👋 Good morning!

Have you taken a peek at the Packers’ and Lions’ Week 15 matchups?

The Lions head to Los Angeles to face the 10-3 Rams, and the Packers head west to take on the 11-2 Denver Broncos.

The Bears get the 3-10 Cleveland Browns at home.

Trap game? Maybe. Truth be told, I don’t think the Browns are decent enough to be labeled as a possible trap.

What is possible is that this weekend goes exactly how the Bears hope and the first-place Bears are back — and hosting the Packers under the lights in two Saturdays.

– Patrick Norton

So close.

Ben Johnson spoke to reporters via Zoom on Monday to dissect the Bears’ 28-21 loss in Green Bay on Sunday night.

Here’s what stuck out to me:

What Could’ve Been: Caleb Williams made the proper read on the Bears’ final play from scrimmage. He just didn’t do it fast enough.

Johnson on the final play: “It’s a good play by (Packers CB Keisean) Nixon. He came off of his guy and made a play on the ball. But had we seen it a little bit sooner and given Cole a better chance, I think we would have been pretty happy with that result.”

There’s plenty of fair discourse about the final play. It’ll be talked about until the Packers visit on December 20th. Should Johnson have called a run? Should Williams have tried to pick up the first using his legs? Could he have hit DJ Moore?

But the play should’ve worked. It just needed to either be out much faster or needed a little more oomph from Williams.

As for whether Caleb Williams should’ve flipped his hips to get the ball to Moore, Johnson said: “I didn't see him as being the answer in that time. I think he came open more after the ball was released from Caleb.”
Godspeed, Kyler-Man: Bears nickel back Kyler Gordon was a late scratch from the Bears’ lineup after suffering a groin injury during warmups before Sunday’s game.

After signing a sizable three-year deal extension in the offseason worth $40 million, Gordon has played in just three games due to hamstring, groin and calf injuries.

Johnson on Gordon’s latest injury: “It’s disappointing. I wish I had a better feel for the individual, but with him being out as much as he has, I haven’t really gotten to see him on the field and competing and get to know him like I’d like to at this point yet.

“I do know that the biggest predictor of a soft-tissue injury is having a previous one and he’s kind of in this rut right now that we’re not able to get out of and so we’re going to exhaust all of our resources in and outside of the building to make sure we’re addressing it and doing what we can to get him back and healthy again.”

Johnson also called his brisk postgame handshake with Packers coach Matt LaFleur, “like every handshake I have at the end of a game.”

Regardless of what Johnson said, the tape never lies, and on multiple instances follow games this season, he and the opposing coach can be seen sharing some type of meaningful embrace.

His handshake with LaFleur was short. But that’s okay. Rivalries are meant to have some bad blood. You just rarely expect it to be between the head coaches. Fun.

Why finding an early rhythm for Caleb Williams has become a goal for Ben Johnson

Read Jahns’ Latest

The Leftovers

I had a blast answering your questions last week but I couldn’t fit every single one in that day. These are what were left on the cutting room floor:

If the Bears’ season dramatically ends on Wild Card Weekend, should Bears fans be disappointed or enthusiastic about what’s to come? – Taff

I’m not in a position to tell anybody how they should or should not feel. But any playoff berth should be considered a massive success regardless of the run afterward.

I said on last night’s CHGO Bears After Dark that an argument could be made saying the Bears are two years ahead of schedule. I expected a seven-win season with better football down the stretch. They could very reasonably win the NFC North. That’s pretty nuts when considering that this team won five games all of last season.

Enjoy the ride. Playoff football doesn’t happen very often around here.
If the Bears were to build a stadium somewhere aside from Chicago or Arlington Heights, where would you want it? – Mike

My backyard. Cut down on the Sunday commute.
Excluding Thanksgiving, what’s the best holiday for watching sports? – Clay

I love that Major League Baseball is trying to turn the Fourth of July into a showcase for the game with every team playing.

Christmas Day is tough because I feel an obligation to watch the games, but I really just want to watch The Godfather, Christmas Vacation or, if my nieces and nephews are still awake, Toy Story 2.
Other than No. 23, what’s the best jersey number in Chicago? – Rogan

It’s got to be No. 34, right?

Walter Payton is the obvious leader of the group, but add in Jon Lester, Kerry Wood, Charles Oakley and Freddy Garcia, and you’ve got yourself a fun bunch.

We are nearing that time again, so if you have any questions to contribute to the next newsletter Q&A, send those along by responding to this email or leaving a comment below.

Lottery Day: The MLB Draft Lottery kicks off at 4:30 p.m. later today. CHGO’s Sean Anderson will be live on the CHGO Sports YouTube during that time.

Thanks to the lottery’s newer revenue payer and payee rules, the Colorado Rockies are ineligible for a lottery pick, as are the Washington Nationals.

Typically, the worst three teams would share the best odds for the top pick. However, the White Sox are the only team in the bottom three eligible for a pick, leaving them with the strongest odds to win: 27.73 percent.

Demoted: The Blackhawks sent forward Landon Slaggert and defenseman Sam Rinzel to the AHL on Monday afternoon.

Rinzel was a minus-three over the weekend in the Blackhawks’ back-to-back routs. But this is about more than the weekend’s results. This is a much-needed reset for two players in desperate need of finding their game again.

Storytime: Last Friday, I included a nugget in the newsletter listing every Bears head coach to win their first Bears-Packers game in Green Bay. The list was surprisingly extensive — and it also included a glaring error.

Hunk Anderson did not co-coach with Bill Johnsos. He co-coached with Luke Johnsos. Not many would catch that error. However, not many Chicago sports newsletters are read by … one of Johnsos’ grandchildren. What are the odds?

Anyway, thanks to Madison, who kindly reached out last week to correct it. And thanks to your grandfather for dedicating his football life to the Chicago Bears.

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