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Braxton Jones just went on IR so he's out at least 4 weeks. The fact they waited so long to do that indicates to me that Ozzy is close to returning and they don't mind losing Braxton for at least 4 weeks. Otherwise why wouldn't you have put him on IR earlier in the week? It's not like his injury status changed between Wed and Sat but they did get to see Ozzy practice for 3 days in that same time. Marcus Davenport is activated from the practice squad for the game. It'll be interesting to see what he can bring to the pass rush. In pre-Halloween scary news Nick McCloud was also activated off the practice squad for this game.

That’s when stats match the eye test

OZ.

Yes, before he gets on the court. I am assuming he is implying that he will be coming off IR soon (next month).

He's a perfect slot. The big boys clear everything out and he finds open ground. Better hands than the guy we had last year. I forgot his name.

Also, the Bears are in good company right now. They are one of 4 teams with a top 10 offense and top 10 defense in EPA/P. They join KC, JAX, and CIN. Other teams are skewed really heavily towards offense (BUF and SF) or defense (MIN and LVR) which is typically unsustainable. Extending on this thought, teams that finished with a + Offensive EPA/P and a - Defensive EPA/P where their EPA Difference was over 0.10 has an average record of 12.5 - 4.5 over the last 5 years. Only one team in the last 5 years finished below .500 when they had a positive EPA/P on Offense and negative on defense, the Colts last year who lost 7 straight (started 8-2). Right now SF leads with an absurd +0.40, KC at +0.31, JAX at +0.30, and CHI at +0.21. The Bears are the only one to have already started a backup QB in that group.

This guy has exceeded my expectations tenfold. Not only does he seem like an awesome leader and locker room presence, he is balling on the field too. If anyone would've told me he would be a top 10 WR in the NFL thru 3 weeks and the Bears leading receiver, I would've called them crazy. He has a 90.5% catch rate (19/21) which is the highest catch rate in the NFL this season with players that have 20+ targets. The next closest is Coker at 80.8%. He is 6th in Receptions, and his average separation is 5.2 yds, tied for the best in the NFL. In comparison, Burden has a 2.8 and Odunze has a 1.5. Raymond is on pace for over 1,200 yards receiving. I am sure others will get more involved, like Loveland and Thomas but it is clear Raymond has more than replaced DJ Moore's productivity on this roster.

With Breece out, they become much more predictable. Mitchell was their #2 WR, so the only real threats on offense are Wilson and Sadiq. Using EPA/Play as a guide, the Bears should be favored by 7 pts as the Bears defense has a huge advantage on the Jets offense, and that doesn't take into account the injuries you mentioned: +0.08 CHI OFF vs -0.08 NYJ DEF = Net 0.00 +0.01 NYJ OFF vs -0.13 CHI DEF = -0.12 CHI ADV So this should be a game the Bears can control and win handily.

I believe that photo is Kobe just before he is announced at the start of the game. Just guessing.

I am glad they are making sure Oz gets the work in and builds himself back. I think week 6 is when we see him back on the game day roster maybe week 8 is when he starts. Gordon I think is week 5 or 6 with him having practiced in full all week but he still needs some time. Allen seemed to say he looked pretty good out there though.

One week at a time. Winning with back up qbs is hard to do - let’s focus on the Jets!

What is the meaning of that post?

It’s a good stretch for us but Seattle should look different with Darnold and as a road game that is always tough. After the loss to Minn the GB game feels like a must-win for us or we fall too far behind in the division. Granted I think we’ll be playing better in the 2nd half of the season but they’ll also have Parsons back then too. Detroit is a better team than Green Bay.

Today Ben said Ozzy looked really good in practice. Then he immediately said he will not play against the Jets and that Theo will start. Seeing as they were willing to rotate Theo and Braxton at LT I expect they will do the same with Ozzy as he returns to the field. Maybe we’re a couple weeks out for that.

Ben said Kyler looked good today and is moving well. Just needs to stack days. It might be possible he plays limited snaps against GB.

I was curious about the Jets and watched the short highlight version of their game against Detroit. Geno mostly worked the underneath routes but he seems to like to throw to Garrett Wilson anywhere. Kenyon Sadiq is a legit threat in the redzone. Breece Hall is about as dangerous as they come at RB but he’ll be watching from the sideline. Along with starting LB Mauigoa, WR Adonai Mitchell, OG Dylan Parham, and TE Mason Taylor. Kenyon Sadiq is fighting a back injury all week so he might be limited in the game if he plays. On defense they will be better with the return of Minkah Fitzpatrick. Their safeties looked pretty bad against Detroit they will benefit from him keeping things lined up. Their Oline did not look good at all against Detroit and pressure seemed to come from everywhere, hence all the quick short passes. That combined with a few key pieces missing on their offense is why I expect Dennis Allen to continue to mix it up with pressure and rotational coverages. Also why I think we can get 5 sacks in this game. We’ll see if Geno has good eyes. One thing that is different and better this year on our defense is the DBs and LBs rallying to the ball. The last two games now we usually have 3 players closing fast keeping gains to a minimum. Thieneman is a big part of that but so is Bush and the CBs. If Geno relies too much on the short game I think we’ll contain it. On a side note: 2 years removed from Ben Johnson the Lions offense looked/felt different from what I see us running this season. I’m no analyst but it seemed like they were using less motion than we do and some of the play concepts felt different…or more like the rest of the NFL offenses. They still lit up the scoreboard.

great stuff. Johnson really is a genius. I just wish he'd know when to kick the ball lol

There are so many new healing treatments that normal recovery timelines are being rewritten.

At 2-1, and going into a game at home against NYJ, the Bears should be 3-1 going to GB next Saturday. If they can squeeze out a win there and go to 4-1, it feels like they can go on crazy run. This is the remaining schedule through the bye: WK 6 - @ ATL 1-2 WK 7 - vs NE 1-2 WK 8 - @ SEA 2-1 WK 9 - vs TB 0-3 WK 10 - vs NO 1-2 WK 11 - BYE The SEA game feels like the only one that is a truly tough matchup, but they just lost to WAS with Mariota and barely beat the terrible Patriots. So I even feel optimistic about that game. So 8-1 is actually realistic at the bye. They may not get there, but it is not completely crazy to think they can.

Most were not expecting him back until December or January, but this was an interesting post in early October: With a Week 10 bye, it would be amazing if he could get back after the bye against NO in Week 11 on November 22nd. That is close enough to December from the original estimate, and the way Trapilo has returned early, Bryant would be a massive boost.

With Kyler on the PUP, he can't play until Week 5 against GB. So hopefully he gets enough reps in this week and next week to play.

Yeah, Geno has been sacked 9 times in 3 games, so we at least get 3. He has yet to throw an INT, but last year he threw 17, and has 32 over the past two seasons. He has never went 4 games straight without a pick (in the same season). So he is due for at least one. Garrett Wilson gets a 1/3 of the targets. So the Jets should not score more than 20. If they do, the Bears defense has failed. We don't know who is starting, but I am assuming Bagent. He has yet to start a game for Ben Johnson, and his last start was as a rookie in 2023. He is 2-0 as a starter at home though. However, he will have to play much better than he did in 2023. Even if he doesn't have as good of a game as Keenum did, I am hoping for a clean game. I think the Bears win by double digits, 24-13. Bears defense holds Geno to one TD, Bears score 3 and get the W.

I think we get 5 sacks in this game.

Speaking of over / under, what’s the number at for Bagent to start Sunday? I saw an interview with Schefter and he’s somewhat convinced it’ll be Bagent. He lists some good reasons why, one of which involves him putting some more game film together for a potential new team. This might be the game to do just that.