The Chicago Bears won their first game of the season. It took them to 1-4, so they are not back in the thick of things by any stretch, but the season is still young, and there is still time for the team to turn things around. There are reasons to be wary, but if they did turn it around, the following reasons would be why.
4. The Chicago Bears offensive line is getting healthier
One key takeaway from the Chicago Bears win over the Washington Commanders was how much they were able to win up front on the offensive line. That was the first time you could say that all season and it happened against a Commanders front that is loaded with talent. Some of that has to do with the talent up front.
First, Nate Davis is healthy; he has a few weeks of practice under him, and he looks like the player that the Chicago Bears signed this offseason. He had no time to gel with rookie Darnell Wright, and after two games together, they are looking like they are coming together. More than that, Teven Jenkins made his debut and played 37 snaps. He had a great night in pass protection and boosted the run game.
It was caused by an injury to Lucas Patrick, but the injury may be for the best. It slid Cody Whitehair into center and got Jenkins on the field. Jenkins, Whitehair, Davis, and Wright were all in their projected spots, and all had some of their best moments this week. It makes sense because this is the closest the line has been to the plan this summer, and it is the closest it will be. Unless any other injuries occur, the line will get better. It should improve their record.
3. The Chicago Bears can get pieces back in their secondary
The Chicago Bears won this game despite a depleted secondary. Rookie Tyrique Stevenson was picked on at times, Jaquan Brisker was playing despite not being 100%, and the team had backups on the outside and at safety with Elijah Hicks, who missed a couple of tackles and was in defense on both touchdown passes.
This was supposed to be the strength of the Chicago Bears roster. Right now, it has been a weakness. Still, Terell Smith is getting needed playing time and is stepping up. Stevenson gets tested but gets better every week. More than that, the team could get Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, and Eddie Jackson back soon.
This extended time off could do them all well. Gordon was not expected back until this time, but the other two are more questionable with their time framer. Either way, if they can start to get these guys back, it will do wonders.
The depth of the secondary is already improving, so if the talent gets better on the high end, we could see things come together quickly.
2. The Chicago Bears have something in Justin Fields to DJ Moore
We heard all summer that the connection between D.J. Moore and Justin Fields was special. It seemed like the Chicago Bears did not want to force things early, but in the last two weeks, it has been all Moore, and it has led to monster games.
Moore has 20 targets, and he turned that into 16 catches for 361 yards and four touchdowns. That is elite-level ability. Justin Fields has his issues, and the playmakers behind Moore are still not being lifted up because of Moore. Still, Moore and Fields have something that can win games.
When you think of the first four games, the Bears had two chances to win games against the Bucs and the Broncos in the final seconds, and they lost. However, if Fields and Moore can start clicking on those last-second drives, some of those close games can be flipped very quickly. If that happened earlier, the Bears could be 3-2.
So, maybe the Bears play like a team that is 3-2 the rest of the way. If they finish 7-5, they would be 8-9, which would be respectable for a finish after how things started.
1. The Chicago Bears got better after an early Thursday Night game last year
If you recall, last season around this time, the Chicago Bears had a bad record and were reeling off of a Thursday Night game. While the wins did not come in bunches, the Bears did start to turn things around right after that game, and the offense caught fire right after that.
Luke Getsy credited the mini-bye and a chance to self-evaluate and make changes based on where they stood. So, the Bears are in a spot where they get this mini-bye again. The good news is that it looks like the Chicago Bears started to make some changes before the mini-bye this year. The bad news is that they are sitting at 1-4 and should have caught onto some things before this point.
Still, if the Bears do improve like they did last year, it is fair to say that the roster is better, so the wins may end up coming a bit more than they did last year as well.
Again, 7-5 the rest of the way gets them to 8-9, which is not a winning season. Still, that would be a great finish for this team, and it should be a realistic goal that they have as they have some time off before a winnable division game at home.