Kyler Gordon vs Stefon Diggs pic.twitter.com/82PIdPafPx
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) December 24, 2022
Kyler Gordon is improving. He has a GREAT feel for zone coverage and is one of the better tackling CB’s in the league. This Bears secondary will be dangerous once they get a pass rush. #DaBears #Bears #ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/8TOKUIv5aA
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) December 25, 2022
Buffalo Bills 27, Chicago Bears 13
Let’s be honest, we’re going through the motions here.
Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears this Week?
I.
Always.
Like.
THE.
Chicago.
Bears.
The Bills came into this season in an incredibly difficult spot. They were the universal choice to win the Super Bowl, many believing they should have won it all LAST year (including me). They had nothing to gain and everything to lose in this regular season. And through 15 weeks, they have had to both shoulder the burden of expectations and survive an onslaught of injuries at key positions, especially on defense.
And they have weathered all of it. It hasn’t always been pretty, but they now find themselves the top seed in the AFC with three games to play. Their schedule isn’t easy down this final stretch, with a Monday Night Football visit to Cincinnati in Week 17, but even facing the prospect of an AFC title game in KC, the Bills will likely be the Super Bowl favorite coming out of the regular season. And deservedly so.
With conditions expected to be difficult on Sunday, don’t expect it to bother Josh Allen and the Bills. Nothing bothers them. And when conditions are difficult, I’d expect the bigger effort to come from the better team with everything to play for.
Offense:
Notes: The ascendancy of the Bears offense is showing up statistically, and their path to increased improvement is clear. The Bears know they’ll be able to run the football in 2023. Every decision they make this off-season should be geared towards improving the passing game.
Defense:
Notes: These numbers tell me something: the Bears are seriously improved at the back of this defense. If they focus on the defensive line, including the pass rush, they should be able to jump their overall defensive numbers into the top half of the league. If they do that, this is a playoff contender in 2023.
Thought experiment.
Name a position on the Chicago Bears that can’t be significantly improved.
The quarterback is the most exciting football player in Chicago since Devin Hester, but he certainly has much room for improvement, and our own Data detailed where that improvement might come.
The running back room is as deep as you’ll find in the league but is there a home run hitter in the group? Are any of these guys a Derrick Henry, or Travis Etienne?
The pass catchers and offensive linemen are both bottom five in the sport. Is there a single irreplaceable player to be found at center, guard, tackle, tight end or wideout? (I have seriously high hopes for Chase Claypool and think Braxton Jones and Teven Jenkins can develop into players. But that’s about it.)
There are some serious young talents on the defensive side of the ball. But there is not a single player over there that currently ranks in the top ten in the sport at their position.
When you look at the top teams in the league – Buffalo, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Philly, San Francisco – what do you see? With a proliferation, a plethora of blue-chip players, these are not rosters stuffed with talent deemed “good enough” to compete. These are rosters with a half dozen or more guys who define how the sport is played at the highest level. And the Bears must not rule out addressing ANY position on the roster (outside QB) until they have found several of those players for themselves.
“Good enough” is not good enough. “Good enough” only works when a roster is also littered with “great”, and the Bears are a long way from that. Ryan Poles has shown himself to be somewhat ruthless when it comes to reconstructing the Chicago Bears. He’s good at demolition. For the Bears to win under his leadership, he’ll need to show he can not only tear down the block, but he can also build something beautiful on the site of the wreckage.
That works starts as soon as this season comes to its merciful end.
Bears targets today:
Kmet 5
Pettis 4
Webster 3
Montgomery 3
VJJ 2
Pringle 2
ESB 1
Ebner 1Fields: 67% completion, 7.2 yards/attempt, 2 TD, 0 INT, 120 passer rating. Oh yeah, 95 rushing yards too.
FWIW, PHI came into the game allowing 61% completion, 6.1 yds/att, 16 TD/15 INT
— Johnathan Wood (@Johnathan_Wood1) December 18, 2022
