👋 Good morning!
I know this’ll come as a shock, but it sounds like Matt Eberflus’ seat is getting pretty warm in Dallas.
Regardless of how this weekend goes for the Bears, what an improvement we’ve seen in just about every way from a year ago.
The Bears were eliminated from playoff contention on December 15th last season. Truth be told, I’m surprised it didn’t happen earlier.
One year later, and we’re talking about clinching scenarios with three games left.
Chicago’s Mightiest Heroes
After their biggest blowout win of the season on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams and Grady Jarrett officially turned the page on Tuesday at Halas Hall to their looming shot at revenge against the Green Bay Packers.
O-Linemen, Assemble: When asked about his success with play-action on Sunday, Williams dropped quite the nugget.
Williams said: “I call my o-linemen ‘The Avengers.’ Those guys up front, they give me enough time with enough space with the receivers we've got and special talent we have.”
On Tuesday, Williams explained: “All of them collectively form a very formidable team to go out there and go to war with. But Drew Dalman, I call the Hulk. He's the brains and all of it, but when he gets out there and on the field, he's strong as can be, fast and the right guy for the job for us and my future and our future here.
“I got Ozzy [Trapilo] as — obviously he's not really in the Avengers — but Wolverine. I have Doctor Strange as left guard Joe [Thuney]. I have Hulk as center. I have the Red Hulk as Jonah [Jackson], and then I have Darnell [Wright] as Bucky because he has the one arm brace.”
Who does that make Williams?
S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT! In the postgame locker room on Sunday, linebacker D’Marco Jackson and cornerback Jaylon Johnson both quipped that after taking care of business against the Browns that they need to “get [their] get-back.”
Unsurprisingly, how their Week 14 matchup in Green Bay ended left a sour taste in their mouths.
That alone is enough motivation for the Bears this Saturday when the Packers come to town. But the significance of the game in their hunt for the postseason isn’t lost on them either.
Ben Johnson on if he’ll have a special message for his team this week: “There doesn't need to be much of a message here this week. They know. They know what's at stake.”
Grady Jarrett said: “It's what you play football for. It's what you dream about. The opportunity to play primetime football, rivalry game, playoff implications, seeding implications. I mean, you can't stack up, you’ve got two prime QBs, two really good defenses. You can't ask for a better moment. I'm excited to be a part of it.”
Jarrett then added a message to Bears fans: “Show up and show out, show up and show out. This needs to be the loudest game we’ve had all season. They need to rock that stadium; Soldier Field needs to be shaking. We know the chants they like to chant, and we are going to make them happy and give them something to chant about. We’re going to go put up a good showing for them.”
Message received.
Saturday already feels like it has a chance to be the biggest matchup at Soldier Field since the 2010 NFC Championship Game.
In fairness, it’s not like there are many other games to choose from on that list. The 2018 Wild Card loss to the Eagles? Or the 2013 Randall Cobb heartbreaker?
I’m sensing an unfortunate trend.
But at just about every turn this season, Ben Johnson’s Bears have given the sense that these Bears aren’t those Bears.
The best way to really prove that is by winning on Saturday against their ultimate boogeyman.
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Maple Leafs 3, Blackhawks 2: Well, that was quite possibly the most frustrating loss of the season. Simply deflating. Yet entirely unsurprising.
The Blackhawks dominated the first 20 minutes. Wyatt Kaiser opened the scoring halfway through the first period with his third goal of the year. Jason Dickinson then had one disallowed after a replay review for goalie interference, but notched his first goal since November 26th on a penalty kill a few moments later.
Then the Blackhawks seemingly took their foot off the gas in the second before disaster struck in the third.
The Maple Leafs cut the lead in half with 10:01 left in the third, then tied it on the power play with 3:09 remaining. Eight seconds later, the Blackhawks fell asleep and a zone-entry rebound gave Dakota Joshua an easy look to put the Leafs on top.
Not how the Hawks wanted to start their extended stretch without Connor Bedard.
Scratched: Defenseman Artyom Levshunov was a healthy scratch from the Blackhawks’ lineup last night after a tardy arrival to Monday’s practice in Chicago.
On Tuesday, Blashill said: “We have a standard of times guys have to be there. He didn’t mean to do it. Nonetheless, our standard is not going to slip, so he’s out tonight. He knows what the consequences are ahead of time. He’s a good kid. One of the things that, as a young player, you have to do is learn how important preparation is. We’ve had conversations about what he needs to do to make sure he prepares himself to get ready for practice and get ready for games. It’s just a learning process for him.”
Raising The Bar: The Cubs have reportedly agreed to terms to bring back left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar, per ESPN. The deal is contingent on Thielbar passing a physical. Thielbar, 38, had one of the best seasons of his career last year with the Cubs, accumulating a 2.64 ERA in 67 appearances.
I typically don’t embed videos, but if you haven’t seen this, you need to watch it. And if you have seen it, you probably want to watch it again.
Just promise me you’ll come back and rate today’s newsletter ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
🐻 Hoge & Jahns
12:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bears
1:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Cubs
2:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Blackhawks
3:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO White Sox
4:30 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bulls
Pregame at 6:30 on YouTube
🏀 Bulls vs. Cavaliers
7:00 on CHSN
📺 CHGO Bulls
Postgame on YouTube
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Talk to you tomorrow!
– P.N.
