When the fourth quarter of the Chicago Bears' game against the Washington Commanders got underway, few had any doubts about who would be leaving that stadium with a win. Yet, to the credit of the Bears, they found a way to string together 15 minutes of competent football on offense, along with the astounding effort put forth by their defense, and find themselves with the lead.
With how the game ended, there will be little attention paid to how it even got to that point, i.e., to the point where Washington was the team needing a miracle to get the win. However, there was more football played than that last play, and a day removed from the chaos of Sunday evening it's easier to zoom out and evaluate what the Bears showed throughout this performance.
Overall, this game showcased a lot of things that both Bears fans and general NFL fans shoud get excited about. The Bears and Commanders have a rivalry going back a long way, and Sunday showed that might be coming back, at least if the on-field chippiness was any indication.
This game also featured two budding stars at the quarterback position, that are going to be linked for as long as they're both playing. The number 1 pick and number 2 pick debate aside, it's clear that each of these teams has found a talented, resilient, leader to guide their franchise, something both franchises have been missing for decades.
Hail Marys aside, this game had a lot to take away from it, and what follows are the key (non hail mary related) takeaways from the Chicago Bears' Week 8 loss.