I can’t remember the last time a Bears Victory Monday didn’t have a celebratory vibe, but it makes sense after their Week 9 win against the Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football. Between the ugliness of the game and the understanding that there is still much to work on, it was hard to be cheery last night.
Let’s get this out of the way at the top. Good teams win games like the one the Bears won last night. Bad teams lose games like that. These Bears are good. They are 7-2 going into the bye. The Athletic’s Playoff Simulator has them with an 88 percent chance of making the playoffs. ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index gives them an 89.6 percent chance of making it to the dance. We’ll dig deeper into those numbers later in the week. But I wanted to get it out now to establish the vibe that the arrow is still pointing up despite a sloppy effort on SNF. Also, let me be clear: The Bucs aren’t a bad team. They just ended up on the short end of the stick in Week 9. It’s like my mom used to say: “Sometimes you’re the dog and sometimes you’re the hydrant.” I think we’ll look back on this game in January and view it more favorably than we do now. I’ll even go as far as to say we’ll see this win as a signature win, much like we do that wild win against the Cardinals on Monday Night Football in 2006. Now that I’m thinking about it, isn’t it wild how things can come full circle in football? The Bears winning despite what might have been Caleb Williams’ worst game ever is a testament to what is being built in Chicago. Williams completed 22 of 37 passes (59.5%) for 279 yards. He threw two touchdowns, but tossed four interceptions. We’ll break down the INTs later today. But seeing that stat line and knowing that this team still won speaks to what is being built at Halas Hall. Sometimes, I roll my eyes hearing about “team wins” because of how cliché it has become. But when you can point to so many different contributors chipping in for a three-point win, then it isn’t a cliché to talk about it that way.BEARS WIN ON SNF! Instant Player Grades | Back on the Horse | ‘Good, Better, Best!’
Cairo Santos has a knack for making clutch kicks, as Patrick Finley (Sun-Times) shares that Chicago’s kicker has made seven game-winning kicks in the final two minutes or overtime, which is the third-most in Bears history. Robbie Gould and Kevin Butler are tied atop the leaderboard with 10 each. Don’t look now, but Santos is trending in the right direction after a sluggish start. The veteran kicker has made 7 of 8 field goals over his last three games, including the game-winner on Sunday Night Football. Santos’ overall numbers aren’t what we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from Santos, but I am encouraged that he’s missed just one field goal from inside 50 yards over his last seven games.FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook | Twitter | BlueSky
I hope Jaylon Johnson’s game-changing pick-six of Baker Mayfield sparks CB1’s renaissance. With the 2026 NFL Trade Deadline coming on Tuesday, there is hope that Chicago can add another cornerback to the mix. You really can’t have enough help in the secondary when you’ve got games against Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, Josh Allen, and Jared Goff (twice) coming up on the schedule after the bye. But if the Bears can’t land the plane on another trade, they’ll need Johnson to be at his best after the bye. We’ve discussed how defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (3 solo tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 QB Hit) makes his fellow linemates better, but we need to talk more about how he makes life easier for the guys behind him on the defense. Linebacker Devin Bush (9 total tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PD) is one of the biggest winners of the Jeffery trade. Nov 8, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (99) reacts after a tackle against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Talia Sprague-Imagn Images An unofficial power ranking of who needs the bye week the most: (5) Bears social media admin(s), (4) Injured Bears players, (3) Head Coach Ben Johnson, (2) Caleb Williams, (1) Me. Punter Tory Taylor gets an honorable mention on the power rankings. Taylor (and the special teams unit as a whole) could really use a bye week. That’s back-to-back weeks with a blocked punt, which isn’t ideal. There was also a fake punt that got bailed out by a false start penalty. Special Teams Coordinator Richard Hightower needs to get back in the lab. Upon further review: The league owes D’Marco Jackson an apology for what was an awful holding penalty that wiped out a 90+ yard kick return for rookie Zavion Thomas. That return could have salvaged what was otherwise a disappointing night for Thomas, whose penalty was the first domino to fall in the Bears’ tailspin after building a 14-0 lead. One of my main takeaways from SNF is that it really stands out how much the Bears miss tight end Cole Kmet and running back Kyle Monangai in the running game. Chicago’s offense clearly misses Monangai’s punishing style, as well as the ability to keep D’Andre Swift fresh. As for Kmet, his 70.9 run-blocking grade ranks as the sixth-best among tight ends. Speaking of Kmet, Rome Odunze paying tribute to his injured teammate was a nice touch:"Cole, like I said we love you boy!" ? Rome Odunze did Cole Kmet’s homerun swing TD celebration. (? NBC) t.co/xAqw8nvnFN
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The Chicago Blackhawks are not making changes to their coaching staff, which is wild considering how poorly this team is (and has been) playing. I’d feel so much despair if I cared about the Blackhawks as much as I do about the Bears. Despite some of the intriguing pieces on this Hawks team, it looks like it is going nowhere fast. MLB’s GM meetings are underway. Will the Chicago Cubs plant the seeds for something good this offseason? Will it even matter with a lockout looming? (BN Cubs) The sharpshooting Chicago Bulls almost stole one from the Philadelphia 76ers.More Bears Coverage From Bleacher Nation: Go Ad-Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter
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