Mayday! The Bears Won. I Need Ten Days Off.
Bears 30, Patriots 24
The Bears are 5–2.
Luther Burden looks like a fucking star. Caleb Williams keeps growing. We’ve got momentum and ten days to get healthy.
And somewhere in the middle of enjoying all that, I watched the Bears slowly let New England back into a game they had every opportunity to put away.
Mayday. Somebody land this fucking thing.
I’ll take the win. Absolutely.
But could we finish one of these without me having to stand up, take my shirt off and yell at the television?
Early on, the Patriots looked flat. Kyler Gordon made a hell of a fourth-down stop, and the Bears had some energy.
That’s the kind of play that gets everybody going. Their offense comes off the field. Ours gets another chance.
And with the guys we’ve got carrying and catching the football, another chance should mean trouble.
Luther Burden certainly understood that.
Bro. This fucking kid can play.
Every time he gets the ball, I want to see what happens next. He reminds me of another Missouri receiver I loved watching: Jeremy Maclin. There’s something about how Burden moves and how quickly an ordinary play can turn into a problem for the defense.
Watching him, you can understand why the Bears felt they could move on from DJ Moore.
Get the fucking ball to your playmakers.
Burden. Loveland. Swift.
Make the defense deal with all of them. Give these guys opportunities, and good things happen.
For stretches against New England, you could see exactly how dangerous this offense can be. You could also see Caleb getting fired up, pushing his guys, practically telling them, “Come on, bro. Let’s make some fucking plays.”
I love seeing that.
Then there’s Rome Odunze.
Fucking killing me, Bro.
A simple out route. A catch you’ve got to make. And the ball hits the ground like you just dropped your Jersey Mike’s sub.
Then there’s the offensive pass interference call. Now we’re making things even harder on ourselves.
Two hours before the game, I posted on Instagram saying I hoped this kid would catch the ball. I didn’t realize I needed to specify throughout the game.
Those drops matter. They kill drives, leave points out there, and give the other team another chance.
Against New England, we kept handing out chances.
But I’ll give Rome this: when the Bears needed that third-down catch to seal it, he made it.
And shoutout to Caleb for going back to him.
After all those drops, he still trusted his receiver with the game on the line. That matters, too.
Now, before we get too comfortable talking about this offense, we need a fucking left tackle.
We’re trying to keep this thing together with Band-Aids and gauze. How many years into this are we going to keep having the same conversation?
Caleb is showing us more. The playmakers are showing us more.
Give the quarterback a chance to stand back there and use them.
Because as much as I enjoyed watching the offense, the end of the first half had me wondering whether the whole fucking operation was coming apart.
What was that effort on Rhamondre Stevenson’s touchdown?
And Jaylon Johnson, come on, bro.
The missed tackle on Drake Maye. The effort on Stevenson before halftime. You’re one of the guys this defense is supposed to count on.
You’re the highest-paid corner on the team. I need you to fucking tackle.
That little olé move might get you through a crowded subway car. It’s not bringing down an NFL player.
Those plays helped change the feel of the game. New England went into the half with something to build on.
Then Maye started getting comfortable.
Give that dude credit. He played a hell of a game. The underneath throws were there. The tight ends were hurting us. And the longer it went on, the more I found myself saying the same thing I’ve been saying since I started this podcast:
We need a fucking pass rusher.
Austin Booker had another strong game. Malik Muhammad deserves some love too, and I hope that toe heals up.
The defense held on. I’m glad it did.
But Dennis Allen can only keep scheming around this problem for so long.
Blitzes can get you pressure. They can also leave somebody open. When a quarterback recognizes what’s coming and gets the ball out, now somebody has to make a tackle in space.
We saw how that went.
Against better teams, those openings get punished even more. You need somebody who can beat his man and get to the quarterback without sending half the fucking neighborhood after him.
I don’t care how good the offense gets. At some point, you’re going to need a stop with the game on the line.
If this season falls apart because the Bears can’t get pressure, this GM has to answer for it. I’m tired of watching the same problem follow this team into another season.
And amid all this, Cairo Santos goes out and makes a 58-yard field goal.
Fifty-eight yards. Cairo, that was a hell of a kick.
So here we are.
The playmakers stepped up. Caleb kept competing. Rome made the catch we needed. The defense hung on.
A win in the NFL still counts, even when you spend the second half asking, “Why the fuck are we doing this again?”
Now the Bears get ten days to rest, heal, and get ready for Seattle.
The defending Super Bowl champs. One of the best defenses in the league. A team that will be ready to make us answer some difficult questions.
Can we protect Caleb? Can we finish drives? Can we get pressure without leaving somebody wide fucking open?
We’re 5–2, and I’m excited to find out.
The Bears get ten days to recover. After watching that second half, I could use a few myself.
Rest up, Bears fans. We’re gonna need it.
Bear down.
We're waiting…
