BEARS PULL OFF CHRISTMAS MIRACLE IN CRAZY WIN OVER GREEN BAY

By Matt Hill

I have been a Bears fan since I was eight years old. To put that into perspective, my first year as a fan was 1985. Yes...the 85 Bears. That year was the Super Bowl Shuffle Year. I was honestly too young to really realize how great that team was, but it did make me a fan.

So, for the last 39 years, it has been a lot of heartache and pain. 2006 was great, but unfortunately, we were playing the Colts in the Super Bowl, and everybody in my state expected you to be for Peyton Manning, even going so far as to say that I am a traitor to the state. I did not take that very fondly.

I thought we were going to break the snide in 2018, but Cody Parkey’s doinks ruined any chance of making it to the Super Bowl. It has just been that kind of fandom. But we still love these guys. They are still our heroes, and we have been waiting for things to change.

Things have changed. It has been a season to remember, but I have never had a moment as a Chicago Bears fan like I did on Saturday night.

For 57 minutes, the Bears were totally outplayed and to be honest, outcoached. I even went on X and said this game is over. Truth is, it is never over with the Ben Johnson Bears, and it showed.

The Bears were down 16-6 in the final minutes, only to make the comeback of the ages and win 22-16 and later in the weekend, clinched a playoff berth (More on that in a second).

The Bears came out with great intensity and was fired up, but the energy waned as the game went on, as it looked like the Bears were going to be swept this season by the Packers.

There has been talk on social media that the Bears are being aided by Pope Leo being from Chicago, and that the Bears are God’s team. I am not sure about that, but this team has had some magical moments.

But none...ever...could top what we saw on Saturday. I all my years I have never seen anything that crazy. It was like a Christmas miracle. It just keeps happening for the Bears.

With 1:59 to go and the Bears down 16-9, Carlos Santos kicked an onside kick. Now onside kicks are different than they used to be and you must inform the other roster that you are going to do it. The NFL has made it almost impossible to recover an onside kick, actually being an eight percent chance of getting it. And guess what, the Bears recovered it.

The Bears scored with 24 seconds left on the clock as Caleb Willams completed a 6-yard pass to Jahdae Walker, and the Bears tied the game at 16-16.

The game went into overtime, and some of us armchair quarterbacks thought Johnson Should have gone for two, but at home you kick it off. On the road at Green Bay, I would probably go for two, but this is our house, and we trusted the defense, and they came through.

Green Bay had the ball first and was stopped down. This was the Bears’ chance to win, and they took advantage. One the fourth play of the Drive, DJ Moore made a miraculous catch from Williams and that was the game. The Bears had pulled off one of football’s greatest miracles of all time. Santa Claus came to Chicago a few days early.

The Bears fans needed it. We will discuss the stadium controversy later, but Bears fans were put through hell this week by the management. Now, I am not against playing in the suburbs, but why did it come out this week? In one of the biggest games in a long time? It is obvious that this management has no clue how to run a franchise. So Bears fans responded to this news by being loud. I believe the crowd got this team over the hump in this one. They believed until the end.

I know people are going to say the Bears are a lucky team. I think this team just does not give up and does not quit. I think they always think they are going to win. It does seem like there have been a lot of miracles, but let’s make one thing clear. The Bears are a solid football team. This team is going to be dangerous in the postseason.

The Bears now needed the Pittsburgh Steelers to come through. You can read about it in the segment and a little twist for Bears fans.

AARON RODGERS BECOMES A HERO AS HE HELPS CHICAGO SECURE A PLAYOFF BERTH

With the Bears winning Saturday night, they could clinch a playoff berth if Pittsburgh beat Detroit on Sunday afternoon. But, there was a twist to this story.

The Steelers are quarterbacked by Aaron Rodgers. Yes, that Aaron Rodgers who claims he owns the Bears and owns Chicago. Rodgers was now helping people who hated him. Call it the ultimate Christmas story of goodwill and giving.

Now, do I believe Rodgers really wanted to help Chicago secure a playoff bid? Of course not, but the Steelers are in a division race with Baltimore where only the division winner is probably going to the playoffs. So yes, Rodgers was helping the Bears, but not the way he wanted to. And Bears fans for maybe the first time in their lives, Bears fans were cheering Rodgers.

I got messages from Bears fans during the game saying “we still hate him,” and my mom, who is very health conscious and was very upset with Rodgers stance on the Covid vaccine, said there was no way she would cheer for him. I said, he is helping the Bears so go Steelers.

The Steelers won the game 29-24 and even though there was controversy at the end with the pass interference, but it was held up and Pittsburgh won a big AFC North game and more importantly, the Bears had clinched a playoff berth.

Once again, it was a game that saw fortunes on the Bears side. Every break the Bears have needed they have gotten. This time, though, it happened through an unexpected source. That being Mr. Rodgers.

It did feel odd cheering for Rodgers, but this is all about the Bears. It is strictly business. I had to support our interests and I did.

We will be eternally grateful to Rodgers for the kind gesture. But we still aren’t his fans and never will be.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE POTENTIAL RELOCATION OF THE BEARS

We went to press last week right before the news broke that the Chicago Bears management was looking at possibly moving the team to the Gary, Indiana area. My first thought was why was this being announced during Bears-Packers week? But this sparked a lot of anger among Bears fans, especially the ones from Illinois. People have brought up the Bears fight song where they have said “You’re the pride and joy of Illinois.” Not of Indiana.

Coming a perspective of being a Chicago sports fan, but not being a Chicago native, here are my thoughts.

I personally see no problem with playing in the Gary area. I want to see them keep the team in Chicago, but this doesn’t look feasible at this point. I personally don’t want to leave Soldier, and I do not want a dome stadium. Pretty soon every team in the NFL other than the Packers will have a domed stadium. I think all you have to do is look at that game Saturday night and the atmosphere. I don’t think you are going to find that in a dome. It is obvious the Bears want a domed stadium, so there is really nothing we can do about that.

I do think people are overreacting the possible move to the Gary area. It is still Chicagoland and many team play in suburbs and the Giants and Jets play in New Jersey. There have been some comments about Indiana already having a team. That is not Gary’s team. Most people in Northwest Indiana are Bears fans. The Colts fanbase is more in Central and Southern Indiana. Gary is Bears territory. It is not going to kill people to drive just a few minutes more to watch the Bears.

I do agree that the leadership in Illinois, especially the governor and Chicago mayor have really dropped the ball on this, even so much that I don’t think they really want the Bears in Chicago. They do not want to the state to pay for infrastructure in Arlington Heights even though the Bears will build the stadium. I agree that there are more important issues in the country than the Bears having a stadium, but I do feel this project should have been funded.

As far as what I am going to do as a fan, if the Bears remain in the Chicagoland area which I do consider Gary and Arlington Heights to be part of Chicagoland, I will continue supporting the team. If the Bears move to a place like St. Louis or Milwaukee, I am done and finished. I do not think this is going to happen, but I want the Bears to stay in the Chicagoland area.

It has been brought up that why would I care because I don’t live in the area. Well, I have cheered for Chicago teams since third grade. I have been a Cubs fan since elementary school watching on WGN and I have been a Chicago Bulls fan since the early days of Michael Jordan, even though I haven’t watched much Bulls basketball in years. They are still my team. I have always supported Chicago pro teams. I am not supporting teams that are in rival towns like St. Louis and Milwaukee. It would not be the same.

I hope this is not going to be a distraction for the Bears going forward. I think Ben Johnson is a coach that can block noise. I think the Bears will be OK. It was bad timing, but we will all get through this.

49ERS PROVIDE STERN TEST HEADING INTO THE PLAYOFFS FOR THE BEARS

It is probably a good thing the Bears have clinched that playoff berth because they are traveling to Santa Clara Sunday to take one on of the best teams they will face all year in the San Francisco 49ers, who come in the game at 11-4.

Both teams still have a shot at the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but this game is going to go a long way for the Bears for the two seed.

The NFC West has three of the premier teams in the NFL in Seattle, the LA Rams and the 49ers. This division may go down as one of the best in NFL history. All three with two weeks left to play have a chance to gain the No. 1 seed. Unfortunately two of those teams will probably be the five and six seeds in the playoffs, and that means getting that No. 2 or even the No. 1 is vital for the Bears.

The 49ers are coming off a 48-27 win over Indianapolis. Brock Purdy, a quarterback that has faced a lot of criticism over years, is play incredible right now, as he threw five touchdowns in that game.

Christian McCaffery finished 21 carries for 117 yards. It is going to be hard to stop this offense.

My mind says pick the 49ers, but I have learned you cannot doubt this Bears squad. I am going to go against my mind and pick the Bears

CHICAGO 31-28

JACKSONVILLE-INDIANAPOLIS A SOLID MATCHUP ON WHAT WILL BE A VERY UNEVENTFUL SUNDAY AFTERNOON

1pm on CBS: New Orleans at Tennessee

1pm on Fox: Jacksonville at Indianapolis

4:25pm on Fox: Philadelphia at Buffalo

With so many standalone games, including the Bears-49ers on SNF, the Sunday NFL slate is a little stale,

I wanted to see Carolina-Seattle, but the Titans are on CBS during that time. Indianapolis-Jacksonville is a solid matchup especially considering how well the Jaguars are playing. Philadelphia-Buffalo is a solid 4:25pm game, but means more for the Bills. For some reason, this is nationally televised.

The week 18 schedule will be released during the 49ers-Bears SNF game.