The Chicago Bears have reached the stage the place the playoffs are not only a distant thought – they’re turning into a practical goal.
A 24-15 highway win over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night time at Lincoln Monetary Area was the sort of assertion efficiency that pushes a crew into the NFC spotlight.
Chicago has now taken 9 of its final ten video games and climbed into the convention’s No. 2 seed, overtaking the very opponent they beat.
Each groups entered Week 13 on equal footing record-wise and main their respective divisions. Like Chicago, Philadelphia had been grinding out tight finishes, with a league-high variety of single-score victories.
Afterward, the message contained in the Bears’ camp was clear. “[That] we’re for actual,” operating again D’Andre Swift mentioned.
“We ought to be assured in ourselves,” added security Jaquan Brisker. “We shouldn’t draw back for something like that. We’re on the roll proper now, and we might simply preserve getting higher. However that’s what we ought to be pondering [the playoffs].
“I imply, we obtained a complete bunch of canines within the locker room and issues like that, and that’s the best way we’re trending, and we’re altering the tradition. So yeah, that’s how we must always suppose.”
The Bears constructed the win by the bottom recreation, powering to 281 dashing yards – their second-highest complete this season.
Swift and Kyle Monangai not solely managed the tempo but additionally made historical past, turning into the primary Chicago duo to eclipse 100 dashing yards in the identical recreation since Walter Payton and Matt Suhey in 1985.
Monangai additionally joined Payton and Jeremy Langford as the one Bears rookies of the Tremendous Bowl period to attain dashing touchdowns in 4 straight video games.
“We knew they’re an explosive offense, we’re an explosive offense,” Monangai mentioned. “We knew every possession was essential, and we needed to put factors within the board with each, and we needed to do higher on a few of these drives the place we went three-and-out. However we knew drives was going to be at a premium, so I needed to benefit from every alternative.”
“I feel you see by the best way we finish each recreation that we’re not completed,” Gordon added. “I feel we’ve obtained future plans to be someplace additional in February, in order that’s what we’re actually taking pictures for.”
