Bears the hottest offense in the NFL right now
Dec 28, 2020 12:23:04 GMT -6
riczaj01 and rosto17 like this
Post by JABF on Dec 28, 2020 12:23:04 GMT -6
We're not. But holy cow what an amazing offense since Lazor is calling plays and Trubisky is executing them at QB. We have legit TE play now, a nice run-game and Mitch is clearly in command running this offense with authority. Obviously we're not the hottest offense, but we are at least decent now. I'll take decent.
From Brad Biggs' 10-Points article:
LINK
1. When you rewind a few weeks to where the Bears were after a disastrous loss to the Detroit Lions, their sixth in a row, the hope was they could scratch, claw and fight to have some meaningful games at the end of the season.
It looked like jobs were on the line at Halas Hall, and the masses were clamoring for immediate change. What has transpired is fascinating from the standpoint that a team that appeared flawed in starting the season 5-1 suddenly is scoring points in bunches. The NBC pregame show said it best Sunday night when declaring the Bears the hottest offense in the NFL. It doesn’t sound right, and that was the joke when it was said, but the Bears have scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games, something they last accomplished in 1965.
The Bears, with the benefit of the San Francisco 49ers’ upset of the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday, are well-positioned to earn their second playoff berth in three years as the No. 7 or possibly even the No. 6 seed in the NFC. That would earn them one of the final two wild-card spots and a first-round game at the No. 2 or No. 3 seed.
The path to the playoffs is simple. A Bears victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Soldier Field or a road loss by the Cardinals to the Los Angeles Rams, and the Bears are in. It should be noted that NFL Network reported Sunday night that Rams quarterback Jared Goff has a broken right thumb, and that clouds his availability.
Here is how it breaks down:
Bears win and Rams win: Rams are the No. 6 seed, Bears are the No. 7 seed
Bears win and Cardinals win: Bears No. 6, Cardinals No. 7
Bears lose and Rams win: Rams No. 6, Bears No. 7
Bears lose and Cardinals win: Cardinals No. 6, Rams No. 7
The Packers will be playing for the No. 1 seed Sunday, so the Bears won’t get an easier path with Green Bay electing to rest key starters. The expanded playoff format awards a bye to only the top seed in each conference, and the previous system heavily favored teams that didn’t have to play in the wild-card round. No team that played in the wild-card round in the last seven seasons reached the Super Bowl. Obviously, those odds will change significantly with only one bye awarded in each conference, but this highlights the importance of a week of rest and not having to play an extra game.
Fivethirtyeight.com gives the Bears an 83% chance to make the playoffs. Steve Kornacki, the NBC political guru, had the Bears at 70% on the network’s show leading into “Sunday Night Football.” Kornacki went back to where they were after their 5-1 start, noting they had a 79% chance to make the playoffs then. That dipped all the way to 8% after the six-game losing streak dropped them to 5-7. Their wins the last two weeks bumped them up to 28% in Kornacki’s projections, and then the Cardinals’ loss to the 49ers bumped them up to 53% with the Bears climbing another 17 points after defeating the Jaguars. The New York Times has the Bears at 72% to reach the postseason, and ESPN projects them at 77%.
In other words, things are looking up at Halas Hall on Monday morning, a heck of a lot better than they looked a week ago or even Saturday morning before the team departed for Jacksonville.
1. When you rewind a few weeks to where the Bears were after a disastrous loss to the Detroit Lions, their sixth in a row, the hope was they could scratch, claw and fight to have some meaningful games at the end of the season.
It looked like jobs were on the line at Halas Hall, and the masses were clamoring for immediate change. What has transpired is fascinating from the standpoint that a team that appeared flawed in starting the season 5-1 suddenly is scoring points in bunches. The NBC pregame show said it best Sunday night when declaring the Bears the hottest offense in the NFL. It doesn’t sound right, and that was the joke when it was said, but the Bears have scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games, something they last accomplished in 1965.
The Bears, with the benefit of the San Francisco 49ers’ upset of the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday, are well-positioned to earn their second playoff berth in three years as the No. 7 or possibly even the No. 6 seed in the NFC. That would earn them one of the final two wild-card spots and a first-round game at the No. 2 or No. 3 seed.
The path to the playoffs is simple. A Bears victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Soldier Field or a road loss by the Cardinals to the Los Angeles Rams, and the Bears are in. It should be noted that NFL Network reported Sunday night that Rams quarterback Jared Goff has a broken right thumb, and that clouds his availability.
Here is how it breaks down:
Bears win and Rams win: Rams are the No. 6 seed, Bears are the No. 7 seed
Bears win and Cardinals win: Bears No. 6, Cardinals No. 7
Bears lose and Rams win: Rams No. 6, Bears No. 7
Bears lose and Cardinals win: Cardinals No. 6, Rams No. 7
The Packers will be playing for the No. 1 seed Sunday, so the Bears won’t get an easier path with Green Bay electing to rest key starters. The expanded playoff format awards a bye to only the top seed in each conference, and the previous system heavily favored teams that didn’t have to play in the wild-card round. No team that played in the wild-card round in the last seven seasons reached the Super Bowl. Obviously, those odds will change significantly with only one bye awarded in each conference, but this highlights the importance of a week of rest and not having to play an extra game.
Fivethirtyeight.com gives the Bears an 83% chance to make the playoffs. Steve Kornacki, the NBC political guru, had the Bears at 70% on the network’s show leading into “Sunday Night Football.” Kornacki went back to where they were after their 5-1 start, noting they had a 79% chance to make the playoffs then. That dipped all the way to 8% after the six-game losing streak dropped them to 5-7. Their wins the last two weeks bumped them up to 28% in Kornacki’s projections, and then the Cardinals’ loss to the 49ers bumped them up to 53% with the Bears climbing another 17 points after defeating the Jaguars. The New York Times has the Bears at 72% to reach the postseason, and ESPN projects them at 77%.
In other words, things are looking up at Halas Hall on Monday morning, a heck of a lot better than they looked a week ago or even Saturday morning before the team departed for Jacksonville.
