Chicago Bears officially “in the hunt” ahead of Week 8

What this start means for the 2022 Chicago Bears and beyond

A record of 3-4 may not seem impressive for this Bears team. Still, considering how low people were on the team heading into the season, and the fact that teams like the 49ers and Packers were talked about as Super Bowl contenders, this has to be considered an impressive start for a team that is in the first season of a new head coach and general manager.

The good thing for the Chicago Bears is that they are actually over-achieving. While the 49ers have made trades to improve their chances of winning now, with the Packers being rumored to do so as well, the Bears have started selling pieces in order to load up on draft capital and salary cap for the future of this team.

The Bears are certainly focused more on the future organizationally, with easily over $100 million dollars to spend in free agency and now six picks in the first five rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft, and potentially more on the way. However, there is no doubt that the players and coaches in the building are not viewing this season as a tank, and they are not only going out to win each game but are actually visibly improving week to week.

It is also important to note that all of the Bears’ losses have come by one possession, outside of the loss against the Packers that featured a questionable call on a would-be touchdown late in the game.

It is easy to play revisionist history in the NFL, thinking that the Bears would have a better record if former receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette didn’t fumble on the potential game-winning drive in Minnesota or Justin Fields was able to connect with Darnell Mooney on the final drive against Washington. However, we can only hope that the players and coaches have learned from these situations and will perform better in the future in close games down the stretch.