A Miracle Run? Bears See Potential Building

When cornerback Prince Amukamara played for the Bears, he spoke several times about his rookie season with the New York Giants in 2011 when they caught fire at the right time.

The Giants won three of their last four following a four-game losing streak, snuck into the playoffs, then went on to win the Super Bowl over New England.

The Bears like to think something like this can happen to them: the proverbial miracle run.

Maybe it's already started with the way their offense has suddenly clicked, albeit against some very bad defenses like the one they will play Sunday in Jacksonville.

"Probably in Seattle, we struggled at times in the beginning of the year and then all of a sudden, boom, we found our identity," tight end Jimmy Graham recalled.

When Graham played for the Seahawks in 2015, they struggled to a 4-5 record and even a bye week did nothing to help them. They suddenly caught fire on offense and wound up in the playoffs and then winning in the first round.

It happened to some extent with his 2014 team in Seattle, except on the other side of the ball. The defense struggled before regaining it's Legion of Boom identity and making it to the Super Bowl.

Graham looks at how the Bears offense is moving the ball and sees a team having fun and winning. It's how teams look when they get on a roll.

"Even though we started off the season 5-1, we were still looking for our identity," Graham said. "Not having a preseason, not having those preseason games kind of put a damper on the right kind of combination for our line, the counts for your receivers and your quarterbacks. It can put a damper on those things.

"Yes, I have been a part of that, and I've also seen teams make runs. I've seen the Giants just a couple years back make that run late. All we can do is take care of one week at a time, trying to get one win at a time and see where the cards lay and hopefully it will be in our favor and we can continue to play because I'm not used to going home in January."

Cordarrelle Patterson played on a New England Patriots team in 2018 that had fallen to 9-5 with a key loss at Pittsburgh and missed a chance for home field edge in the playoffs. They then went on a roll and won every remaining game, five straight including the AFC championship on the road to

"That's our main focus is just keep winning these games," Patterson said. "Hopefully we get our shot because these last two weeks, these last three weeks have been real good to us."

The key to staying hot at the right time is the right frame of mind.

They see something like this happening in the locker room.

"You just see a lot of smiles," guard Cody Whitehair said. "You know we're still playing for a lot, we're still in that playoff race. We're taking every game like it is a playoff game and that's just what we've got to continue to do these next two games and get into the show."

Graham said the spirit of the team is most evident on some of the longer runs David Montgomery has broken in recent games.

"I think you can look on film and see a team that's having fun," Graham said. "You can see a team that's playing for one another. When we spring a big run or pass, you'll see the whole line down there.

"Or when we've been scoring, I think you can look around and see almost every O-Line and tight end flexing and screaming and hollering, and that's a testament to the guys and really the work we put in. We want it and we're hungry. And losing those six, we just didn't want to go down without a fight. So that's what we're doing. We're fighting and scratching and clawing each and every play and each and every week."

Of such things dreams are made.

"Like I said weeks ago, it’s better late than never," safety Tashaun Gipson said.

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