Chicago Bears MNF Win over Chargers: A Fan’s Non-Expert Take

Nov 9, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) and San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) shake hands the Bears beat the Chargers 22-19 at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Nothing like getting back from a successful business trip and watching a recorded Chicago Bears game that also ended with a win.

In the words of Blake, (played by Alec Baldwin) in Glengarry Glen Ross, “Always Be Closing.”

The Bears CLOSED this one.

Watching this game gave me scary flashbacks to the Lions and the Vikings games. The Chicago Bears took the lead at the very end of those games, only to lose. This time they held on to the lead for the win. Alec Baldwin would be proud.

They looked pretty damn good doing it too, in front of a national audience on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. Only me and Mike Ditka picked the Bears to win.

Great performances by Lamarr Houston and Pernell McPhee on D, and even the secondary made some great plays without the costly penalties. They did a great job with the stop at the end. It was tense! Glad Lamarr didn’t hurt himself again celebrating his sacks.

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Everyone on offense showed up. Jay Cutler is really playing well. He is making throws that are impossible to make under pressure. Yes, he threw his weekly pick, but I’ll take it.

RB Jeremy Langford is a beast! I’ll hold off further comments until I see that he can do it with consistency like the injured Matt Forte. Matt has been the lone bright spot when everything else looked grim many times, I’m not ready or willing to close the door on him.

WR Alshon Jeffrey is back to being Alshon Jeffrey. He is most likely going to be signed to a nice contract that will be in line with the NFL’s top receivers.

TE Zach Miller made a one-handed touchdown catch that is “play of the week” worthy. It’s like we finally got that guy that looked so great in preseason this year. Or was it last year? I don’t know. He’s like having a ’69 Ford Mustang with only 10,000 miles on it because he has been on the bench so much. It’s nice to see him able to finally show it in a regular season game.

TE Martellus Bennet made a few good plays too, I hope he is cured from his case of butterfingers.

Overall, you can just sense a difference on the team. They look like they believe they can win until the end. They even looked like it in their losses. You saw the broken, F-it, look last year sometimes even before halftime. I know what it looks like because I saw it in the mirror last season too.

The impression I’m starting to get is that, while I questioned some of the play calling and clock management in our back-to-back losses against division rivals, Lions and Vikings, I think the coaching staff is good at assessing talent. Not just on the field, but in the locker room, and off the field.

They have cut or traded people you didn’t think they would, and they have kept others that we thought were goners.

Shea McClellin being called “QB of the defense?” Hated by many, but now, when he isn’t injured, a big part of the change to 3-4.

Kyle Fuller. Flashy in two games last year, since then-poor in coverage at CB, but have you seen him tackle? He’s pretty tough for a little guy.

Anyway, with these guys, Pace and Fox saw something most didn’t.

They also get rid of players that can disrupt the change in Chicago. Moving forward is a great time to cut the anchors loose.

Especially if they are expensive ones.

I’m not gonna say we are going to the playoffs or anything, I’m gonna stay grounded. I will say that I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and the growth and development of our Beloved.

I also want to thank all of my readers for tuning in every week to hear what I have to say. It means a lot to me.

The comments have been quite interesting lately. A mixture of some very kind words and some downright insults, which as far as I can tell, are unwarranted.

I never claimed to be a football expert. I mean, my weekly article is actually called “A Fan’s Non-Expert Take.”

What happens in a persons’s life to make them hate?

I remember telling my editor once that I wanted more comments and some discussion on my articles.

I got what I wished for, it just looked better on the menu.