Huge win. If we can pull out one of NE/NYJ we got a legit chance at a first-round bye.

Take care of biz next week in Detroit and we are in great shape.

Not that it matters, but where will ESPN have the Bears on their power rankings now? I am guessing 7th

I was at the Bills-Steelers game today so I missed everything except Knox's TD to make it 14-3 before we headed for the bus.

Was this game a good indication of what we're capable of? Looks like a solid, non-fluke win on paper to me.

i'd say so. there was still so horrific breakdowns for the o line but this is at about max capacity while being turnover free.

I don't think I'll be sold on this team even if they are holding the Lombardi trophy, but I'm pretty excited about the playoff push and some meaningful games. Sick win today.

Excellent win for the bears!

Pros:
- Defense played up to their expectation. They really show what a team can do when the run is off the table for the opposition. I really hope a lot of the Luvie haters can shut their mouths. It's obvious that he has been able to bring elite defense to the Bears for a long time now and probably will not be changing for another couple of years.

- Oh, I thought the cover 2 was an archaic waste of a defense?

- Special teams aka the anti-chargers. Who needs offense when you get 14 yards a punt return and 26 yards a kick return.

- Offense did exactly what it needed to do. 4 TDs by Cutler is good for shutting up the haters for at least a week.

Cons:

- Not sure I can think of any. They did let up a lot of yardage, but that was pretty much all garbage yardage.

As a side note did anyone watching the Chargers game last night get a little nervous at the thought of Ron Rivera getting the Vikings job? I have not read any rumors about him going anywhere specific, but it would suck pretty hard to have to face Rivera two times a year.

My prediction for next week is a win in which the Bears make it look really hard.

BEAR DOWN!

I just don't want an epic, soulcrushing letdown. But if we beat Detroit and get to 9-3...wow.

There is still a long ways to go in the regular season. The Packers aren't going away either. Week 17 could turn out to be some epic game at Lambeau.

I think the Bears defense has shown they can play with anyone in the NFC. I'm not even close to sold on the offense tho.

Great thing is the Bears have set themselves up for at least a "win in Lambeau win the division" finale.

For us not to be playing for the Div the Pack needs a 2 game lead for Week 17. Given they're a game back and there's only 4 games before then they need to win 3 MORE than us of the next 4 (so if we win 2 we're guaranteed not out of the Division title).

Outside of that what we're playing for until then (other than momentum/confidence) is to set up a 2 game lead guarantee, or preserve the one game lead to take it to tie-breakers.

But we're for sure in the better spot. And we're picking up speed...

(Please no Seahawk/Redskin style meltdowns)

I was thinking about this and really, if we get through Detroit, this'll be tough to do because of how strong the competition is. There's not one single team you can take lightly in the final 4 weeks. Minny's obv a much better team than what they've shown this year, and I think the resumes of NE, NYJ and GB speak for themselves.

The boys won't have a chance to look past an opponent, which can only be a good thing imo.

Also, and I'm afraid to say this because of the jinx, but the defense staying healthy has been huge this year.

One of my biggest Angelo/Lovie complaints has always been drafting undersized players with speed and then being amazed when they get hurt. This could be the 10% shot of keeping the defense healthy.

QFT I can read those idjits at ESPN like a book

http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings...r/2010/week/13

even tho they moved them to 7th, packers at 8th and they're not giving the bears a shot to win the division because of their schedule.

tho the packers don't have an e z moad schedule either. they still have to play giants and patriots.

A.N.O. has the Bears at 57% to make the playoffs at 8-3 and the packers at 70%
Last week when they were both 7-3 the Bears were 31% while the pack was 87%.

some other NFL teams
Giants 63%
Eagles 76%
Atlanta 98%
Saints 87%
Bucs 48%

Once again Chicago catches a break with Shaun Hill possibly being out for the season and getting Drew Stanton more than likely getting the nod.

not to be a fanboi but does anyone see the team playing better throughout the year?

i really feel like the offense is starting to grasp better what martz has been trying to do and that the increased run play #s gives them balance.

i'm not sure how far it's going to roll, but sunday afternoon sure felt like a momentum game where plays were just flowing.


plz steamroll detroit and don't give me a heart attack this week (my TIRD, heart attACK!)

you're in the homer thread it's fine

think you have it backwards; Martz is finally understanding what the offense is capable of. mostly 3 step drop passes due to our lack of offensive line (though it's admittedly played below NFL average lately rather than all-time bad which is a huge improvement)

as long as plays can be drawn up to where Cutler can understand progressions and know when to take sacks/throw OOB rather than get picked off, the Bears will be fine with their D.

I think Martz's understanding has meant limiting Cutler's progressions. Jay is good if you give him a rollout or a quick hitter because he doesn't have to survey the whole field and try and force a ball into tight coverage.

I would suspect somewhere in these next few games you are going to see the play the Eagles have been running a bunch with the play action rollout. Hester deep and Knox on a deep crossing pattern underneath the stretched coverage trying to run down Hester.

good thing we won. could easily have seen this game slipping away. would have been a disaster. 4 games left and every one of them will be huge the rest of the way. kinda sickening if we don't win the division we could still miss the wildcard.

I was thinking the same thing, would be very depressing to go 10-6 or 11-5 and not get there. Lets just beat the vikings and sneak one from the pats or jets, then have GB lose more than they should and not sweat the last game

On that note, who are we rooting for in this ATL/TB game? ATL losing brings us closer to the #1 seed, but TB losing could be beneficial if the Bears end up losing the division.

I don't understand why everyone is making such a big deal out of the Suh penalty. It was a 7 yd penalty that turned a 2nd and 2 on the 14 into a 1st and 10 on the 7. Thats like maybe 1 pt in EV at most imo.

This is assuming Cutler didn't fumble, then it obviously would've been huge.

I don't think it was a fumble. In fact I'm pretty sure it wasn't, but I'm guessing it would've been reviewed. My stream was pretty garbage quality though, maybe someone who watched in HD or something can paint me a better picture. Looked like Jay was down by contact before the ball came out.

And I never thought this would be an easy game, especially with so much on the line and playing on the road against a Lions team that's far far far far far better than their record indicates.

If Stafford stays healthy - and they're in line for a nice pick this year too - Detroit is a scary team going forward. This entire division is disgusting. lol @ the thought of Minny being the worst off heading into 2011.