Is this Real Life? Chicago Bears beat the Packers to advance to Division Round!

[adam]

Wow, what a game.  The script writers were on point with this one. Make it look desperate, then hit the climax and then the cliffhanger at the end.

So much to unpack (no pun intended).

[BearFan PHX]

We have our QB. The discussion is over. Caleb is a franchise QB.

The Pack is no longer our owners, we got that monkey off of our back definitively. We won the division, and we beat them in the playoffs. It's OVER. Bears are the better team now.

Lets see how far we can ride this. We either play the Rams or the Eagles next. We've beaten the Eagles already, and the Rams didnt look superhuman today against the Panthers.

And then next year, with a pass rush, we are coming for it all.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

That was insane. Wasn’t pretty but they kept swinging and as bad as the D was in first half they won this game the way they played in 2nd half. 
 

Loveland, Caleb, Moore and others they all battled…let’s go - 3 more to go!!! 

[Stinger226]

We had a winning record, a playoff win but what is more important to me is we probably got LeFuer fired. He's an awesome coach and will be elated if he's gone.

[BearFan PHX]

And that was with 50% completion. Imagine how this is all going to look when they get more consistent. We are already special, and were not even that "good" yet.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

2 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

And that was with 50% completion. Imagine how this is all going to look when they get more consistent. We are already special, and were not even that "good" yet.

There were a few real nice check down throws he made. When he and Bears figure it all out…look out. I’m kind of excited what this unique will look like when they have a full offseason and we get Rome back to 100 percent. I think we forget how good he is and will be. 

[BearFan PHX]

4 minutes ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

There were a few real nice check down throws he made. When he and Bears figure it all out…look out. I’m kind of excited what this unique will look like when they have a full offseason and we get Rome back to 100 percent. I think we forget how good he is and will be. 

And we will have a pass rush too!

[adam]

The Bears didn't punt. In 10 drives, they had 3 TDs, 3 FGs, 2 INTs, and 2 ToDs. So 60% of the drives resulted in pts, and 30% in TDs. GB had 11 drives, they had 4 TDs, 2 Missed FGs, 4 Punts, and the EOG. So they scored on only 36% of their drives. If you hold an opponent to only 4 scoring drives, you typically win.

The Bears won a game where they had no takeaways on defense and turned the ball over twice on offense. Something they rarely do on either side of the ball. 

 

[adam]

25 4th quarter points are the 2nd most since the merger. Eagles scored 26 pts in the 4th quarter against the Saints in 1993, but they won 36-20, so it was more of a blowout than a comeback. 

[Pixote]

My understanding (and please correct me if I am wrong) is that if SF beats PHI this afternoon, we host the Rams. If Phi beats SF, we host PHI.

I am not anywhere near as familiar with SF & PHI as some of you are. Which team would be the best for the Bears to oppose next week to give us a chance to go to the Conference final?

My knee-jerk reaction, since we did so well against them earlier this year, is Philly.

[adam]

We should've known it would play out like this. The Bears scored 0 in the first half of the last game, and 22 in the 2nd half and OT in the last game. This game it was 3 and 28. In the first game 3 pts in the first half, and 18 in the 2nd. So collectively, the Bears scored 6 pts in the first half in 3 games against the Packers and 68 in the 2nd half/OT. LOL.

[adam]

1 minute ago, Pixote said:

My understanding (and please correct me if I am wrong) is that if SF beats PHI this afternoon, we host the Rams. If Phi beats SF, we host PHI.

I am not anywhere near as familiar with SF & PHI as some of you are. Which team would be the best for the Bears to oppose next week to give us a chance to go to the Conference final?

 

You are correct, SF wins, LAR comes to CHI. If PHI wins, they come to CHI.

Pros and Cons to each:

LAR - travel is in in the Bears favor. LAR just had to go to CAR, back home, and then back to CHI. They have the better QB.

PHI - the Bears already beat them, PHI would have one less day of rest, but they are the Super Bowl champs.

[Pixote]

26 minutes ago, adam said:

You are correct, SF wins, LAR comes to CHI. If PHI wins, they come to CHI.

Pros and Cons to each:

LAR - travel is in in the Bears favor. LAR just had to go to CAR, back home, and then back to CHI. They have the better QB.

PHI - the Bears already beat them, PHI would have one less day of rest, but they are the Super Bowl champs.

Less rest, more travel. eh... However, with the trouble we have in our secondary, Hurts offers less of a challenge than Stafford, as long as we keep him from extending drives with his legs. So maybe Philly. Both teams will be a challenge, given that our D is playing Pee Wee Football.

[BearFan2000]

Also consider the Rams are a dome team that would have to travel here and play in the elements.  Philly is used to cold weather. 
 

that said I’m still blown away that we went from last year’s train wreck to hosting two home playoff games and possibly more.  One offseason.  It’s night and day.  

[adam]

3 hours ago, BearFan2000 said:

Also consider the Rams are a dome team that would have to travel here and play in the elements.  Philly is used to cold weather. 
 

that said I’m still blown away that we went from last year’s train wreck to hosting two home playoff games and possibly more.  One offseason.  It’s night and day.  

Next weekend is forecasted to be in the 20s. Even though Philly is used to it, most of their players are from the SEC, and they did not look like they wanted to play in the elements the last time the Bears played them. 

Rams were 5-4 on the road in the regular season, now 6-4. Eagles were 6-3 on the road.

Stafford supposedly is 1-8 in bad weather games, but those are rain/snow. This would just be cold, but still notable. 

I would have to look into how both teams have done vs bad defenses (bottom half of league), because the Bears defense is going to be the deciding factor. 

[Pixote]

I just checked, and it appears the Rams' defense has accomplished something rather amazing in 2025: fewer sacks than the Bears. 😉

 

[BearFan PHX]

46 minutes ago, Pixote said:

I just checked, and it appears the Rams' defense has accomplished something rather amazing in 2025: fewer sacks than the Bears. 😉

 

lol

[jason]

13 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

And that was with 50% completion. Imagine how this is all going to look when they get more consistent. We are already special, and were not even that "good" yet.

Main thread: nothing but bandwagon content from me

This thread: truth

The fact is, Caleb had numerous receivers wide open last night that he didn’t see. Could be they were the third or fourth progression. But some definitely weren’t. I fear he is over confident (better than under) and ignores the simple 5yd wins. 

He also still has a tendency to rocket in the simple ones. When it works it’s great. When it doesn’t, he leaves meat on the bone.

Finally, sometimes he just needs to run. Maybe 4-5 times last night he had an opportunity to just take off, but he delayed enough to limit running room.

Having said all that, I’ll probably buy his jersey this week and name my next dog Caleb. 🐻⬇️

[adam]

2 hours ago, Pixote said:

I just checked, and it appears the Rams' defense has accomplished something rather amazing in 2025: fewer sacks than the Bears. 😉

 

You are looking at the Rams offense, who only allowed 23 sacks. The Bears allowed 24.

The Rams defense had 47 sacks, tied for 7th. Eagles had 42, tied for 12th.  The Bears had 35. 

 

The Rams defense also had the 4th highest QB Pressure rate (26.3%), Eagles at 23.6% (13th).

Rams defense also had 16 INT, Eagles only had 12.

[adam]

1 hour ago, jason said:

Main thread: nothing but bandwagon content from me

This thread: truth

The fact is, Caleb had numerous receivers wide open last night that he didn’t see. Could be they were the third or fourth progression. But some definitely weren’t. I fear he is over confident (better than under) and ignores the simple 5yd wins. 

He also still has a tendency to rocket in the simple ones. When it works it’s great. When it doesn’t, he leaves meat on the bone.

Finally, sometimes he just needs to run. Maybe 4-5 times last night he had an opportunity to just take off, but he delayed enough to limit running room.

Having said all that, I’ll probably buy his jersey this week and name my next dog Caleb. 🐻⬇️

That is the best part, this is all still a work in progress, but the things Caleb needs to work on are correctable; he has the things you can't teach. Next year, in Year 2 of the offense is when Goff took off, and I would expect the same thing from Caleb. If they can get a few impact players on defense, this will be a perennial playoff team with real Super Bowl aspirations every year.