Chicago Bears: National recognition has been earned

The Chicago Bears’ victory over the Minnesota Vikings, they solidified its playoff hopes. It’s time for the national media to admit this team is good.

The Chicago Bears faced their biggest challenge of the season in Week 11. They faced the Minnesota Vikings in a battle for NFC North supremacy. A win solidifies their playoff hopes. A loss and all the talk about them being playoff pretenders grows louder.

The Bears passed the test, beating the Vikings, 25-20. The defense was as stout as it has been all season, and just as it’s been all season, Mitchell Trubisky had some good moments and bad but did enough to come away with another victory.

The Bears are now 7-3, 1.5 games ahead of the Vikings in the division. The Vikings own the last Wild Card spot, so the Bears are in good shape to make the playoffs in any scenario.

The Bears’ play this season has their fans going bonkers. The love has yet to spread nationally, however. I wrote recently about the divide between how Bears fans love how Trubisky has advanced and how much of the national media sees him. Some predicted that fans would be selling Trubisky jerseys in three years. Others said Trubisky might not be on the roster come 2020. There were many so-called “experts” who predicted a Bears failure against Minnesota.

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That did not happen and now the Bears deserve some credit. They have now put themselves in position to be among the best teams. There are now only four teams that own a better record than the Bears — the New Orleans Saints (9-1), Los Angeles Rams (9-1), Kansas City Chiefs (9-1), and Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2).

No, Trubisky wasn’t perfect. He threw two interceptions. He went 200of-31 for 165 yards and a touchdown pass. Surely people will criticize him for the subpar numbers. However, the Vikings have a good defense. They aren’t the top defense they had last season, but tough nonetheless.

They faced the hottest quarterback in the NFL, Drew Brees. He wasn’t that hot against the Vikings, though. He went 18-of-23 for 120 yards, and threw just one touchdown and had an interception. Those numbers don’t exactly scream MVP. If he still got credit for beating Minnesota, then so does Trubisky.

When people talk about the Chicago Bears the first thing they mention is the defense. Yes, the defense is dominant and was so again against the Vikings. This is not just a defensive team, however.

The offense ranks sixth in points scored and tenth in passing touchdowns. While Jordan Howard has taken some criticism for his running woes this season, the overall running game ranks tenth in yards and ninth in touchdowns.

On special teams, kicker Cody Parkey took a lot of grief for missing four kicks last week against the Detroit Lions. He bounced back, though. He hit all three of his field goal attempts against Minnesota.

For the season, he’s hit 16 of his 21 field goal attempts. He’s also made 30 of his 32 extra point attempts. The only two he missed happened last week. He had a hiccup against the Lions, but I expect him to continue to play well.

The Chicago Bears are a very good team. It’s not just good on defense, but it’s good in all three phases of the game. The scary thing is that the offense still has room to improve. It’s about time the national audience finally acknowledges how good this team really is.