Strong Bears Finish Pure Fantasy ... Or Is It?

It seems like real fantasy football to ponder after the Bears started their season with two wins in their first 10 games, yet odds against them running the table can't be long compared to what they would have been a month or even two weeks ago.

For one, they've just come off back-to-back road games within their division when they were heavy underdogs and completely outplayed the Lions and Vikings—albeit scoring only tight, ugly win in the process.

The point is they did win, and the were in position where any team would have reasonable expectations to win the other game when they lost to the Lions.

Their defense is the major reason they have a chance against anyone, and particularly this motley mix of teams they play over the final five weeks.

The acquisition of Montez Sweat and his impact on the defensive line, the defensive line's pass rush pressure and how it has led to poor throws capitalized on in the secondary and the No. 1 run defense in the NFL have all made it difficult for any team to simply come in and score an easy win like the Chargers and Chiefs did against them earlier.

"Yeah it's just coming together," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. "You know, I think we had some injuries earlier on. You know, that's not acceptable to make an excuse but we had injuries. And, you know, we didnt have the continuity we wanted during training camp because of those injuries. And I think after the third, you know, fourth game, we got healthy and the guys started playing together and had some continuity there.

"You can feel it as the momentum keeps growing and growing with those guys and they certainly are exciting to watch."

The other reasons:

While Justin Fields is obviously not playing at a level of Jalen Hurts and definitely has trouble hanging onto the ball at crunch time, he did get a rare tight road win with a final drive to the winning points. At least now there is precedent he can achieve such a thing.

Of utmost importance is he is healthy and there could be two or even three of their remaining five opponents who might be playing a backup quarterback or even third-stringer against their defense in the last five games. There will be one, for certain, because Cleveland is down to using either a backup, third-stringer or even recently signed practice squad QB Joe Flacco.

They have a wide receiver in DJ Moore who has gone over 1,000 yards and has a shot at the team receiving yardage record.

The two weeks before their next game could lead to an entirely healthy running back group.

The incentive is there.

"We know what's at stake," safety Eddie Jackson told reporters Monday night after their win. "So we've got these last five games after this that we've got to win out in order for us to make the playoffs, and we feel like that's our focus right now."

Playoffs? Did he say playoffs?

Well that didn’t go as planned today for the @selecaoportugal by booking a trip to the single game elimination playoffs in March.

2 do-or-die matches… 130 days to sort shit out 😒

Jim Mora, what do you think about our trip to the playoffs? pic.twitter.com/gTbM8tIzYQ
— Sergio & Associates™️ 2.0 (@TheRealSergio_R) November 15, 2021

Just winning the games might suffice because going 9-8 would ensure nothing about postseason in the NFC, although there's no doubt the Bears would love to take their chances.

The greater incentive might be to keep their coaching staff in place and continue with Justin Fields at quarterback.

No one can be certain right now whether they might have already decided against either or both, or in favor of either or both.

All that can be assumed is they have five winnable games remaining and after taking four of their last eight and on paper the most difficult one looks to be the next one.

Right now, the goal is just winning consecutive games because they haven't done it under Eberflus.

Here's what's ahead of them.

Detroit

They just held the ball on the road for 30:18 to 14:42 for three quarters against Detroit and led 26-14, then squandered it all in the last three minutes. it wasn't a case where the Lions were without key starters like Minnesota. So there's no reason to think they can't beat the NFC North leaders, who are 20th pn pass defense, fifth against the run, but third in passing and sixth in rushing. They have an extra week to prepare for this game, as well.

At Cleveland

The defensive struggle is written all over this one and a trump card like a quarterback who runs can be the deciding factory. Detroit is No. 1 on defense, 1st against the pass and 12th against the run. The key will be not turning it over and letting their own defense dominate against either P.J. Walker, Joe Flacco. The Browns beat the Ravens when they had Deshaun Watson. Since he went out for the year, their offense has scored 12 and 13 points in its last two games. The Browns do rank third in rushing, but again, they'd be facing the top-ranked run defense in the league. To top it all off, Myles Garrett now has a shoulder injury. Any upset of the Browns would start with handling him because he ravaged the Bears offense in 2021 in Fields' first start.

Cardinals

By this game the Cardinals might even have decided to give in to their tanking urge and stop playing Kyler Murray. After all, they are vying with the Patriots and Panthers for worst record in a "Tankathon," which the Bears would win if Carolina finishes with the worst record. Either way, the Cardinals have the 30th ranked run defense, are only 29th in passing themselves and will be playing in the cold on Christmas Even in Chicago. That has tank written all over it.

Falcons

This New Year's Eve game at Soldier Field could be critical for both teams if the Bears do finally put together this first winning streak under Eberflus. The Falcons are playing for the division title in a terrible division, and at 7-8 the Bears would definitely be in the hunt for the final wild card. It would be hard to envision the Bears failing to get to .500 by losing this game if given the chance to do it, after the depths of despair they were once in at 2-8. Momentum would be driving their sails at this point. It would be a matchup of two teams with similar running attacks, but the Bears have the dual threat of a better running QB. Atlanta is only 21st passing the ball and Desmond Ridder has more interceptions (8) than TD passes (7) while backup Taylor Heinicke usually operates a passing game like the Bears showed Monday night, all within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage. Neither Falcons QB has a passer rating this year over 84.2.

At Packers

This rematch of the season opener could be for a wild card if the Bears continued this imaginary late-season run and the Packers remained as strong as they've looked the last couple games. Green Bay has to play the Chiefs still, the resurgent Giants, Tampa Bay and then this game. The Green Bay run defense has been leaking throughout the course of the season and ranks 27th. The Packers don't appear as stout as in the opener. Love has played better in winning three of the last four after struggling earlier.

This one could be for all the marbles—the Bears keeping Justin Fields going here next year, keeping Matt Eberflus and staff, and, who knows, maybe even Ryan Poles' fate gets decided, although that seems unlikely to be a topic.

Or it could simply be the 10th straight loss to the Packers as well as the last stop before the next coaching search, and last game before the Caleb Williams era begins.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven