The Bears' Second Quarter: One Game Makes A World of Difference

Even during the conclusion to the last quarter of the season, there were signs that this year's Bears defense was going to be one that was going to struggle. Still, it was hard for me to imagine that Chicgao's D would be as awful as it has been, and things only got worse this past quarter when Lance Briggs became the latest player to sustain an injury. Oh, and Jay Cutler went down too.

I was preparing to search for a very frumpy-looking Marc Trestman photo to use for this quarter's graphic after the team suffered a convincing loss to New Orleans, came up with on the losing end of a shootout with the woeful Washington Redskins, and barely beat a then-winless New York Giants. Then suddenly, lo and behold, this past Monday night in a game that the rival Packers were supposed to basically have wrapped up by the end of the first half, an incredible thing happened: Green Bay's star quarterback was not only sacked, not only suffered an injury that forced him from the game, not only will miss several weeks of action, but all of this was the result of a play by much-maligned first round draft pick Shea McClellin.

Not only did the Bears pull off a stunning upset on Monday night to stay above .500, but Chicago now sits in a three-way tie for first place. With Jay Cutler expected to return in a matter of weeks, the playoffs still seem like a very real possibility for many fans. Perhaps that's fair, but I say slow down. After all, the Lions were my Super Bowl pick. Still, there is one Wild Card out there.





I thought my uncle was being too optimistic when he told me he still felt confident that the Bears could finish 10-6—even after the losses of Cutler and Briggs. Looking at the remaining schedule for Chicago, now I can't even rule out a possible 11-5 finish. Still, I'm thinking the final record will be something more along the lines of 9-7.

Playoffs? Well, considering that it's widely believed that one Wild Card spot will be occupied by San Francisco or Seattle, depending on who does not win the West, that leaves only one spot. Just as the Bears will get Cutler back, the Packers will get healthy before season's end too. Oh, and then there's Carolina suddenly roaring to life.

However, the remaining schedule for the Panthers looks considerably tougher than what the Bears have left. Strange things happen in the NFL, so I'm inclined not to believe that nothing's a certainty at this point. Right now I can only say that the Bears are on pace to exceed my expectations, and Marc Trestman is really proving to be a head coach that I can believe in. One decision to go for it on fourth down against the Packers (which they did convert), Trestman's playcalling on the nearly nine-minute drive that helped seal the victory was amazing. Yeah, the defense is going to need some real work, but there's a lot of hope for this team going forward. I can't see Chicago going very far even if they do make the playoffs this year, but overall, the signs right now seem encouraging.