• Upon further review, I have changed my mind about the biggest thing to come out of this game. Immediately after the game, I thought it was about their defense finally getting a stop and Jeremy Langford. Now, I think it was about Alshon Jeffery. He was awful at the start of the game, with a dropped touchdown, another dropped pass on third down and a pick-six that he should’ve prevented. He put the team in a big hole. In the past, we’ve seen Alshon disappear after those moments. Then something happened. It’s as if he grew up before our eyes. He was different. We saw him pounding his chest and talking after the play. He was pissed off and he was going to dominate. Maybe it doesn’t happen that way if Jason Verrett doesn’t hurt his hamstring, but I’m not sure that mattered. He just may have taken the step the Bears dared him to take by not extending his contract before the season.

• After re-watching the game, it’s easy to conclude that this was Adam Gase’s best game by a wide margin. He kept San Diego off balance all game. If the players executed better, the Bears would’ve scored a lot more.

• The game was a good reminder on why teams should probably wait to draft running backs unless the player is special. Melvin Gordon went in the first round, Langford went in the fourth.

• There isn’t anyone who would still take Teddy Bridgewater over Derek Carr is there?

• My guess is, by the end of the year, we’ll be adding the loss to Carolina in the stat about how Aaron Rodgers and the Packers struggle against top-10 scoring defenses. The Panthers were just inside the top-10 before the game, but a couple of touchdowns late in the game moved them down to 11th. When they needed to get a stop later in the game, they intercepted Rodgers.

This Still Doesn’t Make Sense

Why did they start Ka’Deem Carey? My first thought was that it was because Carey was tougher between the tackles, but Carey only had one carry directly up the middle, while Langford had 11.

Carey got the first two attempts of the game, but it was clear that it was Langford’s job after that. Langford made several big plays and we saw why the Bears are so excited about him.   

It was hard to not like Carey, but you still have to question the sustainability. He gets north and south and isn’t going to lose a lot of yards, but he just doesn’t have the same kind of talent that Langford has. The bottom line is that there aren’t many 200-pound power runners in the league. I’d love to see him add 10 pounds.

Player of the Week

Jay Cutler. The Bears won this game because they had a better quarterback. Cutler just made more big plays when there weren’t big plays to be made, moving around the pocket and finding receivers down the field.

Goat of the Week

Robbie Gould. This game really shouldn’t have been as close as it was. If Gould makes two very makable kicks, the Bears win pretty easily. It wasn’t just about the points but the morale of having long drives end with nothing hurt them. Gould will be fine, but this was a bad game.

Bold Prediction for Week 10

Antrel Rolle and Adrian Amos will both get their first interception of the season.