Improved Bears Lead NFC North, But Brutal Closing Stretch Looms

There is no reason to diminish what the Chicago Bears are doing in the NFC North this season. The Bears (7-3) are in first place in the division, a season after finishing in last place in a division that was considered the best in the NFL by a wide margin.

There is some slippage in the division this year as the Lions (6-4) are not devastating opponents the way they did last year, but Dan Campbell still has a powerful team. The Vikings (4-6) have fallen into the division cellar, largely because young quarterback J.J. McCarthy has lacked accuracy and poise in the pocket. The rest of Minnesota’s roster is loaded with talent, but the QB1 is not performing.

That leaves the Green Bay Packers (6-3-1), the team that the Bears must play twice during the season’s final seven games. The Packers have lost two of their last three games and were forced to pull out a late fourth-quarter victory over the stumbling New York Giants.

The Lions and Packers are in position to run down the Bears during the final seven weeks of the season. The Bears have shown dramatic improvement with head coach Ben Johnson pushing the team hard and Caleb Williams showing remarkable ability to escape the pass rush and turn devastating losses into game-changing big gains on the ground.

As well as the Bears have played, the upcoming schedule is brutal, with six potential losses. It starts with their Week 12 game against the Steelers (6-4), the AFC Central leaders. The combination of Mike Tomlin and Aaron Rodgers gives this team the experience edge over Johnson and Williams by a wide margin, and the Steelers clearly know how to prepare for a big road game.

Rodgers has devastated the Bears throughout his career, as he achieved a 24-5 record against Chicago during his long run with the Packers. Rodgers has a broken left wrist, but there is a better than 50 percent chance he will be in the lineup against Chicago. If he is under center, he will be facing an undermanned defense that is contending with injuries to linebackers T.J. Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds and Noah Sewell.

Edwards has hamstring and hand injuries and hasn’t played since the Week 9 game against the Bengals. Edmunds has a groin injury while Sewell has an elbow problem. Rodgers will be in a position to take advantage of these injuries with quick-hitting passes to DK Metcalf, Pat Freiermuth and Kenneth Gainwell.

Bears face Packers twice in coming weeks

The game against the Steelers represents the start of the gauntlet for the Bears. Williams has shown the capability of coming through when the game is on the line in each of the last 3 weeks against the Bengals, Giants and Vikings, but that may not be enough down the home stretch.

After the Steelers come to Soldier Field, the Bears go to Lincoln Financial Field on Black Friday to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Under the best of circumstances, the Bears might be able to stay close for 30 minutes but it doesn’t appear to be a winnable game.

Then comes the first of two games against the archrival Packers. The Bears will travel to Green Bay in Week 14 and then host the Packers in Week 16. Jordan Love has a pair of devastating speed receivers in Christian Watson and rookie Matthew Golden. Watson has returned from an ACL injury and should be able to run free through the Bears secondary. Golden will have an opportunity to cause big problems if he can catch an early pass and gain confidence.

A winnable game at Soldier Field against the Cleveland Browns should be a respite in Week 15 before the Bears close with the 49ers on the road and the Lions at home.

The Bears sit atop the division as the home stretch begins. However, this nasty closing stretch could cause a reversal of fortune for a team that is hungry for a shot at playoff success.