Sea.6, Wk. 2 - Bears restore winning ways vs. Texans

After being soundly defeated at the hands of NFC North opponent Minneapolis in Week 1, Chicago sought redemption against a Texans squad (85 OVR) who had cut QB Matt Schaub in an attempt to free up cap space, but their new starter was injured, forcing backup QB Brad Wooley to start. Wooley performed admirably, but couldn't match Chicago's offensive onslaught, coupled with an excellent pick-6 by CB Chris Armstrong.

Next up for Chicago: going from Houston to Indy to take on the Colts and the red hot (and 98 OVR) QB Andrew Luck in a re-match of the 2006 season Super Bowl, albeit with very different personnel this time around.

Sea.6, Wk. 1 - Vikings crush Bears, 17-14

In the latest installment of this classic rivalry, you might be asking how Minnesota (87 OVR) crushed Chicago (83 OVR) if the score was 17-14. This game was nowhere near as close as the final score indicates, as all of Chicago's 14 points were scored in the 4th quarter. Cutler had a miserable day with 3 INTs (albeit with 2 TDs).

Chicago's front office has indicated that if Cutler's slump mars the entire season this year, then it is highly likely Chicago will target a QB with a high draft pick (1st or 2nd rounder) next draft.

Sea.5, NFC Conf. Championship - Eagles eliminate Chicago, 13-10

Philadelphia pulled off the upset and took out the team with the best NFL record this season. After being down 0-10 going into halftime, the Eagles came swooping back with a second half flurry that included 3 INTs of Jay Cutler, leaving many people to speculate whether Da Bears will continue to stick with Cutler as the franchise QB given his propensity for streakiness, or dare to draft a new quarterback to groom for the future...

Sea.5, NFC Div. Rd. - Bears take out last years' champs, Panthers, 20-6

In this year's NFC Divisional Playoff clash, the reigning Super Bowl champs (albeit without starting QB Sam Waterhouse) faced off against the Chicago Bears. With backup QB Cam Newton also rated at 90+ OVR, Chicago knew they'd still have to bring their A-game facing the backup QB. And they did. Chicago's defense blitzed early and often, stifling the Panthers' running attack and forcing Cam to consistently make accurate reads and deep throws, which was not done.

Cutler finished with 2 INTs and 2 TDs, but Chicago's offense will need to step it up if they are to survive the NFC Championship game.

Sea.5, Wk. 17 - 10-4-1 Chargers at 11-4 Bears (Preview)

This week's match-up features the team with, surprisingly, the best record this season in the NFL (the 11 & 4 Chicago Bears) against the team tied for second place in the entire NFL for the best record (the 10-4-1 San Diego Chargers (incidentally, tied with Chicago's NFC North rival Detroit Lions for second place). Neither team has noteworthy injuries. Most people consider this Chicago's biggest test against a worthy playoff-caliber opponent, given Chicago's relatively easy strength-of-schedule thus far. Can San Diego overtake Chi-town for the #1 spot in the NFL rankings going into the playoffs? Can they give a present to the Detroit Lions, who are hot on the Bears' heels? After their stunning loss to 4-11 Washington just last week, is Chicago truly a formidable opponent? Are they getting "cold" going into the playoffs?

It's gunslinger vs. gunslinger in Philip Rivers opposing Jay Cutler.

UPDATE: Chicago ends the season on a very high note defensively, by generating multiple turnovers and giving Chi-town a blowout victory, 24-7.

Sea.5, Wk. 16 - 4-11 Redskins blowing out 12-4 Bears

In Week 16, the Washington Redskins faced a somewhat familiar foe in the Chicago Bears, having met multiple times in recent history. And despite the Skins' 4-11 record amassed this season, they made a splash immediately in the game at Soldier Field, forcing WR Brandon Marshall to fumble and lose the football on the opening play of the game with FS Brandon Meriweather swooping in to pick it up and then easily return it for six. Washington wouldn't let down, either, with RGIII throwing for a surprising TD pass to star wideout Pierre Garcon. Chicago mustered an impressive drive right before halftime culiminating in a Chi-town TD throw from Cutler to emerging TE Cooper Mason, but with Washington set to receive for the second half, will Chicago be able to overcome the 20-7 losing score going into the second half? UPDATE: A valiant effort was put forth, but Chicago still fell to Washington, 13-20.

Sea.5, Wk.15 - Palmer leads Bears 4th Q comeback over Rams

Make that 12 4th quarter comebacks.

Sea.5, Wk. 13 - Review, and match-up against Seahawks

After the prior season (Season 4) where only defensive lineman Stephen Paea made the Pro Bowl, and then after an excellent rookie draft targeting Da Bears' secondary, Chicago kicked the season opener off to a great start against division rival Detroit. After that, the defense has really began to click and fire on all cylinders, with numerous players catching fire, causing many turnovers in the form of FFs and INTs, and leading Chicago to already more wins than last season (6-10) to a 9-2 record.

New standouts include Season 5 rookie 1st rounder FS Russell Dimon, 2nd rounder CB Issac Rider, 4th round pick DT Christopher McGee, and offseason FA additions of veterans WR Santonio Holmes (78 OVR) and QB Carson Palmer (78 OVR). Since Cutler's 3-week (expected) injury in Week 9, Palmer has filled in very impressively, with 5 TDs to only 1 INT thus far. And for his part, Santonio made a clutch catch vs. the Vikings in Week 6 to help give Chicago the 4th quarter comeback. And in today's game vs. the also-hot 7-4 Seattle Seahawks, Chicago has already nabbed 2 INTs (Upshaw, Rider) and after giving a pump fake to mislead Seattle's SS, Palmer has thrown a touchdown strike over the middle on a short post route to Holmes to give Chi-town a 10-0 lead going into halftime (highlights of the game to be placed on v-log).

Week 13 End of game update: Palmer ends with 1 TD and 1 INT as Chicago's defense continues to be clutch and holds off a potential fourth quarter comeback by Seattle for another win, 13-10. Chicago's record improves to 10 and 4.

Sea.5, Wks. 1 - 12 select videos recap

Sea.5, Wk. 1 - Bears barely beat Lions, 20-13 (select drives & highlights)


Sea.5, Wk. 4 - Undefeated Bears 4th quarter comeback vs. Vikes (highlights)

Sea.5, Wk. 5 - Bears win vs. Raiders (exemplary drive)

Sea.5, Wk. 8 - Bears overcome early Cutler INT to blow out Niners (highlights compilation)

Sea.5, Wk.12 - 7-2 Bears defeat 4-4 Broncos with strong defense

Sea.5,Wk.1 - Bears barely defeat Lions, 20-13

Chicago's QB Jay Cutler had an OK preseason, and in the season opener, Cutler is the player of the game, but he clearly got lucky on too many of his passes including a TD pass to beast WR Brandon Marshall, and his passing yards are clearly way down from Chicago's heyday in Seasons 1 & 2. The Bears barely won against the Lions, and the game could have easily gone in the other direction, and fast. Chicago's running game is going to have to step up even more if the Bears' fate is not to be so tied to Cutler's performance. Also, Chicago's defense performed adequately, but critically needs to generate more turnovers if Chi-town is to be successful against the likes of prominent NFC rivals Green Bay and Atlanta.

Sea.4, Wk. 7 - Review, and Sea. 4 Super Bowl Recap

In view of Chicago QB Jay Cutler's struggles in the passing game, the Bears have revisited their focus on the ground, and their rushing attack has been superb against the Packers and Panthers. This coming after starting RB Bernard Booker struggled early in the season with fumbles, with 2 in the Saints game. Will Chicago's running game continue to win them games, or will Cutler need to step up his game? There's no sign of a potential change at QB, but critics note that this is the first season since season 1 that Cutler has had more INTs than TDs. Can Booker and O'Quinn carry the offense? The defense appears to have been revitalized with the addition of OLB Courtney Upshaw, and has been playing much better than before. If Chicago is going to depend more on the ground game, the D needs to continue to outperform vs. last year.

End of Season 4: a team that Chicago defeated during the regular season, the Carolina Panthers, win it all against the Houston Texans in the Super Bowl!

 Caaaaaaaaaam!

 

Sea.4,Wks.1-2 - Bears defeat reigning champs New England, then lose to New Orleans in OT

After the emergence of UDFA Bernard Booker in the preseason, which then prompted trading Feature Back/Team Mentor RB Matt Forte (93, A) to (ironically enough) New England for OLB Courtney Upshaw (89, A), Da Bears kicked off Season 4 with a re-match of Super Bowl XX, where Chicago faced New England, the reigning Super Bowl Champions. And like the outcome of that game, Chicago won handily, 20-6.

1-0 Chicago then traveled to the Big Easy to take on the ever-dangerous 1-0 New Orleans Saints led by (who else?) Drew Brees & Co. After taking out Brady's squad, Chicago was embroiled in a veritable slugfest with New Orleans, going into overtime, where on the very first play, an off-target throw by Jay Cutler to an open WR Danny Toombs resulted in a pick-6 by NO to win the game, 19-13. Saints advance to 2-0 while Chicago falls to 1 & 1.