👋 Good morning!

That’s more like it.

Like a small bowl of sorbet between courses, last night was the ultimate palate cleanser after a disappointing Sunday.

Not only did we get all four major leagues on television simultaneously, but we got an 18-inning instant-classic marathon paired with another Freddie Freeman World Series walk-off homer.

Shohei Ohtani also set a World Series record, reaching base nine times. Nine times?! Nine times.

Yep — two home runs, two doubles, four intentional free passes and another walk in the 17th inning. Absurd.

Sports, man. Nothin’ like ‘em.

– Patrick Norton

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Upon Further Review…

Coach Ben Johnson and center Drew Dalman met with the media on Monday afternoon via Zoom to wrap up the Bears’ Week 8 loss in Baltimore.

Here’s what we learned:

Check Down: If you read yesterday’s newsletter, a) thank you, and b) I pointed out the discrepancy in how Caleb Williams saw the field before his back-breaking fourth quarter interception and how Johnson saw the play unfold from the sideline.

Williams said Sunday: It was a good read. Rome [Odunze] was man-to-man with the guy who caught the pick. I just didn't give a good ball to Rome.”

Johnson said Sunday: “I didn’t quite see it. I will have to check it out on film just one more time. In my mind, there might have been another option that we could have gotten to.

After having a chance to watch the tape, Johnson’s tune did not change.

Johnson said Monday: “I'd like to see him check that ball down.”

After all, the tape never lies. Whatever Williams saw resulted in the ball going in the other direction. What he didn’t see was running back Kyle Monangai wide open in the flat. Learning moment.
Unforced Errors: The offense and defense each committed four penalties. The special teams unit was tagged for three. Simply put, not good enough.

Sunday’s loss was the third time this season the Bears have finished a game with double-digit penalties.

Hat tip to The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain on this one: They haven't had three games with double-digit penalties in an entire season since 2019.

On top of that, the offense’s 16 false starts are tied for the most in the league with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Johnson on cleaning things up: “We’ve talked about it with the players. We’ll certainly make sure that they understand – especially now that we lost a game and penalties were a big culprit as to why we didn’t have the success we wanted to, I think it really opens Pandora’s box up here, where, ‘hey, all hands on deck here, we’ve got to get this thing fixed.’

“We’ve been harping on it as a coaching staff, and when it results in a loss, I think it just magnifies the issue that was at hand.”

Dalman’s perspective: “Everybody's focused during the course of the game, but there are always moments where you need an extra, concerted effort for those kinds of things. So, I think that that'll be a big step for us.”
Injury Updates:
- Dominique Robinson, who suffered an injury on the game’s opening kickoff when Devin Duvernay landed on Robinson’s ankle, suffered a high ankle sprain and will be “out for a few weeks,” according to Johnson.
- Shemar Turner played just four snaps before being carted off from the sideline early in the second quarter. Johnson confirmed on Monday that Turner tore his ACL and will miss the rest of his rookie season.
- Olamide Zaccheaus (knee) is considered day-to-day, and Luther Burden III is in concussion protocol.
- Austin Booker, who suffered a knee injury in the preseason that resulted in the second-year defensive end landing on injured reserve to begin the season, will be activated to the 53-man roster today.

The news about Turner is a major bummer. He was coming along nicely in his transition to defensive end and had become an important piece in the Bears’ improved run defense.

But every team has to deal with injuries. The Cincinnati Bengals, who the Bears will face on Sunday, haven’t had QB Joe Burrow since Week 2. However, their offense has rebounded nicely with Joe Flacco under center for the past three weeks.

It helps to have offensive weapons like receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and running back Chase Brown.

That poses quite the mismatch for a banged-up Bears secondary that got by gashed Ravens QB Tyler Huntley in all his game-management glory. The Bears could really use Tyrique Stevenson back this weekend.

MORE: Hoge & Jahns on the Bears’ Week 8 loss

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Bulls 128, Hawks 123: For the first time since 2021, the Chicago Bulls are 3-0. All it took was eight Bulls reaching double-digits in the points column, including the entire starting five.

Ayo Dosunmu led the way off the bench with 21 points in the Bulls’ second home win of the year, and Josh Giddey added 18 with 13 rebounds.

Matas Buzelis had 16 points of his own, including a clutch three-pointer to give the Bulls a 121-118 lead with 2:30 left in the game. He also hit an incredible reverse jam off the baseline earlier in the night.

Just an all-around team win. Complementary basketball at its okay-est.

MORE: Will Gottlieb, Matt Peck & Big Dave’s instant reactions to the win