Jet Outta Here

Bears 23, Jets 12

Beautiful day in Chicago, sunshine at Soldier Field, and the Bears running the football down somebody’s throat.

And somehow, with Caleb out and another quarterback starting, I’m watching the Bears move the ball like this is a perfectly normal thing for us.

What the fuck is happening, bro?

The Bears beat the Jets 23–12, and the score makes it sound closer than it felt. Chicago had the ball for more than 42 minutes. Watching the Jets offense was like waiting for your luggage at Newark. You wondered if it was ever coming out.

There were turnovers, frustrating trips near the goal line, and enough help from Jets penalties that we should probably send their coaching staff a thank-you card.

And now it’s Packers week.

Let’s enjoy this one before my blood pressure goes back up.

I loved that opening drive. TB17 was in control, Ben was getting his guys involved, and once again it looked like the West Coast offense I talked about last week. Short and intermediate throws. Get the ball out and let these dudes go to work.

Nobody needed to reinvent fucking cold fusion. Find the open man. Deliver the ball. Move the chains.

Then we got to the goal line, where apparently the refs needed a geometry degree.

Two apparent touchdowns got overturned, and we came away with nothing on that opening drive. I don’t know, man. I’m still trying to figure out where they thought the ball was.

But we’ve still got to punch it in. Drive all the way down there looking that good, and you have to come away with something.

Monangai Is a Fucking Animal

Thankfully, Kyle Monangai eventually had enough.

His fourth-down touchdown took a second effort. Hit him, stand him up, make him fight for it, and he kept going.

Thirty carries. 146 yards. Two touchdowns. Against a Jets defensive front I warned you about on last week’s podcast.

And give the o-line their credit. They were moving people. Monangai ran his ass off, and those guys helped him do it.

Swift’s fumble sucked. He didn’t get another touch afterward, and Monangai took over. D’Andre has to clean that up before Green Bay.

Rome Showed Up. Luther Is a Stud

And Rome Odunze? That’s the game I’ve been waiting for, man.

Big catches. Traffic. Contact. Holding onto the fucking ball.

Six catches for 94 yards, and he was hanging on through contact.

That’s what I want from a top-10 pick.

I don’t know if Ben gave him the Duke talk from Rocky IV before the game and told him to just fucking do it. Whatever he said, Rome was doing it.

After that slow September, it was great to see him step up. There’s been plenty of noise around him. Those catches are how you answer it.

And Luther Burden?

Dude is a stud.

Big, fast, strong, and going up to get the ball. Burden looks like a legitimate No. 1 receiver to me. The dude is so fucking fun to watch.

Now you’ve got Rome making those catches, Luther doing his thing, Swift and Monangai running the ball, and the tight ends involved. Ben is actually using all these guys. A defense has to deal with the whole damn offense.

TB17 and the Justice League

TB17 deserves his share of that credit.

Bagent had that bad pick, and the Jets’ penalties bailed us out on other mistakes. I’m not forgetting that because we won.

But TB17 looked good, man. Smart and decisive. Nobody open? Throw it away and play the next down. He made his mistake and kept playing. The offense didn’t fall apart.

Drew Brees was impressed, too. I loved his commentary. Hearing him explain what Bagent was doing while TB17 ran this offense. That was great shit.

Think about this quarterback room for a second.

Caleb. Case. TB17.

Three different quarterbacks have already led the Bears to wins this season.

Ben’s quarterback room is starting to feel like the Justice League. You show up expecting Superman, Batman comes out instead, and you still get your ass kicked.

Of course I want Caleb back. But we have three quarterbacks who can play. Three. On the Chicago Bears. Bro, think about how many years we spent begging for just one.

Let me soak that into my soul for a minute.

And the defense showed up again.

I loved Dennis Allen bringing pressure and painting Geno Smith into a corner. Austin Booker and Devin Bush looked like shit-kickers again. My dude Dillon Thieneman was around the ball, and Malik Muhammad looked good again, too.

After Bagent’s interception and Swift’s fumble, the Jets had short fields. Both times, Chicago held them to field goals. That’s huge, man. They kept that shit from getting away from us.

And over the last three games, the Bears have allowed 9, 7, and 12 points.

But what the hell were Frank Reich and the Jets doing with Garrett Wilson and Kenyon Sadiq? I told you last week they had talent. Those are guys who can hurt you, and they never really got them going.

Credit Dennis Allen and the defense. Still, my boy is a Jets fan, and he was asking why their best players weren’t getting the ball.

But I still have a problem with Stevenson.

I told you on the podcast: I don’t trust him. The deep ball, the double move, I’m still waiting for him to get beat when we can least afford it.

To me, he’s a fucking bust for a second-round pick. This GM made that pick, and I’m still asking what we got for it.

My worry is January. Is he going to give up the big play that sends us home?

Now Take This Shit to Green Bay

Now we head to Lambeau.

I know Green Bay won Sunday. I know they’ve got injuries. But a wounded Packers team at Lambeau? I’m being careful with that shit. We’ve all watched enough of these games.

Protect the ball. Finish near the goal line. Make Green Bay earn its opportunities.

The Jets kept drives alive for us with penalties. We can’t go to Lambeau expecting the Packers to do us the same favors.

Man, if we keep running the ball like this, keep getting our playmakers involved, and the defense keeps doing its job, we could be on the cusp of something special.

The Jets’ flight got delayed at Soldier Field.

Now take this running game to Green Bay and make those fuckers miss their connection, too.

Bear Down.

As of Today, the Chicago Bears are valued at approximately $9.7 billion.

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