👋 Good morning!
Good: The Bears dominated the Eagles on Friday, improving to 9-3.
Better: Ben Johnson went shirtless in the locker room to earn Chicago free hot dogs from The Weiner’s Circle on Tuesday.
Best: The Rams lost on Sunday, meaning that your Chicago Bears are the No. 1 seed in the NFC and control their destiny to a first-round bye.
And if shirtless Ben Johnson is getting chilly after a snowy weekend in the Chicagoland, our Black Friday & Cyber Monday event is still ongoing in the ALLCITY Store – 30% off!
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The Best Is Yet To Come
What a difference a year can make, huh?
This time last year, we were wondering what interim coach Thomas Brown could do with his five-game run in charge. Now, the Bears are thriving atop the NFC with coach-of-the-year frontrunner Ben Johnson.
Statement Win: Friday’s win was a purely dominating effort from the Bears.
Before Friday, the Eagles hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 34 games dating back to December 31, 2023, when Arizona Cardinals RB James Conner ran for 128 yards.
The Bears had two on Friday: Kyle Monangai with 130 and D’Andre Swift with 125.
They became the first Bears duo to each eclipse 100 yards in a game since Matt Suhey and Walter Payton did so on November 10, 1985, against the Detroit Lions. Payton had 107 and Suhey had 102.
The Bears came up big on the defensive side of the ball, too, forcing two turnovers.
The first came early in the third quarter when Kevin Byard nabbed his league-leading sixth interception of the season. The second came on a fourth-and-1 when Nahshon Wright stripped Eagles QB Jalen Hurts on a Tush Push.
Bears DC Dennis Allen said last Tuesday that the Bears had a “plan in place” to stop the Eagles’ signature play. It worked. Wright’s forced fumble marked his fifth consecutive game with a takeaway. It was also only the second time Hurts had fumbled on the Tush Push since its implementation into the Eagles’ playbook in 2022.
Ben Johnson on what message Friday’s performance sent to the rest of the league: “I think it’s the same message we’ve been sending every week that we’re just gonna compete our tails off for 60 minutes. I think that’s what I know about our group.
“They got a lot of belief in what we’re doing, they got a lot of belief in themselves, they got a lot of belief, I think, in this coaching staff. And so that confidence just continues to develop and bubble over. So I think we have a really confident group right now and we’re excited for these next five games.”
The Homestretch: It’s officially December. And if you recall what Ben Johnson has said throughout the season, this is only the beginning for the Bears.
Johnson after the Bears began the season 0-2 (Sept. 17): “There are a number of teams that have started the season not the way that they would like to, and yet they bounce back and they find a way to win. We're going to be playing our best football in December. I know that to be certain, we're just in a race right now to get better in a hurry, and the faster we get there, the wins will start coming and we'll be just fine.”
Johnson ahead of Week 10 vs. the Giants (Nov. 5): “We're excited about what November and December have to hold. This is really where teams start to separate themselves; they know that. We're looking forward to this challenge.”
Johnson after the Bears defeated the Giants, 24-20 (Nov. 9): “We've got to continue to get better. We've got some really good opponents coming up here, and we will be playing our best football in December.”
I think I picked the Bears to win seven games this season. Instead, they’ve clinched their first winning season since 2018 with five games left on the schedule. Shows you how much I know.
Now it’s Packers week. Lock in.
ADAM JAHNS: Look out, here come the Chicago Bears
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Blackhawks 5, Ducks 3: Connor Bedard, man. This guy is unreal.
The Blackhawks trailed by two goals 47 seconds into the game. The Ducks tacked on a third halfway through the first period. Having lost five straight, this looked like the beginning of another disappointing night for the Hawks.
But goaltender Spencer Knight settled in after the opening barrage. Then, Bedard happened.
Bedard and Frank Nazar assisted on Tyler Bertuzzi’s tip-in goal to get the Hawks on the board late in the first. Bedard then assisted on Ryan Greene’s goal in the second to make it a 3-2 game. Colton Dach tied it later in the period.
Bedard then put the Blackhawks ahead with an unassisted undressing of Ducks relief netminder Ville Husso with 9:55 left in regulation. Bedard later tacked on an empty-netter for good measure.
In his last 17 games, Bedard has 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists). This season, Bedard’s 37 points are good enough for the second most in the league, trailing only Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon (44).
Side note: The black sweaters rock. Bedard wearing the “A” rocks. Five-game skid aside, this team is already so much more entertaining than the last … three years of Blackhawks hockey combined? Great games every other night.
Pacers 103, Bulls 101 (Sat. Nov. 29): Remember when the Bulls started the season 5-0? They’re 4-10 since and have fallen into the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference.
How? Well, they’re playing one of the most frustrating brands of basketball right now and have given the New Orleans Pelicans their third win, the Charlotte Hornets their fifth win and the Indiana Pacers their fourth win all in the last week.
Nikola Vucevic called their way of winning games “unsustainable” two Saturdays ago. They haven’t won since. Good call, Vooch.
WILL GOTTLIEB: What in the world happened to the 5-0 Bulls?
It’s Real & It’s Spectacular
🐻 Hoge & Jahns
9:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bears
1:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Cubs
2:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Blackhawks
2:30 on YouTube
📺 CHGO White Sox
4:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bulls
Pregame at 6:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bulls Watchalong
6:30 on YouTube
🏀 Bulls at Magic
6:30 on CHSN
🐻 CHGO Bears After Dark
7:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bulls
Postgame on YouTube
Something on your mind? Rate this issue and leave a comment, question or topic to discuss!
Talk to you tomorrow!
– P.N.
