Chicago Bears: Beating Saints could make things interesting

If the Chicago Bears can defeat the New Orleans Saints in Week 8, the rest of the season could get very interesting in the Windy City.

When the Chicago Bears started this season 1-4, it seemed like it would be a lost year yet again. However, with the Bears winning two games in a row to get to 3-4, things have become a bit more rosy. Win this weekend against the New Orleans Saints, though, and things could get even more interesting.

If John Fox and the Bears could upset the Saints down in New Orleans and get back to .500 entering the bye, the second half of the season could be about much more than developing Mitchell Trubisky. The NFC North is wide-open after Aaron Rodgers broke his collarbone, and the Bears could climb right back into the mix.

The Minnesota Vikings may have a dominant defense, but their offense has already lost Dalvin Cook and Sam Bradford to injuries. They might get Teddy Bridgewater back in a few weeks, but keep in mind that he has a career rating of 87.0 and only 4:3 touchdown to interception ratio. He hasn’t played in nearly two years, so how good could he possibly be?

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Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions always seem to be in it, but Matthew Stafford was hobbling around on one leg in weeks prior, and Golden Tate could miss multiple weeks with a shoulder injury. Their defense is taking the ball away at a good clip, but is that sustainable? The defense as a whole doesn’t instill much fear into any opponent.

And as mentioned, the Green Bay Packers appear to be in a tail-spin due to Rodgers’ injury. The team has dropped two games in a row and Brett Hundley is at best an average starter. The Packers’ defense hasn’t been awful, but it surely can’t carry the team while Rodgers is out.

So, there’s a prime opportunity for the Chicago Bears to throw their hat into the ring for the NFC North. The toughest part of the schedule is over. Including the game against the Saints, the Bears would have faced six quarterback who have played in a Super Bowl (Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Cam Newton, and Drew Brees) and two more who were number one picks in the draft (Jameis Winston and Sam Bradford). Getting potentially four wins against these opponents would be quite the accomplishment.

The Bears second-half schedule looks pretty easy and features games against the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and San Francisco 49ers. The team also plays Lions twice and the Packers and Vikings once each, so the Bears could make up ground quickly in the division by beating these rivals.

All of this is a moot point if the Bears can’t beat the Saints this week, but even if they lose, the team could still be competitive within the divisional race. With the way the Bears defense and running game has been going, they have the recipe to have further success this year, particularly with the cold weather setting in.

Next: NFL: 5 Teams on upset alert in Week 8

It would be extremely exciting if the Bears could climb back to .500 this week and play meaningful games in November and December. Just remember this Bears fans: Since 2003, at least one team has gone from last in the division to first the following the year. So why can’t the Bears be this year’s team to do it?

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