5 most pleasant surprises halfway through Chicago Bears season

3. Jack Sanborn is starting for the Chicago Bears

Jack Sanborn made his first career start on Sunday. We broke down how he played, and it was up and down, as you could expect. Still, he got better as the game went on, and learned from his mistakes. The team did add DeAndre Houston-Carson into the mix as a passing-down specialist to make life easier for Sanborn. It showed that while they were all-in on him starting, they would not give him the Roquan Smith role quite yet.

Still, the reality is that this is a rookie UDFA. If he had won a roster spot, it was a successful season. Getting on special teams made it a successful season. Now, this is just above and beyond what he could have ever expected.

Even if the struggles come, he was not expected to come in and set the world on fire. The fact is that he showed enough in training camp, the preseason, on special teams, and in practice to be given the shot. That in itself is a huge win for Jack Sanborn.

Many fans were calling for Jack Sanborn to start after the preseason, but even those fans are probably a bit surprised that it is actually happening. Whether he does poorly, or builds off of his first start, getting nine starts this season if healthy would be a big surprise.