Chicago Bears: Wins over bad teams not impressive, but still count
The Chicago Bears picked up another big victory over a sub-.500 team in Week 9. While those wins aren’t impressive, they’ll still count for the playoffs.
Entering Week 9, the Chicago Bears held the lead in the NFC North with a 4-3 record to their credit. What’s more, the Bears were blessed with a gift from the scheduling overlords, a date with the Buffalo Bills, who would be starting the much maligned Nathan Peterman at quarterback. As a possible playoff team, it seemed like a game the Bears should handle their business decisively in.
Chicago did just that. While Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears offense were stifled a bit by the Buffalo defense — an admittedly underrate unit — the NFC North leaders still unfurled a fully dominant effort against the Bills. By the end of 60 minutes, it was a 41-9 rout in favor of Chicago, moving them to 5-3 on the season.
With the Minnesota Vikings behind them at 5-3-1 (the tie being a crucial factor currently), the Bears control their own destiny in the division. Having said that, there are still many people that are discrediting where the Bears currently stand in the landscape of the NFL. The Buffalo win stands as a prime example of why there are detractors too.
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None of the five wins that Chicago has accrued this season have come against teams with records over .500 on the 2018 season. In fact, the only team even close to reaching that is the Seattle Seahawks, who sit at 4-4. And, in the case of the Seahawks, they’re a team in a similar position to the Bears in that they’re schedule has been a far cry from tough on the year.
In truth, there is some merit to what the critics of the Bears are saying. This team, as currently constructed, is on the upswing, but clearly not quite ready to contend just yet. While that may all be true, though, there is one additional truth that’s being lost in this: Quality of wins isn’t a factor when it comes to making the playoffs.
Despite the fact that the Bears might be beating up on bad teams, that doesn’t show in the standings. What shows is that they are 5-3 and sit atop the Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions after nine weeks of the season.
What’s more, the lackluster competition for the Bears isn’t going to stop as they play a last-place schedule. Of their remaining eight games, five of them are against teams with sub-.500 records, meaning that they could very well continue to beat up on subpar teams.
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If that indeed does happen, then yes, they will be a bit of a pretender. Even still, they’ll also be a playoff team. And while it may not be pretty in the postseason, getting there is a major step forward for this franchise given their recent struggles — no matter who they beat to get in.