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There are plenty of things that the Bears need to address to better their football team.
There are plenty of things that the Bears need to address this offseason to better their football team for next season.
In many ways, this year has felt like 3 different seasons with the Bears. As we kick off 2021, let’s take a look back at the top headlines.
In many ways, this year has felt like three different seasons with the Chicago Bears. It’s certainly been a rollercoaster of a ride — from an unlikely offseason to a 5-1 start to a six-game losing streak to a late playoff push in Week 17.
As we kick off 2021, let’s take a look back at the top Bears headlines from 2020.
Can Chicago secure a playoff spot with a win against Green Bay? Our Bears Wire staff shares their predictions for Sunday’s Week 17 game.
The Chicago Bears are heading into the most important game of their season that’ll likely decide whether they’ll be preparing for the postseason or closing up shop until next year.
The Bears control their own playoff destiny. If they can beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, they’ll make the playoffs. But if they don’t, they’ll have to hope the Los Angeles Rams beat the Arizona Cardinals.
Can Chicago secure a playoff spot with a win against Green Bay? Our Bears Wire staff shares their predictions for Sunday’s Week 17 game.
The Bears are in control of their playoff destiny. If they beat the Packers, they’re in. But beating Green Bay is easier said than done.
The Chicago Bears are in firm control of their playoff destiny. If they get a win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, they’ll clinch a playoff spot. If not, they can still get in with an Arizona Cardinals loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
The Bears are coming off a 41-17 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars, where Chicago’s offense continued its hot streak. The Bears have scored 30-plus points in four straight games, and they’ve found a rhythm over the last five weeks.
The Bears have found an identity on offense that starts with running the football with David Montgomery, who ranks fifth in the league in total rushing yards with 1,001. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has been a catalyst for the success of this unit, as well, and he’s going to need to play mistake-free football to help this offense keep pace with the Packers.
If Chicago is going to have any chance against Green Bay, they’re going to need their defense to redeem themselves following an embarrassing outing back in Week 12, where they gave up 41 points. That starts with the Bears’ pass rush getting after Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, which certainly won’t be an easy task.
While many were hoping Green Bay wouldn’t have much to play for in Week 17, that’s not exactly the case. The Packers will be playing for the No. 1 seed, as well as a first-round bye and home-field advantage. So any hope of Green Bay resting their starters, which would’ve benefited Chicago, is dashed.
Can the Bears stun the world with an upset win over the Packers? Or will Green Bay once again deliver defeat to Chicago?
Who wins on Sunday?
VOTE!
The Bears are one win away from clinching a playoff spot. Who wins in Week 17?
— BearsWire (@TheBearsWire) December 30, 2020
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The Bears have been red-hot lately, and they continue to trend up heading into the final week of the regular season.
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The final week of the regular season is here, and the Chicago Bears control their destiny for the final spot of the playoffs. The Bears have been red hot lately, especially on offense, but many aren’t rushing to buy-in on what Chicago is doing. This week, the Bears will have to prove to the league that they should be taken seriously heading into a matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
Let’s take a look at the power rankings heading into Week 17.
While Chicago has been on a hot streak, there’s not a lot of confidence in the Bears slaying their demons with a win over the Packers.
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With just one week left in the 2020 regular season, the Chicago Bears have an opportunity to secure their first postseason berth since 2018. The Bears are in control of their own destiny, where all they need to do is win in Week 17 to make the playoffs.
But that’ll be easier said than done against the Green Bay Packers, a team with plenty to play for on Sunday, including the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye and home field advantage through the postseason. It also doesn’t help that the Packers have had the Bears’ number for more than a decade.
While Chicago has won three straight games and has found a rhythm on offense, there’s not a lot of confidence in the Bears slaying their demons with a win over the Packers. Chicago has opened as 5.5-point home underdogs against Green Bay, according to BetMGM.
This is the 13th time the Bears have been underdogs this season. They’ve been favored just three times this year, with two coming in home games against the New York Giants in Week 2 and Detroit Lions in Week 13, and a road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It’s not really a surprise to see the Bears as underdogs in this contest considering their history against the Packers. After all, Chicago only beat Green Bay four times in the last decade. And it doesn’t help that Aaron Rodgers has been playing at an MVP level.
Can Chicago hold on to their playoff spot and shock the world with a win over Green Bay? Or will the Packers once again beat the Bears? We’ll see when the Bears and Packers kick things off Sunday at 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
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Let’s take a look at the best plays by the Bears in their Week 16 win over the Jaguars.
The Chicago Bears kept their playoff hopes alive with a dominating 41-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, where the Bears’ offense scored 30-plus points for the fourth straight game. The victory sets up Chicago for a chance to earn a postseason berth in Week 17.
Let’s take a look at the best plays by the Bears in their Week 16 win over the Jaguars.
The Bears overcame an uneven first half to rout the Jaguars 41-17, moving into the seventh and final spot in the NFC playoff picture.
With the Chicago Bears in firm control of their playoff destiny, two wins to close out the season would lock up the seventh seed in the NFC. So even against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that had lost 13 straight games, there was a lot on the line.
The Bears overcame an uneven first half to rout the Jaguars 41-17 on Sunday in Jacksonville, moving into the seventh and final spot in the NFC playoff picture. Now, Chicago needs just one more win — or an Arizona Cardinals loss — to clinch a postseason berth for the first time since 2018.
Despite the victory — which included two takeaways — Chicago’s defense once again struggled, this time against a bad offense early on in the game. The rapid decline of this once-dominant Bears defense is especially concerning considering Chicago is heading into Green Bay in need of a win in Week 17.
While the Bears offense only managed 10 points in the first half against one of the worst defenses in the league, they came to life in the third quarter — of all times — to take firm control of the game. Chicago scored 21 points in the third quarter to jump out to a commanding 34-10 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Bears have now scored 30-plus points in four straight games for the first time since 1965, a clear indication that it’s likely head coach Matt Nagy and his coaching staff, and possibly quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, will return to Chicago in 2021.
In the holiday spirit, here are six things we’re asking Santa for the Bears as they head into the remainder of the 2020 season.
With the holidays upon it, the NFL’s regular season is about to wrap up as 14 teams will prepare for the postseason. The Chicago Bears just might be one of those teams — if all goes right.
After a six-game losing streak, the Bears have found a way to play themselves back into a position where they can make the playoffs for the first time in two years. Which certainly makes things exciting heading into these final two weeks.
So in the holiday spirit, here are six things we’re asking Santa for the Bears as they head into the remainder of the 2020 season.
Bears DT Bilal Nichols was dubbed one of the NFL’s secret superstars in Week 15 for his effort against the Vikings.
While Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace has struggled when it’s come to first-round draft picks, he’s proven to have quite an eye for talent in the later rounds of the NFL draft.
One of those players that has made a name for himself is defensive tackle Bilal Nichols, who has stepped up in his third season in the absence of nose tackle Eddie Goldman.
Nichols, a former fifth-round pick, has impressed in his third season and has been an integral part of Chicago’s defensive line. His performance has garnered recognition from Touchdown Wire, who dubbed Nichols one of the NFL’s secret superstars in Week 15 for his effort against the Minnesota Vikings.
A 2018 fifth-rounder from Delaware, Nichols has flashed at times this season, and he already has a career-high 566 snaps in 2020, but his performance against the Vikings in Chicago’s 33-27 win featured several signature moments. Nichols was involved in two sacks, he had five total pressures and three stops.
When you have Akiem Hicks and Khalil Mack on your defensive line, that means other guys have the opportunity to shine, and that’s just what Nichols is doing. On the season, he has five sacks, six quarterback hits, 17 quarterback hurries, and 26 stops.
Nichols had a sack, five total pressures and three stops in the 33-27 win over the Vikings. He was the Bears’ highest-graded defender per Pro Football Focus with an 85.5. He scored a 77.6 against the run and a 76.2 for his pass rush.
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