In the spirit of Thanksgiving, why not give a little thanks today, even with the Chicago Bears sitting at 3-8? There is always a reason to find the bright side, so what should Bears fans be thankful for right now?
5. The Chicago Bears have two premium draft picks
If the season ended today, the Chicago Bears would pick first and fourth in the 2024 NFL draft. That alone is something to be thankful for. It looks like Ryan Poles did something right with the Bears last offseason. The trade down from number one overall may have ended up netting the Chicago Bears the first overall pick in the 2024 draft, and the best part is that they did not have to do anything tanking-related to earn that pick. In fact, the Bears won a game, beating the Panthers, and saw their draft position improve. That is a sweet development, no matter the situation.
When you look at the Carolina Panthers, they are a mess. The quarterback does not look physically capable of making throws needed in the NFL. Their head coach has given up and taken back play-calling duties, and injuries have scattered across their roster.
The Arizona Cardinals just got Kyler Murray back, and they are 1-1 with their star quarterback. They appear to be set to win a few more games. Then, it is the Giants and Patriots who play each other, pushing one team away from the top pick. Both teams have a better coaching presence than the Panthers and may finish stronger because of that.
The Bears' own first-round pick may get better as well when you consider how they find ways to lose games. They also have the Vikings, Lions, and Browns, who all have winning records.
At some point, we want the fun to happen in January and February, but the Chicago Bears will be the talk of the draft once again when they have two top ten picks.
4. The Chicago Bears have found some core players
Ryan Poles has made his mistakes, but maybe the best thing he has done is identify them and move on. Chase Claypool is a good example. Also, the Claypool deal did not sway him from going to back to bat. His last two big-name trades have looked much better. D.J. Moore is a hit. He is everything you want from a star receiver who is ascending in the league.
He is young, he is balling with Justin Fields, and he is signed for the next few years. The Bears also got an extension done with Montez Sweat. Sweat has 11 pressures in three games since being traded, and he has faced some of the best right tackles in the NFL. At both wide receiver and pass rusher the Bears have young players locked down. Those are important positions to have.
Beyond that, it looks like he got both his tackles figured out. Braxton Jones still has to show a little more, but he looks the part of a starter at left tackle. The right tackle spot is locked down by Darnell Wright, who appears to be a hit. He has had ups and downs as a rookie but has played some fierce competition.
The Bears have two tackles, a wide receiver, and a pass rush established. They maybe locking down Jaylon Johnson, and if not, they will franchise tag him, keeping him here another year. Those five are nice pieces to build a roster around. You have to be thankful that Ryan Poles was able to bring in these four players over the last two years.
3. The Chicago Bears defense has played a lot better
Don’t look now, but the Chicago Bears defense has a chance to be good. Yes, that is tough to say, coming off of a game where they allowed two touchdown drives in the final four minutes to lose. However, it is also the game where they turned the Lions over four times, three on defense.
The Bears defense is undoubtedly playing better. It makes sense because they are getting healthier. Sunday was the second game in which the starting five in their secondary of Kyler Gordon, Jaylon Johnson, Tyirique Stevenson, Jaquan Brisker, and Eddie Jackson played the game together without any pressing injuries. They will move to their third straight game of continuity on Monday.
Montez Sweat has helped the pass rush. They have five sacks in the last two games after ten sacks in nine games prior to that. Andrew Billings has been a great free agent find, and the team has extended him already. He has turned this run defense around immediately. The linebackers just got Tremaine Edmunds back as well.
Be thankful that there will be more highs from the defense, and they may even have a complete performance soon.
2. The Chicago Bears have given Justin Fields the best support of his career
Sunday was one of the best games we saw from Justin Fields. Sunday was also the best supporting case we saw from Justin Fields. At the very least, even if Justin Fields fails this year, the Chicago Bears can say that they gave him enough support this year to see what he can do; earlier in the year, that was not the case.
Now, the Bears' offensive line is better than ever. Teven Jenkins is breaking out, and we already noted that they found their future tackles. With Nate Davis finally healthy, the final six games will be the best this group has been. DJ Moore averages nearly twice as many yards with Fields as he does with Tyson Bagent.
Darnell Mooney is healthy, Tyler Scott is involved, and Cole Kmet is having a career year. The run game looks better than ever. Justin Fields has not proven enough for the Bears to stick with him yet. However, fans can be thankful that the next six games will tell us everything we need to know.
1. The Chicago Bears head coaching job could be desirable in 2024
Matt Eberflus has done a poor job as the Chicago Bears head coach. The team may not fire him, but if they do, fans can be thankful that this looks like a pretty promising gig. First, as we noted, the secondary is in place. Only Eddie Jackson may leave, and that would free up cap space to franchise-tag Jaylon Johnson. Montez Sweat and Andrew Billings are building blocks up front, and the linebacker corps needs nothing added.
With DJ Moore, two tackles, and the freedom to make a decision at quarterback, the job looks good. Of course, the freedom to decide on Justin Fields comes with the two draft picks that will be in the top ten. So, a new coach can decide if he wants to use them to help Fields or use one to replace Fields.
You come in with control and enough pieces on the roster to start to build. Should the Chicago Bears make a move at head coach just because the job looks so much more attractive now than it did two years ago? Bears fans can be thankful that it looks that way.