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The Chicago Bears started the season as that little team that hoped to win a few games and gain respectability. Head coach Ben Johnson was in his first year and his primary job was preparing quarterback Caleb Williams to compete in the toughest division in the NFL. Johnson wanted to raise Williams' level of play after a difficult rookie season that saw the Bears finish with a 5-12 record and in last place in the NFC North.
Approaching .500 appeared to be the goal for the Bears , but that assessment was wrong. After losing the first two games of the season, the Bears have won 9 of 10 games and are in first place by 1/2 game over the Green Bay Packers following their Week 13 Black Friday victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles .
The win at Lincoln Financial Field is arguably the most impressive performance by any team this season. The Bears dominated in Philadelphia against one of the most powerful teams in recent memory. As a result of the way the Bears have played this season in general and their performance against the Eagles in particular, the Bears have assured themselves of a winning season for the first time since 2018.
Additionally, they have left the ranks of respectable teams and they are now a prime contender to represent the NFC in this year's Super Bowl. It has been an amazing and shocking rise to prominence for this once-moribund team.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
The primary reason the Bears hired Ben Johnson as their head coach was the success he had as a game planner with the Detroit Lions . If he was going to do the same with the Bears, he was going to have to get more out of quarterback Caleb Williams than former head coach Matt Eberflus had during the quarterback's rookie season.
While Eberflus appeared to ease Williams into the position as the team's QB1, Johnson became a demanding task master. There was little doubt about the quarterback's physical talent, but Williams had not mastered reading defenses, throwing the ball with accuracy or being decisive with his decision-making.
Williams has shown decisive improvement in all of those areas this season. The quarterback has 230 of 396 passes for 2,722 yards with 17 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He has also demonstrated that he excels at escaping pressure and making plays on the run. Williams has rushed for 306 yards and 3 touchdowns and 18 of his carries have resulted in first downs.
The quarterback still has multiple areas to improve, but the steps he has taken have been significant. The growth in Williams' game means opponents must make him the top priority when preparing their defensive game plan, and that has given the Bears a chance to develop a winning ground game.
The Bears walked into Philadelphia with running back D'Andre Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai at their best. Monangai rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown, Swift ran for 125 yards and a score, and Chicago finished with 281 yards on the ground to pound the Eagles into submission.
Monangai and Swift became the first pair of Bear running backs to both exceed 100 rushing yards since Walter Payton and Matt Suhey accomplished the feat in 1985 against the Detroit Lions.
The performance of the running backs and the Chicago offensive line led Johnson to celebrate by flexing in the locker room after stripping off his shirt .
Johnson explained his celebration when he met the media after the game. "They have a lot of belief in what we're doing. They have a lot of belief in themselves," Johnson said . "They have a lot of belief in this coaching staff. And so that confidence just starts to develop and continues to bubble over."
While the focus has largely been on Williams' improvement and the offense's ability to come through when the game is on the line, the Bears have shown a dramatic improvement on defense this season.
The Bears lead the league in interceptions with 17 as safety Kevin Byard leads the team with 6 interceptions while and cornerback Nahshon Wright has 5 picks. Additionally, the Bears are first on the takeaway/turnover table with a plus-25 ranking, and that's 5 better than the second-place Los Angeles Rams .
The Rams are the team that the Bears are now chasing for the top spot in the NFC playoff structure. The Rams are 9-2 heading into their Week 13 road game against the Carolina Panthers . While the Rams are clearly a better team than the Panthers (6-6), going across country to play a 10 a.m. Pacific Time game is never easy for a West Coast team.
The Bears made a statement with their victory over the Eagles, and that statement is that Chicago has legitimate aspirations to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
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