Bears Escape Week 1 With A Win

Good morning Chicago fans! We waited so long for football season, and all we got in return was…2001? 2006? 2018?

Despite the familiar feeling of watching an incomprehensibly bad offense, we can celebrate a big win to start the season!

RESULTS

W - Bears 24, Titans 17: A near nightmare turns into a defensive clinic!

• The Titans dominated a 17-3 first half as I quickly got flashbacks to last season’s opener against the Packers 🤢

• After leading the NFL in rushing defense last season, the Bears allowed 115 yards on the ground in the first half

• Daniel Hardy blocked a punt in the 3rd quarter, and Jonathan Owens scooped it up for a TD

• Three takeaways highlighted a second half shutout by the Bears defense, and a Tyrique Stevenson pick 6 gave the Bears the lead! Why in the world did Will Levis flip him the ball instead of taking a sack???

• The entire offensive unit (148 total yards) was a disaster. The offensive line was outmatched, especially C Coleman Shelton. The game plan was ineffective. The run game was nowhere to be found. Keenan Allen dropped a TD.

• Caleb Williams (14/29, 93 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT) played like a rookie and had a few inaccurate passes, took an unnecessary 19 yard sack, and seemed to be slightly off with his timing

• Velus Jones Jr. fumbled on a kickoff return. Again. 🙄

• DeAndre Carter looked VERY good in the return game!

• TJ Edwards had 15 tackles! 💪

SEASON RECORD: 1-0 (T/1st place)

⭐ STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐

Darrell Taylor

The Bears don’t win this game if Ryan Poles doesn’t pull off a trade for Taylor at the end of the preseason (read about that trade from 8/26)

8 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 1 forced fumble

🎥 PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥

Tyrique Stevenson Pick 6

HARD KNOCKS

That’s a wrap! Episode 5 was the finale for the Bears on Hard Knocks. This was my favorite episode of the series, so it was a great way to go out. Hard Knocks is infamously the “roster cut down” show, and that’s what we got to see this time around.

🏈 Xs and Os: Jaylon Johnson pulled Rome Odunze aside after practice and asked him to run option routes 1 on 1 so Johnson could work on his techniques. I love seeing the work ethic and drive to be better from one of the best corners in the league. Extra reps against a vet will serve the rookie well, too!

😎 Favorite Scene: Credit to Hard Knocks…they put together a SWEET edit of Caleb Williams completing passes on the practice field. Take a look:

🤢 Disturbing Scene: Ryan Poles had to leave the room when telling S Adrian Colbert he did not make the 53-man roster. You could feel the weight on his shoulders. He could barely get the words out. He told Colbert how special he was, how talented he was, and how hard it was to let him go.

😂 Funny Scene: All of the Velus Jones Jr. talk was VERY entertaining. When discussing who would make the roster, ST Coach Richard Hightower explained how Velus would contribute on special teams, and Ryan Poles let out a verbal “He’s aliiiiiive”. RB Coach Chad Morton later said he wants to push Velus to “try to be the best running back in the entire league.”

💲 Showoff: DJ Moore and his family have sweet new digs in Chicago! We got a quick tour of their house, including a nice spot in their living room where his daughter wants to put a pool. And congrats to the Moore family - they announced they are pregnant!

❌ I’m Done: Simone Biles is the GOAT…but did she need to be in EVERY episode??

Overall, Hard Knocks was fun but underwhelming. Extra access to the Bears is always welcome, so I enjoyed the show. It’s too bad they only touched the surface on so many intriguing topics. Most of the show felt like content that we already get on social media throughout the season.

The bright spot is the show provided confirmation that good people are in charge AND on the field at Halas Hall. The culture is strong, and the future is bright.

NEWS & NOTES

Before this season began, #1 overall pick QBs were 0-14-1 in their first start in the NFL since 2002. Now…1-14-1.

Bears are the first team in NFL history to win a game where they gained less than 150 yards and trailed by 17+ points

🎖 2024 Team Captains! 🎖

Caleb Williams, DJ Moore, Cole Kmet, Marcedes Lewis

Tremaine Edmunds, TJ Edwards, Jaylon Johnson, Kevin Byard

• Doubled the number of captains from recent years (4 to 8)

• Surprised to see Kevin Byard (since he’s a newcomer) and Marcedes Lewis (since he’s not a star player, but don’t get me wrong, he’s an excellent blocker and leader)

• Caleb Williams deservedly received a C and is the first rookie to do so since the Bears started naming captains in 2007

• Great group overall! Good mix of ages, backgrounds, leadership styles, position groups, and time spent with the Bears organization

• 2 Tight Ends, 2 Linebackers, 2 Hometown Kids (Kmet & Edwards), 2 ultra-vets (Lewis & Byard), and 2 Bears Newcomers (Caleb & Byard)

Packers are 0-1 and lost QB Jordan Love for the next 3-4 weeks with a sprained MCL

Released WR Dante Pettis with an injury settlement

USC retired Caleb Williams’ #18 jersey

Kyler Gordon mentioned in the offseason (noted on 6/10) that the defense’s season goal was 20 interceptions and 20 fumble recoveries. I’ll be tracking those numbers:

TROPHY TRACKER (6/10 ➡ 🏆)

RESULTS

L - Pirates 5, Cubs 3: Heartbreaking way to end the 6-game winning streak

• Jorge Lopez entered the 8th inning with a 3-0 lead and quickly gave up 4 ER on 2 HR

  • Prior to this appearance, Lopez had only allowed 2 ER in his entire Cubs tenure (since June 28th) 😮

• Jameson Taillon was robbed of another win after an impressive start (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K)

L - Pirates 5, Cubs 0: Skenes vs. Hendricks Episode 3 ended with a shutout

• Kyle Hendricks started in place of the injured Justin Steele and actually kept the Cubs in the game (5 IP, 2 ER)

• The record-breaking Cubs offense from last week took a nap

  • 5 hits, 0 runs, 0-5 with runners in scoring position, 10 K

  • Stranded EIGHT runners in the first THREE innings against Skenes

W - Cubs 12, Pirates 0: COMBINED NO-HITTER!!! 🚨🚨🚨

• Shota Imanaga (7 IP), Nate Pearson (1 IP), and Porter Hodge (1 IP) combined for the Cubs first no-hitter at Wrigley Field since Milt Pappas in 1972

• The elite offense showed up again! 17 hits, 3 players with 3 hits each, 3 HR (Cody Bellinger, Dansby Swanson, Pete Crow-Armstrong)

L - Yankees 3, Cubs 0: Anthony Rizzo returned to Wrigley Field for the first time!

• Rizzo was given a loud standing ovation and ended up with as many hits as the entire Cubs team (1)

• Luis Gil came off the IL for this start and looked sharp (6 IP, 1 H, 7 K)

• Jordan Wicks allowed all 3 runs in the 3rd inning

L - Yankees 2, Cubs 0: Back-to-back shutouts 😢

• Another Yankees starter, Clarke Schmidt, came off the IL just to dominate the Cubs (4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 K)

• Each team recorded 4 hits in a pitchers’ duel

W - Cubs 2, Yankees 1: Squeaked by with a win to avoid the sweep!

• Jameson Taillon (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) outdueled Gerrit Cole

• Isaac Paredes drove in both runs on a 1st inning RBI single

WEEK RECORD: 2-4

SEASON RECORD: 73-70 (2nd place, 9 GB, 5 GB Wild Card)

⭐ STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐

Jameson Taillon

2 quality starts, 13 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K

🎥 PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥

PCA Hustle & Speed to 2nd

ROSTER MOVES

Wednesday: Placed Jorge Lopez (right groin strain) and Justin Steele (left elbow tendinitis) on the 15-day IL, recalled Jack Neely and Trey Wingenter from AAA

NEWS & NOTES

Aramis Ramirez and Kerry Wood were inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame yesterday at Wrigley Field

Remember when the Cubs scored 67 runs in 6 games last week? Or scored 99 runs in 10 games?

This week: 17 runs in 6 games

No-hitter game: 12 runs, 17 hits, Other 5 games: 5 runs, 19 hits

TROPHY TRACKER (6/10 ➡ 🏆)

NEWS & NOTES

Announced their roster for the Prospect Showcase on September 13th and 14th:

NBC Sports Chicago celebrated 20 years of broadcasting before its run will soon end in favor of the new Chicago Sports Network. They aired a special episode highlighting the biggest moments of those 20 years:

TROPHY TRACKER (2/10 ➡ 🏆)

NEWS & NOTES

Signed G Talen Horton-Tucker to a partially guaranteed contract

• The Bulls have definitely made the back end of their roster more interesting. Are they better? I’m not so sure.

• Horton-Tucker is, you guessed it, from Chicago and is another shooting guard without a 3-ball. He has played for the Lakers and Jazz in his 5-year career. He attended Simeon in high school - the same school as Derrick Rose.

Reportedly signed PF EJ Liddell

• Appeared in 8 games for the Pelicans last season

• 2022 2nd round pick out of Ohio State

Training camp begins with Media Day on September 30th. The team will host camp in Chicago after traveling to Nashville for a destination training camp last season. Maybe they want to change the vibes again?

TROPHY TRACKER (1/10 ➡ 🏆)

Anthony Rizzo

Rizzo is one of the most generous, caring, and community-centered people to ever wear a Chicago uniform.

He played at Wrigley Field this weekend for the first time since getting traded in 2021, and he made sure to spend time at Lurie Children’s Hospital and visit kids who are battling cancer.

After a decade of supporting families in need while on the Cubs, he is remembered fondly by all who watched him play and represent the city so well.

It’s commendable that his work is not complete, and the hospital was his destination of choice on his day off in Chicago.

Read more here:

The Bears turned the page.

It’s one win. I get it. The offense was awful. But this was STILL different.

This wasn’t 2018. Mitch Trubisky was a promising young QB, Matt Nagy was the new offensive guru in town, Ryan Pace just traded for Khalil Mack to elevate the defense to elite status, and the team was built to win. We all know how that season opener ended. Mack played like a possessed man, and the Bears dominated until Aaron Rodgers returned from injury and ripped out their hearts.

This wasn’t 2019. The double doink was a maddening way to end the season. But the defense was historically good. The city was riding high with the team’s 100th anniversary celebration and Trubisky rocked the Jim McMahon look. Trubisky was supposed to take the next step to complement the defense, and they could advance deep into the playoffs. And we all know the offense put up 3 points in that opener against the Packers.

This wasn’t 2023. Justin Fields finally had a receiver in DJ Moore. The defense had significant talent upgrades. Ryan Poles’ vision for the new era of Bears football was starting to take shape. And who was in town for the season opener? Jordan Love and the Packers who stepped all over the Bears like it was any other season in the past.

It probably helped to have the Titans on the schedule for Week 1 this season.

The offense may have been worse than any of the season openers we can remember, not exclusive to the ones I mentioned above.

But good teams find ways to win. The defense flipped the switch in the 2nd half and proved something. I expected the offense to take at least a few games to gel, and this is the only way to pull off a good record by the end of the year.

We’ve seen Bears teams fold. We’ve seen Bears teams lose a heartbreaker on the last play of the game. We’ve seen too many game-winning drives by opposing quarterbacks.

This team believes in each other. 1-0.

Jason Lieser - Ryan Poles interview (Chicago Sun-Times)

Tony Andracki - When Cubs players realized there was a no-hitter in progress (Marquee Sports Network)

Ben Pope - Alex Vlasic’s offseason (Chicago Sun-Times)

Patrick Mooney - Pete Crow-Armstrong’s evolution (The Athletic)

Kevin Fishbain - Bears roster by the numbers (The Athletic)

Adam Jahns - Matt Eberflus has buy-in from the players (The Athletic)

Scott Powers - Can Frank Nazar earn a full-time role? (The Athletic)

Dan Pompei - What NFL scouts are saying about the Bears (The Athletic)

NFL Films - Cairo Santos’ NFL journey (X)

Thanks for reading! Have a great Monday celebrating an undefeated Bears team or maybe the 2 White Sox wins from this week!

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