re a quarterback, pick your poison. When you’re facing the Bears' defense there is no easy way out. You wanna beat them through the air? Say hello to Kyle Fuller, HaHa Clinton-Dix, and Eddie Jackson. You want to try to establish the run? There’s Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Leonard Floyd, Danny Trevathan, and Roquan Smith. What else can I say about Khalil Mack? The guy is phenomenal. He was a wrecking ball and he beat down the Redskins offensive line with 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Khalil Mack is one of the five best football players on the planet and with Mack on our side, Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan, and Leonard Floyd, the sky's the limit for this team and this defense is good enough to lead the Bears to a Super Bowl.
Again, it wasn’t pretty, but the Bears and Bears fans need to have a moment of truth and realize that’s the best Mitch Trubisky we’re going to get. At times it was extremely frustrating. Trubisky looked too tight, too nervous, and wasn’t naturally throwing the ball by throwing it off his back foot. Trubisky had some throws that made you jump out of your seat, and then he made throws that made you bury your face in your own hands. Overall it was a better night from Trubisky and Matt Nagy. Matt Nagy limited Mitch Trubisky and in those limitations, Trubisky played well. Throwing for 231 yards, 3 TD’s, and 1 INT. The Bears offense played fast, and up-tempo. They went straight to the line of scrimmage and they let Trubisky read the defense and they adjusted accordingly. The Bears threw some tricks in the mix with Cordarrelle Patterson, but for the most part, it was a night where the Bears played it safe with Trubisky. Short throws, letting him play outside of the pocket, and they kept everything close for receivers like Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, and Taylor Gabriel to make plays after the catch. It wasn’t flashy like what we see from the Chiefs or the Ravens. The Bears brought everything back, and called the game safe and did the simple things better like the Patriots and the Rams. You go look at Patriots and Rams film and you’ll notice their routes and play-calling isn't anything special. They’re simple, and they have a quarterback that makes all the small to medium throws perfectly. I’m not comparing Trubisky to Goff or Brady, but that’s how the Bears need to start preparing their offense. The Bears need to start getting the running game going, and instead of looking for quarterback guru like every other team in the NFL, are there any running back guru’s? I love David Montgomery’s future, but every time I watch him I can’t help but feel like he’s getting held back. He has tremendous vision, excellent feet and balance to make tacklers miss, but we haven’t truly seen him shine yet. Mike Davis hasn’t lived up to expectations for three weeks, and Tarik Cohen can’t seem to run the ball. If I can put my offensive coordinator hat on for one second, I would love to see Tarik Cohen being used on screens, and jet sweeps, while Montgomery is the every-down running back taking it out of the backfield. Like I said previously, it was a better night from Nagy by scheming his receivers, and making it easy for Trubisky, but the running game has to improve if the Bears want to win in the NFC.
The Bears have a Super Bowl defense. Their offense doesn’t necessarily need to catch up, but they need to keep up. The offense must feed off the energy from the defense and they must play mistake-free football. Playing fast, playing clean, and playing safe is all the Bears need to do on offense to win not just games, but to win the NFC North, and to win in the playoffs. This defense is elite, they can stop anybody, and they can cause turnovers on any given down. The defense will take us to where we want to be, but now it’s the offense's job to execute and finish the job.
Up next is a division rivalry game against the Minnesota Vikings, and again it’s a must-win. Both teams are 2-1 in an NFC North that is stacked. The Bears are back at home playing at Soldier Field. They have to take care of business at home, and beating the Vikings will put the Bears right back in the mix as one of the top teams in the NFC.