With the power of the football gods, the Bears channeled their inner #54 and beat the Seattle Seahawks 24-17 on Brian Urlacher Night at Soldier Field.
What a damn game. I was starting to have Week 1 flashbacks all over again when the Bears built a 17-3 lead with 14:15 left in the game against a damn good quarterback in Russell Wilson. And after a 19-yard strike from Wilson to Tyler Lockett to make the game 17-10…that all-too-familiar feeling of “something is gonna happen” crept up…
Then something did happen…a Prince Amukamara PICK 6 to the HOUSE. His first interception in 41 games was YUGEEEEEEE.
PRINCE OF PICKS! 👑#SEAvsCHI | #DaBears https://t.co/I0TTqUktQP
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 18, 2018
The interception increased the Bears lead to 24-10 with 6:37 left to play, allowing the offense to run out some clock and the defense to step back into prevent coverage. Even with Seattle scoring a touchdown with 14 seconds left to play, the Chicago defense pitched a gem that Urlacher would be proud of.
THIS DEFENSE! 😱#SEAvsCHI | #DaBears https://t.co/okpuSzxYfM
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 18, 2018
Matt Nagy’s first win as the Bears head coach came with a classic Chicago formula: good defense and running the ball.
Now, before you get on my ass that Jordan Howard had an off game and the Bears only gained 86 yards against a shotty Seattle defense…take a look at the drive that ended with a 10-yard Trubisky pass to Anthony Miller. Six out of the eleven plays were runs that included end-arounds to Taylor Gabriel along with straight runs from Howard and Tarik Cohen.
All I’m saying is, in a drive where Nagy chose to give a balanced attack and go back to the run a bit after looking pass all game, it helped the Bears when it mattered most.
While a defensive win on Monday Night Football was good and all…this matchup served as another learning experience for second year QB Mitchell Trubisky. The Mentor, Ohio native had flashes of franchise-quarterback ability mixed with fundamental troubles. The Baby Faced Assassin looked better in the pocket this week, but struggled hitting his throws – especially with an overthrown play-action pass to Taylor Gabriel and his interception to Shaquill Griffin on an underthrown one-on-one deep ball to Allen Robinson.
Nevertheless, Trubisky upped his rating from last game (77.2 to 83.0), increased his completion percentage from 65.7% to 73.5% and threw multiple touchdowns for the first time in his career. He wasn’t perfect by any means. But, even with two interceptions, Trubisky found a consistent connection with Allen Robinson, used his feet to his advantage and ultimately got a littleeeeee bit better. Plus, I like that the Bears are letting him throw deep and make a few mistakes. Lord knows he didn’t take any in last year’s shit offense.
Needs a nickname.#SEAvsCHI | #DaBears https://t.co/sMj9aXv2yH
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 18, 2018
We could get used to this from @AnthonyMiller_3.#SEAvsCHI | #DaBears https://t.co/r2sSOiQ5nE
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 18, 2018
Back to the defense: holy shit is this unit already coming together.
Danny Trevathan had himself a night with 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 8 tackles. Khalil Mack Khalil Mack’ed the hell out of Seahawks right tackle Germain Ifedi with constant pressure and another strip sack, and Roquan Smith lived up to the hype adding 7 tackles in a solid first career start. I feel like Smith’s performance got lost in the drama of the game, but this kid can open field tackle like a champ. The Bears also did not get beat down the middle like they did last game and I think Smith had a little something to do with this. Overall, I fucking love this defense. Don’t mess with Fangio’s boys.
.@52Mack_ is RUTHLESS. 😈 https://t.co/biCXTnOEJt
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 18, 2018
As the Bears head to Arizona for their Week 3 matchup against the Caridnals, they gotta be jacked to come in with an early-season win. Something I already love about this team is their spirit – we have a QB who caressss, a hype man in Khalil Mack, a man who can dance in Anthony Miller, teammates who encourage each other and a coach who isn’t afraid to speak up a bit. I haven’t seen a Bears team this alive in a long time – and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
By the way, look who got extremely close with their final score prediction by one point…
Side note: Why ESPN made us watch a corny ass music video over the Brian Urlacher Ring of Excellence ceremony boggles my mind – nobody wants to see a Cheat Codes music video with fake actors – I wanna see Brian Urlacher sporting his Hall-of-Fame gold jacket and RESTORE hair transplants celebrating with his teammates, damn it.
WELCOME BACK, #54! https://t.co/5oEC3lH1UN
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 18, 2018
Onward to Arizona. 11-5 here we come. Bear Down.
-Kurbs
#ForTheBrand
Follow me on Twitter for in-game freakouts and Instagram for average pics @ekurbyun
Featured Image: Chicago Bears Twitter