Watching some of the national media members gravitate more toward the Chicago Bears, over the last few weeks, has been a lot of fun for this fan base. It's also a different vibe, that's for sure.
These fans aren't accustomed to the Bears getting a whole lot of national love, but here we are.
One of the biggest names in sports media has been on a roll with his recent love for Ben Johnson and the Bears, and he isn't stopping anytime soon. On the latest episode of his Pat McAFee Show, McAfee once again talked up these Monsters of the Midway.
McAfee hammered the two biggest strengths, talking about the run game and their ability to take the ball away:
"You run the ball, you can run the clock. And if you get turnovers, you take time away from the other team even more. Time of possession for the Bears, I would assume, is pretty absurd this season... and them having three of the top-six picks-havers in the league is crazy... 26 turnovers I believe, right?"
Pat McAfee can't believe how good the Bears defense has been at taking the football away
After mentioning the Bears' turnovers, McAfee started to laugh and shake his head in disbelief.
"That's so many," he said after getting through a laugh or two.
His reaction is exactly what many others are feeling, right about now, though. For fans who have kept close tabs on the Bears this year, they know just how banged-up the defense has been.
It is extremely impressive that Chicago has three of the top six interception leaders across football, but none of them include guys like Jaylon Johnson or Kyler Gordon -- because they've been hurt!
Johnson and Gordon have missed enormous chunks of the season and are just now getting back on the field, together, for the first time all year. That's what makes this aspect of the team so hard to believe -- laughable, even, as you saw with McAfee.
Chicago has been without stud linebacker T.J. Edwards as well. In recent weeks, even Tremaine Edmunds, Noah Sewell, and Rueben Hyppolite have been hurt, which has put more pressure on backups like D'Marco Jackson and Amen Ogbongbemiga.
This Bears defense has been ravaged by injuries, but they're still leading the NFL in takeaways. It is remarkable. You simply can't help but just laugh at seeing the likes of Kevin Byard, Nahshon Wright and Edmunds atop a leaderboard like that.
It wasn't long ago when some folks called Byard "washed up," and here he is playing like the All-Pro he once was back in Tennessee.
So many things are going right in Chicago, while plenty have also gone wrong. Yet, the Bears press on and win games. It's that simple.
Read more: Matt LaFleur said what even Bears fans won't want to admit about Ryan Poles
Seeing guys like McAfee take an extended time to talk about the Bears regularly is refreshing. It's fun, and hopefully it continues as the postseason approaches.