Category: Regular Season

Bears sign TE Bradley Sowell, again, waive LB James Vaughters

In a shocking turn of events that will surprise no one, the Bears signed TE Bradley Sowell to the active roster and waived James Vaughters.

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It’s about that time when the Chicago Bears re-sign tight end Bradley Sowell to the active roster.

The Bears waived linebacker James Vaughters on Monday and promoted Sowell from the practice squad. A move that you hope would indicate that linebacker Isaiah Irving will be good to go for Sunday, although it’s far from a guarantee.

Vaughters should clear waivers and be re-signed to the practice squad.

The question is: Will Sowell be on the 53-man roster for a rematch of last year’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, where Sowell caught his first and only touchdown pass in the 15-6 victory.

Given the Bears’ struggles at the tight end position, with Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen, it might not be as far fetched as one might think.

We’ll have to wait and see when the Bears head to Los Angeles to face the Rams on Sunday Night Football.

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Can Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky build off 3-TD performance?

Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky had his best performance of the season against a lowly Lions defense. Can he build on that performance?

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The Chicago Bears notched their first win in over a month with a 20-13 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

It wasn’t a perfect win by any means, but it came when the Bears needed it most, as they advanced to 4-5 on the season and helped them cling to slim playoff hopes.

But also encouraging was oft-maligned quarterback Mitchell Trubisky’s performance, where he seemed to awaken from a season-long slumber to deliver his best game of the season against a lowly Lions defense.

Trubisky’s stats weren’t otherworldly, but that didn’t matter as he came up clutch as Chicago’s offense battled back from a rough first half. If anything, he’d like to have those five sacks back.

But Trubisky completed 16-of-23 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 131.0.

“When you go through tough things, I think you’ve just got to remember why you play this game,” Trubisky said following Sunday’s game. “You just love to play this game, and you love the guys you play with. That’ll get you through anything, and just continue to stick together, feed off your teammates, and believe that you’re going to have a breakthrough, and whether you describe today as a breakthrough or not, we got the win.”

But the fact of the matter is that Trubisky played well against a Lions defense that ranked 31st in the NFL. It’s only the second game that Trubisky has played well, the other coming against another bad defense in the Washington Redskins, where he tossed three second-quarter touchdowns.

The real test will be these final seven games, where Trubisky will face some tough defenses, including the Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.

Can Trubisky build off his strong performance against the Lions? Or will he come back down to earth quickly heading into the final stretch of the season?

We’ll see Sunday when the Bears face the Rams on Sunday Night Football.

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Former Bears RB Mike Davis claimed off waivers by Panthers

The Panthers claimed former Bears RB Mike Davis off waivers on Monday.

It didn’t take former Chicago Bears running back Mike Davis long to find a new home.

After the Bears waived Davis on Saturday, in order to better secure Chicago a chance at a fourth-round compensatory pick in 2020, he was claimed by the Carolina Panthers, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.

The Bears signed Davis to a two-year deal worth $6 million this offseason and had high hopes for what he could bring to their offense. Instead, he was placed on the back-burner in favor of rookie running back David Montgomery, who has gotten a bulk of the carries this season.

Davis’ season high of five carries for 19 yards and six receptions for 17 yards came in the season opener against the Green Bay Packers. He had zero offensive snaps in two of his last three games.

In seven games, Davis had just 11 carries for 25 yards and seven catches for 22 yards.

Davis joins a Panthers team led by MVP candidate running back Christian McCaffrey. Rapoport said, “as the season goes on, Carolina may want to make sure Christian McCaffrey is fresh. The addition of Mike Davis helps with that.”

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Bears open as 6.5-point underdogs vs. Rams in Week 11

While the Bears are coming off a 20-13 victory over the Lions, Vegas isn’t confident in Chicago’s chances against the Rams in Week 11.

The Chicago Bears (4-5) will travel to Los Angeles for a Week 11 primetime contest against the Rams (5-4), where they’ll be looking to continue their winning ways against a Rams team coming off a loss.

This will be the Bears’ first meeting with the Rams in California since Jan. 2, 1994.

While the Bears are coming off a 20-13 victory over the Detroit Lions (3-5-1), Vegas isn’t confident in Chicago’s chances against the Rams.

The Bears have opened as 6.5-point underdogs against the Rams, according to BetMGM.

Chicago has been favorites in every game they’ve played this season except two — the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9 and now against the Rams in Week 11.

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Dan Hampton calls Bears’ 20-13 win vs. Lions ‘despicable’

While Chicago’s win over Detroit was far from a pretty win, it was a win for a team that desperately needed one in a 4-game losing streak.

When you’re describing wins, the word “despicable” doesn’t usually come to mind.

Well, it does if you’re Hall of Famer and former Bear Dan Hampton, who wasn’t impressed by Chicago’s 20-13 victory over the Lions.

While it was far from a pretty win, it was a win for a team that desperately needed one as they rode a four-game losing streak.

Sure, the Bears were facing the league’s 31st-ranked defense and only managed to put up 20 points.

Sure, the Bears were facing backup quarterback Jeff Driskel, who at times drove the Lions right down the field.

But for Hampton, winning isn’t enough. You have to be able to put away those “miserable” football teams.

“Yeah, we won,” Hampton said, via the Chicago Tribune. “We won the game. We won a game. Finally. … We finally find a way to win after four straight losses. But this was despicable. … How do you not put away one of the most miserable football teams on the planet Earth with a backup nobody quarterback and let them go down the field time and time and time again and have a chance to beat you? … I’m telling you, folks, there’s something really sad, sick about this team.”

While the Bears did nothing to sway their critics with a seven-point victory over a bad Lions team missing starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, perhaps it was just the thing the Bears needed heading into the final seven games of the season.

We’ll see when the Bears head to Los Angeles to play the Rams on Sunday Night Football.

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WATCH: Bears return to Club Dub following Week 10 win over Lions

The Chicago Bears returned to their winning ways with a 20-13 victory over the Detroit Lions, which meant a return to Club Dub.

After a prolonged absence from Club Dub, the Chicago Bears returned to their winning ways Sunday notching a 20-13 victory over the Detroit Lions.

The win snapped Chicago’s four-game losing streak and kept them out of last place in the NFC North, with a 4-5 record.

While it certainly an ugly win, any win is a welcome win. Especially when it you get to return to Club Dub.

For all of those that are criticizing Matt Nagy for holding Club Dub with the Bears below .500 and nabbing their first win in over a month, he doesn’t care. This is how they do things. This is how they celebrate victories, even ones that are far from pretty.

“That’s who we are,” Nagy said, via the Chicago Tribune. “The guys, you’d be surprised, one of the neat things that I think we have going on right now, even in this four-game slide that we just came through, is every Saturday morning we have our own (dance-off), and it just keeps the energy going. We did it last year and why not keep doing it? So we do it. (Saturday morning) is like the appetizer and then this they come to dinner.

“I just sat back and just to be able to watch the guys, seeing them in there, they ended up doing some one-on-one dancing, which is pretty neat. It’s exciting. We enjoy it. It brings you together, you know, and then you’re able to coach off of wins a lot easier. There’s still a lot of things that we need to get better at. We understand that. But you step back in those moments and you say, this is why we do what we do.”

The Bears will be looking to make it two straight trips to Club Dub when they travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams on Sunday Night Football in Week 11.

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New Bears center Cody Whitehair promises to ‘get better as we go’

As the Bears switched Cody Whitehair back to center against the Lions, he had some ups and downs in his return to center.

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The Chicago Bears made some adjustments on offense prior to Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. Whether that was benching tight end Adam Shaheen or a switch on the offensive line, Matt Nagy was determined to shake things up.

After switching Cody Whitehair to left guard and James Daniels to center during the offseason, the team decided to switch them back after Daniels struggled at his new position over the first eight games this season.

When Whitehair snapped for the first time Sunday against the Lions, it was his first snap to quarterback Mitchell Trubisky since the pair played in the Pro Bowl back in January.

Whitehair struggled with his snaps, including one that could’ve been a disaster as a fumble that Trubisky managed to turn into a 3-yard gain. There were a few others that were high or wide that Trubisky had to adjust to.

“It went OK for me, but I wish I could have a couple [plays] back …” Whitehair said, via the Sun-Times. “It’ll get better as we go.”

Neither Whitehair or Daniels had played their former positions prior to switching during practice last week.

“It’s not easy switching positions within seven days,” Daniels said, “but [offensive line] coach Harry [Hiestand] believed in me.”

The switch comes after some struggles on the offensive line, where Nagy wouldn’t blame Daniels, just like he wouldn’t focus on Whitehair’s snapping issues.

“I think sometimes when, whatever sport it is — if it’s golf and a golfer has the yips or you get into people, pitchers or whatever — the less you talk about it, the better it gets,” he said.

We’ll see if that’s the case when the Bears travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams on Sunday Night Football, where defensive star Aaron Donald awaits.

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Bears LB Nick Kwiatkoski steps up in place of injured LB Danny Trevathan

The Bears lost starting LB Danny Trevathan to a gruesome elbow injury, but reserve LB Nick Kwiatkoski stepped up in his absence.

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When Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan suffered a gruesome elbow injury, backup Nick Kwiatkoski rose to the occasion in his place in Chicago’s 20-13 victory over the Lions.

Trevathan left the game in the first quarter after his arm bent the wrong way as he attempted to sack Lions quarterback Jeff Driskel. Trevathan immediately left the field, knowing that something was wrong.

While Bears coach Matt Nagy didn’t offer an update on Trevathan’s injury, it appeared to be similar to defensive tackle Akiem Hick’s elbow dislocation, perhaps worse.

Kwiatkoski relieved Trevathan with one of the best games of his career. He finished second in tackles with 9, recorded a sack and had the Bears’ lone takeaway — an interception of Driskel early in the third quarter, which led to a Bears scoring drive.

Kwiakoski once again proved to not only be an adamant fill-in but a productive one, just like he did earlier this season in place of linebacker Roquan Smith, who was a healthy scratch against the Minnesota Vikings.

‘‘It’s just preparation,’’ he said, via the Sun-Times. ‘‘As a linebacker, you plan on playing. Things happen throughout the course of a season, and you have to be ready for it.’’

Trevathan looks to be out awhile with his elbow injury, and Kwiatkoski suddenly has a big opportunity in front of him.

‘‘It’s not the way I want it to happen,” Kwiatkoski said. “Danny’s a close friend of mine.’’

But Kwiatkoski will get his chance this week as the Bears travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams on Sunday Night Football.

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