Category: Bears

Twitter reacts to the Bears trouncing Washington 40-20 on Thursday Night Football

.@therealmarklane provides the latest takes from Twitter as the Chicago Bears thumped Washington 40-20 on Thursday Night Football

There is no better place to end a long national nightmare than in Washington.

The Chicago Bears hadn’t won a game since Oct. 24, 2022, almost a full calendar year. That’s 14 games taking an L. The stakes were high for Matt Eberflus and Justin Fields as they visited FedEx Field on Thursday Night Football for Week 5.

Chicago got off to a fast start 27-3 halftime lead, and the Bears never let off the brakes. There was a mild scare with 10:55 to go in the game when Washington scored and cut the deficit to 30-20, but receiver D.J. Moore was too dominant with eight catches for 230 yards and three touchdowns.

Here are some of the best reactions from Twitter throughout the game.

DJ Moore has 3-touchdown game against Commanders

DJ Moore lit up the Commanders for a trio of touchdown receptions

The Chicago Bears got a nice package of picks from the Carolina Panthers for the first overall selection in the 2022 NFL draft.

They also collected wide receiver DJ Moore.

On Thursday in the Bears’ 40-20 romp over the Washington Commanders, Moore paid huge dividends.

He caught three touchdown passes, including a game-breaking 56-yarder in the fourth quarter.

After completing the TD hat trick, Moore had 8 receptions for 230 yards and 18 points.

Moore came into the night with 19 catches for 301 yards and 2 TDs.

Commanders forget to cover Bears WR DJ Moore twice, pay for it with touchdown

The Washington Commanders forgot to cover Chicago Bears receiver DJ Moore twice on Thursday night’s first drive, with predictable results.

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Through the first four weeks of the 2023 NFL season, per Sports Info Solutions, the Washington Commanders’ defense has had a real problem defending the deep pass. Washington’s defense came into Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Bears tied for the league lead in completions allowed of 20 or more air yards (10) on 14 attempts, for 410 yards, 629 intended air yards, five touchdowns, one interception, and an opponent passer rating of 115.7.

It didn’t take long for Washington’s defense to show those vulnerabilities once again. On Chicago’s third play of the game, quarterback Justin Fields hit receiver DJ Moore on a 58-yard explosive play as Washington flipped from two-high to one-high safety coverage, and there was no safety help to Moore’s side of the field.

Then, with 12:09 left in the first quarter, nobody got depth on Moore, and the results were predictable — a 20-yard touchdown.

Knowledgeable observers were not thrilled with the Commanders’ defensive plans, regardless of the coverage interpretations.

It would behoove the Commanders to watch out for that DJ Moore guy as the game progresses.

Tributes flood in for Dick Butkus following the legend’s death at age 80

Football legend Dick Butkus has died at age 80, and tributes to the legend flooded into social media after his passing was announced.

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Chicago Bears legendary linebacker Dick Butkus was the personification of clean (for the era) violence and terror on the football field. Players would say that before you could even deal with Butkus the player, you had to get past Butkus the legend.

Not an easy feat.

Butkus, whose death at the age of 80 was announced on Thursday, was selected by the Bears with the third overall pick in the 1965 draft out of Illinois. He lived up to that high selection in a nine-year career that included eight Pro Bowls, five First-Team All-Pro nods, membership in Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-1960s and All-1970s teams, and ultimately, induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

After the announcement of his passing, tributes to the man and the legend poured in on social media.

Butkus’ Twitter account was, like the man himself, everything you could have hoped for, and more than you had a right to expect.

Chicago Bears icon and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dick Butkus dies at 80

Legendary NFL linebacker Dick Butkus has died at the age of 80

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Tragic news as legendary Chicago Bear Dick Butkus died at the age of 80 on Thursday

TMZ first reported the news.  Malibu (Ca.) police confirmed Butkus’ death.

Our sources tell us … paramedics responded to a call for a medical emergency at Butkus’ residence in Malibu at 12:51 PM. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

We’re told someone went to check on Butkus at his home on Thursday … and he was found unresponsive.

Butkus played college ball at the University of Illinois and was drafted by the Bears in 1965. He was chosen third. overall. The Bears had the next pick and selected Gale Sayers.

Both players wound up as Pro Football Hall of Famers.

Butkus had 22 interceptions and 27 fumble recoveries.

He also famously caught a pass on a PAT.

His ferocious play was iconic as one of the Monsters of the Midway.

Butkus’ No. 51 was retired by the Bears in 1994. He was named to the league’s All-Decade teams in the ‘60s and ‘70s … as well as the 75th and 100th Anniversary teams.

He entered the Hall of Fame in 1979 in his first year of eligibility. He started all 119 games he played for the Bears, earning six All-NFL selections, two Defensive Player of the Year honors, and was selected for eight Pro Bowls.

2024 NFL Draft: The Chicago Bears now have the first two picks!

You have to scramble for good news if you’re a Chicago Bears fan, but at least the 2024 draft is looking pretty good for these Monsters of the Midway.

Bears fans, you need some good news after your team blew a 28-7 third-quarter lead against the Denver Broncos on Sunday to lose 31-28. And we have you covered. Because the Bears are 0-4, and the Carolina Panthers are also 0-4 following their 21-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago has the first two picks in the 2024 NFL draft. The Bears have their own pick, and the pick they have from the Panthers in the trade Carolina made to go up to first overall in 2023 to pick Alabama quarterback Bryce Young.

So, whoever’s the general manager in Chicago next year — we of course do not know if it will be Ryan Poles — that person has a pretty decent shot at controlling next year’s draft.

There’s a lot left to happen before that’s locked in, but based on the ways in which the Bears and Panthers have played… well, it’s never too early to think about what your favorite offense might look like with USC’s Caleb Williams at quarterback, and Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. at receiver.

Broncos score 21 straight to tie Bears in battle of winless teams

The Broncos surged in the second half to knot the Bears

It was too much for either 0-3 team to play 60 solid minutes of football Sunday at Soldier Field.

And, of course, the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears have delivered poor play as expected.

Denver fell behind 28-7 with four minutes left in the third quarter after Justin Fields’ fourth TD pass.

The Bears must have somehow become overconfident because in less than less than 9 minutes on the clock, they blew the advantage.

The tying score came in the fourth quarter as Jonathon Cooper recovered a fumble and took it back 35 yards.

As the game headed late into the fourth quarter, it was tied — fittingly — at 28.

Justin Fields throws 3 TD passes while completing first 16 passes

The Chicago Bears were destroying the Denver Broncos through the air

The Denver Broncos’ defense continues to be putrid.

After giving up 70 points against the Miami Dolphins, the Broncos went to Soldier Field on Sunday and went up against the Chicago Bears.

They made Justin Fields look like Tua Tagovailoa in the first half.

Chicago’s QB completed his first 16 passes, including three for touchdowns. Fields had 231 passing yards in the first half.

His 17th pass was incomplete.

Russell Wilson, meanwhile was 12-of-13 for 88 yards.

The Bears led, 21-7, at the break.

The Broncos’ defense has officially jumped the shark

The Broncos’ defense was embarrassed enough against the Dolphins; now they’re getting waxed by the Bears. How the mighty have fallen.

The Denver Broncos’ defense, under new coordinator Vance Joseph, has experienced all kinds of embarrassment. It was bad enough when the Broncos allowed 10 offensive touchdowns and 726 total yards last week against the high-flying Miami Dolphins, but what’s happening early on against Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears is especially not good.

The Bears’ passing game has been especially putrid this season, but against Denver on Sunday, Fields has looked more like Josh Allen or Tua Tagovailoa than anything we’ve seen this season to date. The first half isn’t even over, and Denver’s problematic coverages have already ceded two big touchdowns from Fields and his targets.

There was this 29-yarder to DJ Moore with 14:53 left in the second quarter…

…and this 22-yarder to Cole Kmet on the very next drive.

UPDATE: In the time it took me to write this, Fields hit Kmet for ANOTHER touchdown.

After that score, Fields upped his stats to 12 completions in 12 attempts for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Which means that the Broncos haven’t allowed an incomplete pass in the first half since Week 2, as Tagovailoa completed 16 of 16 for 206 yards and two touchdowns in that Week 3 debacle.

The Broncos already ranked dead last in Defensive DVOA before this game — at this rate, the guys over at FTN may have to build a floor under the basement to accurately rate what this defense is doing.

4-Down Territory: Bad Bears, amazing Dolphins, weird decisions, untold stories

In this week’s “4-Down Territory,” Doug Farrar and Kyle Madson discuss the bad Bears, the historic Dolphins, and one strange decision that made sense.

With three weeks of actual football in the books for the 2023 NFL season, it’s time for Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire, and Kyle Madson of Niners Wire, to come to the table with their own unique brand of analysis in “4-Down Territory.”

This week, the guys discuss these four downs:

  1. Is it time for the Chicago Bears to move on from head coach Matt Eberflus (and to possibly make other moves)?
  2. Do the Miami Dolphins have the best offense we’ve ever seen?
  3. What was Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels thinking with that Sunday night field goal, and why did it actually make sense?
  4. What’s the biggest untold story in the NFL right now?

You can watch this week’s “4-Down Territory” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “4-Down Territory” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.