Bears WIN and Take First Place in the North

Summary

Forward Progress: A Chicago Bears Podcast

Episode: Bears WIN and Take First Place in the North
Hosts: Dan Bernstein & Matt Abbatacola
Date: November 17, 2025

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Episode Overview

This week, Dan and Matt revel in the Bears' critical win over the Vikings, vaulting Chicago into first place in the NFC North. They analyze how the Bears have crafted a winning season despite their flaws, break down key moments from the Vikings game, scrutinize quarterback Caleb Williams' development, and ponder the larger implications for both the division race and the evolving team identity. The duo’s hallmark candor and blend of humor and hard-nosed analysis are on full display as they challenge expectations for the remainder of the season.

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1. Bears Take Command: From 0–2 to First in the North

• [01:45] Matt jokes about missing a sponsorship tie-in calling Paul Charchian “Beer Charch,” but pivots: "What we have is a first place Chicago Bears team. They have taken the North. They've taken it."

• [02:31] Both hosts acknowledge the fragility of this lead:

  • Dan: “Now will they give it back?"
  • Matt: “Yes, for the moment. They have planted their flag.”

• [02:43–03:13] Recap of the wild season so far, referencing both low points (early losses to the Vikings and Lions) and the league-wide mediocrity:

  • Dan: "This truly is the season of the NFL Blob."
  • Matt: "And the Bears are blob kings."

• Season Record Context: Bears are now 7–3, having won 7 of 8 after a shaky start.

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2. The Bears' Unlikely Success Formula

• Riding the Blob: [04:05] Dan: “...they’re not really a very good team at times. ...In the areas of defense...they’re very good at red zone offense, they’re very good at third down efficiency, they’re very good at takeaways...”

• Penalty Discipline: [05:06] Matt on earlier issues: “They had been bad when it comes to penalty discipline as well.” Dan: “They've cleaned that up.”

• Road Warriors: Unlike typical middling teams, these Bears have wins on the road—a resilience uncharacteristic of a “blob team.”

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3. Key Moments & Analysis: Bears vs. Vikings

Special Teams Breakthrough

• The Game-Changing Return ([07:50–10:01]):

  • Matt highlights finally seeing Devin Duvernay break a big return: “...the first time that we had seen Duvernay get up to speed.” [08:14]
  • Praise for Josh Blackwell's pivotal block.
  • Dan: “He just went right full speed and didn't break stride the entire...It was set up perfectly and it was ideally called.” [08:35]
  • Both relieved there were no penalties — a common risk on returns.

• Special Teams Woes Generally:

  • Dan: “The Bears, their Special teams are 31st in the league on kick returns...” [10:01]
  • Discussion about whether Richard Hightower’s job is safe.

Caleb Williams & Ben Johnson: A Telling Exchange

• Terse Review from Ben Johnson ([11:17–11:41]):

  • After Williams throws for 193 yards (16/32, 68.9 rating), Johnson gives the shortest of answers:
    • “Hard to say. I gotta look at the tape.”
    • Multiple playbacks of this sound drop, with both hosts noting this is unusually brusque for Johnson.
    • Matt: “Was it terse or was it brusque?” Dan: “It was very deliberate.”

• Reading Between the Lines:

  • Dan: “To me it says something that that was his answer yesterday. He could have very easily elaborated if he wanted to.” [12:47]

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4. Offensive Identity & The Path Forward

Caleb Williams' Confidence and Weapons

• Williams' Comments ([14:30]):

  • Caleb Williams: “...We haven’t scratched the surface of how talented, how special we are on this side of the ball. And I’m excited to show it...it's coming.”
  • [15:14] Matt discusses Williams’ optimism, focusing on developing receivers like Colston Loveland.

• Who Are the Playmakers?

  • The offense repeatedly features a different leading receiver each week; no true star stat-accumulator.
  • Dan lists top stat leaders:
    • Luther Burden: 19 catches (138th in NFL)
    • Rome Odunze: 39 (39th)
    • DJ Moore: 31 (73rd)
    • Tight ends: Loveland/Commet 24/16 (32nd/39th among TEs)
  • Matt: “The play is the play. Everything else is subservient to the right play.” [17:44]

Offensive Construction & Future Moves

• Examining '11' and '12' Personnel ([22:25–26:56]):
  • Both analyze starting offense; Matt openly questions DJ Moore’s place going forward and suggests the team may move to more two-tight-end looks.
  • “I’d like to shore up Theo Benedict a little bit, whatever that’s going to take, because...his bad plays are real bad.” [24:00]
  • Dan: “If you’re looking at the starters, there might be a couple opportunities for some changes going into next year. But this is what the offense is going to look like.” [39:52]

Quarterback Execution

• Williams' Misses Deep ([27:01]):
  • Matt: “No, he was overthrowing deep balls. How many times did I write down? …At least two. Right.”
  • Dan: “I got three.”
• Message to Caleb: “I’m not asking for offensive conservatism. I’m asking for execution.” [27:45]

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5. Looking Ahead: Playoff Picture & Division Foes

Remaining Bears Schedule ([28:33–29:18])

• Steelers, Eagles, Packers (twice), Browns, 49ers, Lions.
• Tough December loom: poised to “play their best football” per coach Ben Johnson.

NFC North & Opponent Storylines

• Vikings Dissatisfaction:

  • [30:11] JJ McCarthy at the podium postgame: “Absolutely sucks. Absolutely sucks.”
  • Head coach KOC cagey about replacing McCarthy: “I’m not going to get into all that right now.” [31:02]
  • Both agree if not for injuries, the Vikings would've likely started Carson Wentz.

• Around the League Quick Hits:

  • [34:07] Matt misses "Meatball" Dan Campbell as Lions head coach gets more studious.
  • [35:13–36:15] Bears’ hosts discuss the jarring differences in Eagles’ offense and defense as a future matchup.
  • [37:08–38:14] Gripping insights on the toll the modern NFL takes on running quarterbacks.

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6. Defensive Records & NFL Trends

• [43:04] Dan notices Myles Garrett is on pace for the single-season sack record (needs 8 in 7 games).
• Also, Broncos’ defensive front could challenge the 1986 Bears team sacks record.

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7. Notable Quotes

• “This truly is the season of the NFL Blob.” – Dan Bernstein [02:43]
• “The Bears are blob kings.” – Matt Abbatacola [03:11]
• “In the areas of defense...they’re very good at red zone offense, they’re very good at third down efficiency, they’re very good at takeaways...” – Dan Bernstein [04:21]
• “Hard to say. I gotta look at the tape.” – Ben Johnson (on Caleb Williams’ play) [11:17, repeated]
• “We haven’t scratched the surface of how talented, how special we are on this side of the ball.” – Caleb Williams [14:30]
• “The play is the play. Everything else is subservient to the right play.” – Matt Abbatacola [17:44]
• “Absolutely sucks. Absolutely sucks.” – JJ McCarthy, Vikings QB [30:11]

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8. Segment Timestamps

• First place Bears & Blob Kings: [02:31–03:13]
• Special teams breakthrough: [07:50–10:01]
• Ben Johnson’s review of Williams: [11:17–11:41]
• Williams on offense’s potential: [14:30]
• Offensive construction & personnel: [22:25–26:56]
• Caleb Williams' deep ball issues: [27:00–27:59]
• Playoff projection & schedule: [28:33–29:18]
• JJ McCarthy’s "Absolutely Sucks" moment: [30:11]
• Myles Garrett sack record discussion: [43:04–44:54]

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9. Thematic Takeaway

Dan and Matt embrace the “blob king” identity as the Bears win imperfectly but decisively, and urge fans to enjoy the chaos of a competitive NFC North. They keep the coaching staff accountable ("Hard to say. Gotta look at the tape") while maintaining optimism that, with more offensive growth and improved execution, the Bears could be peaking at exactly the right time. The looming December schedule and playoff hunt promise high drama ahead.

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Next Up:
Can the Bears keep the crown? Will Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson deliver the “best football” promised for December? Catch more analysis with Forward Progress on 312 Sports.

Transcript

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[Dan Bernstein]

Forward progress a Chicago Bears Podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312Sports.

[Matt Abeticola]

We give you forward progress on 31 2Sports. It's a Chicago Bears podcast brought to you by Beer Church Brew Buffalo's Brewery Pizzeria in a historic church Wood fired Neapolitan Pizza small batch craft beer brunch every day. Visit beerchurchbrewing.com I'm Bernstein, that's Batacola. And we were told that we screwed up on Friday that we had Paul Charchian on and we didn't refer to him as Beer Charch. That's good. I gotta own that one. We definitely should have put that together that we should have had Beer Charcher for Beer Church. But alas, we did not. What we have is a first place Chicago Bears team. They have taken the North. They've taken it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now will they give it back?

[Matt Abeticola]

That's the question. Yes, for the moment. They have planted their flag. They have established their dominion over the north at 7 and 3.

[Dan Bernstein]

So the Bears have won seven of their last eight games. Let's go back to that. That collapse on Monday night at Soldier Field to the Vikings and that guy and that team, I don't know how that happened. Week two, they get completely rolled by the Detroit Lions, embarrassingly, who have since then been up and down and up and down and up and down. This truly is the season of the NFL Blob. It really is.

[Matt Abeticola]

And the Bears are blob kings.

[Dan Bernstein]

They are. I mean, they are the Blob kings of the NFC north right now. And would you have thought after that 02 start that the Bears would be 7 and 3 after 10 games?

[Matt Abeticola]

You joked about 7 and 2. Remember, remember we looked at the schedule and you kind of did the seven and two, my friend.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's right. That's. I totally did. I totally forgot that.

[Matt Abeticola]

And then you, like, are you Bernstein, are you predicting they're going to be 7 and 2? And then you force me to get all defensive about it because I said.

[Dan Bernstein]

I looked at the schedule and I.

[Matt Abeticola]

Said, you know, just schedule not what we thought. It was kind of sketchy.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, we were on target outside of the Ravens game and I had them losing to the Ravens thinking that half the team would be injured still and would rattle off seven in a row. But they won seven out of eight and they're seven and three right now, first place in the NFC north. And they're not really a very good team at times.

[Matt Abeticola]

They'll tell you that. And it's. And it's amazing.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's amazing.

[Matt Abeticola]

And let's just live in the real. It's okay. I argued on Dan Bernstein unfiltered earlier today. It makes it more fun be. Be Blob kings. That's okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. It's who you are right now. It's what your roster has. And in the areas of defense, they're, they're, they're bad in some things, but the things that matter quite a bit in this league, they're very good at red zone offense, they're very good at third down efficiency, they're very good at takeaways. They're very good at. And that can help a team that isn't very efficient on offense consistently and considerably bad on special teams, with the exception of yesterday's return, that those areas of defense can help a team that gives up a lot of yards, that can also get a lot of yards but not score a lot, not very efficient in the red zone scoring touchdowns. That can help a team in a blob season become 7 and 3.

[Matt Abeticola]

They had been bad when it comes to penalty discipline as well.

[Dan Bernstein]

They've cleaned that up.

[Matt Abeticola]

It has been cleaned up in the last couple games and usually Teams like this can win at home, but not on the road. Usually there's a lot of things like, well, you get away with that here, it's not going to travel. All this stuff's going to get exposed when you're away from home. It's not the case with this team.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's not the case they have one on the road. And, you know, you look at yesterday's game, the Vikings are one in four at home. They're not good. They're not good. And, you know, and we'll talk about them a little bit later as we look around the NFL, but there would have been a change in Minnesota, and we'll talk about that, but I wanted to stay on the Bears here for us as we start things off. We have some audio from yesterday's post game that I want to go over, a couple from Ben Johnson and then a cut from Caleb Williams and then some. Some questions to ask you, some things to get into about this team. So Ben Johnson, yesterday, after the the 19 to 17 win over the Vikings, he met the media as usual, and he was asked about getting the ball back with three timeouts in 54 seconds. So this is, you know, prior to the kickoff return, what they were thinking.

[Ben Johnson]

I feel really good about that situation, regardless of the kick return. 50 seconds, three timeouts. We've been there before we practice that situation. I think it's where our offense is playing very comfortable football right now as well. So, yeah, I think we felt pretty good going into that one, regardless of that return.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so how did you feel about the team at that point?

[Matt Abeticola]

I felt good.

[Dan Bernstein]

54 seconds.

[Matt Abeticola]

My first thought was, you left them too much time.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

That was when they scored that quick. I was actually pleased that they didn't milk more clock. And I saw 50 and three timeouts and actually felt pretty good.

[Dan Bernstein]

So given what the Bears have done on the return game, I was kind of looking out and thinking, all right, if we have to go 75 yards, you know, for a touchdown, but you don't have to go that far for a field goal, I didn't feel as confident as you did.

[Matt Abeticola]

And usually I'm not confident, and usually.

[Dan Bernstein]

It'S other way around. I just didn't feel as confident. I just thought, all right, this is one of these seasons we're going to look back and go, those two Minnesota losses are really going to bother.

[Matt Abeticola]

This is where it gets exposed, really.

[Dan Bernstein]

This is really going to haunt us for this season as we look. And the Bears on the outside looking in with one game Maybe making a difference. And we're going to look back at these Vikings. That's what I was already picturing in my head. These two Viking losses that shouldn't have happened. One at home, one on the road. We gave them both away. And then we get the return. The return happens. And I felt much better. I'm like, okay, maybe, maybe this is that stupid season.

[Matt Abeticola]

But. And you said schedule. You said it in our postgame yesterday. And thanks to everybody who was a part of that and is an ongoing part of our forward progress post game shows here on 312Sports on YouTube. You said it. That the fact that it was set up to start left and veer right, that it was the first time that we had seen DuVernay get up to speed.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abeticola]

That we'd really seen him on a full gallop. And Josh Blackwell, who had a terrible penalty earlier in the game, had a critical kick out of that, that block on that side when they realized it was headed that way. And the first time we've seen Devin DuVernay matter positively.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And so they set up to return left with the play, going right. So they set it up correctly and they get those one on one blocks and you have to execute and do your job. And if you do your job, you open up lanes. And it was the first time, as you say, that he was up to full speed. Normally it's been, I'm going left, I'm going right, I'm trying to find a lane. And he just went right full speed and didn't break stride the entire. I mean, it was. It was great. It was. It was set up perfectly and it was ideally called. I'm not sure why we haven't seen something like that before. Maybe they have tried to set it up and they just didn't execute their blocks.

[Matt Abeticola]

I thought he was going to house it.

[Dan Bernstein]

I did too. I did, too.

[Matt Abeticola]

The moment he got by the second line, I thought he was going to house it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Then I think maybe 55. But there was somebody flying, wearing a defensive number that was flying down and.

[Matt Abeticola]

No penalties because for whatever reason, and I don't know if this has been a, like an enforcement edict when our concentration this year. There's always a penalty.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's always a legal block in the back or a hold and they're looking for it. And it bugs me because I like to think on the backside of a play, if it doesn't actually affect the play, you don't have to have the same filter on it. That, that gets really annoying when There's a ticky tack call far off from anything material, but we come to expect it now.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, and looking at the special teams, too, the Bears, their Special teams are 31st in the league on kick returns, averaging 28.7 yards. They're 26th on net average on punts at 39.5. So it's just, it's just, it's been an Achilles heel for the special teams the entire season in just giving up kick return yards, whether it's the punt or kickoffs. And to finally see it happen in a positive light for the Bears was really important for Richard Hightower and his unit. But I still think that there need to be some significant changes. And there's still a lot of football. There's seven games to go and maybe like we've seen, the offensive line needed time to gel and get together. Maybe, maybe that unit gets together a little bit better to maybe save him his job. The only, the only holdover from last year's regime is Richard Hightower. Does he do enough in these seven games? Does the unit do enough for their coach for him to remain with the staff?

[Matt Abeticola]

I think you got to look to upgrade there.

[Dan Bernstein]

Again, we'll see what these next seven games tells us. Ben Johnson was also asked to evaluate Caleb Williams game yesterday. Williams was 16 of 32, 193 yards, two sacks for 13 yards, and a rating of 68.9. And this is how Ben Johnson answered.

[Ben Johnson]

Hard to say. I got to look at the tape.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's it.

[Ben Johnson]

Hard to say. I got to look at the tape.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now he's gone out of his way in other press conferences after games to mention good things Caleb has done.

[Matt Abeticola]

That was pretty terse.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Ben Johnson]

Hard to say. I got to look at the tape.

[Matt Abeticola]

Was it terse or was it brusque?

[Dan Bernstein]

I just, I bring it up and wanted to play it even though it's a couple seconds long.

[Ben Johnson]

Hard to say. I got to look at the tape.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because I'm really curious to hear what he said today.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I know, I know it wasn't great.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I'm really curious to hear what he has to say about it today.

[Matt Abeticola]

And he was waiting for that question. He knew it was coming. He's like, like he. Because right on it. We have to shut it down.

[Dan Bernstein]

So, you know, I'm learning Ben Johnson speak. And he again, he's addressed Caleb's game in other postgame press conferences and says, oh, I need to look deeper in the tape. I need to look more into the tape. But he'll have some things he'll pull out. And then there's been other games where he's gone back and watched and said, oh, here's some really positive things that we saw on tape. I'm really curious to hear what he has to say today.

[Matt Abeticola]

I've enjoyed your little the learning curve of how to speak Ben Johnson. I picture you with a Duolingo or a Babbel app at the end of every day. It's like, let's go through your daily Ben Jonson phrases. And now that you're sort of building a library of his moments, the pace, the tone, the words that he what he chooses to engage on and what he doesn't. I'm enjoying watching that part of it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Cause I think to me it says something that that was his answer yesterday. He could have very easily elaborated if he wanted to. He was there. He saw the game.

[Matt Abeticola]

I thought he did it. Anytime you play Brian Flores, there's going to be some exotics, right? We have to.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's loud.

[Matt Abeticola]

There are all kinds of automatic mitigations.

[Dan Bernstein]

That he could have thrown in there. And he did. It was very deliberate.

[Ben Johnson]

Hard to say. I got to look at the tape.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, okay then.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. So I'm really curious when he meets the media today to hear what he has to say about his quarterback and his play.

[Matt Abeticola]

I would ask the question in this way, too. I would say, ben, yesterday when asked about Caleb, you were very quick to say that you had to look at the tape. Now that you have looked at the tape, like, you gotta bring that back to him.

[Dan Bernstein]

Throw it back to him. Yeah, for sure.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, that's really good.

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[Matt Abeticola]

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[Dan Bernstein]

Cut here from Caleb Williams. He meets the media after Ben Johnson, and he talked about the offense and what is, what's yet to come.

[Caleb Williams]

The special talent that I know that we have is there and it's, it's, it's a confidence builder for me to be able to trust them and put the ball in the right spot at the right time. And it's, it's only growing and we're at the halfway mark of the season or two games, you know, or one to two games past it. And we haven't scratched the surface of how talented, how special we are on this side of the ball. And I'm excited to show it, I'm excited to showcase it. I'm excited to get up every single day and, you know, keep grinding with these guys and showcase it at the end of the day. And, you know, I think that's coming up and you know, you get little glimpses of it, you know, throughout games and throughout the season so far. But, you know, it's coming, so it's coming.

[Matt Abeticola]

Was there a follow up? No, because that's just begging for specifically. I think he's talking about Colston Loveland.

[Dan Bernstein]

You do? Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

Because I see it too, as a receiver. He contorts his body and controls his body like a wild.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's got great hands.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's not just his hands. It's. It's turning his shoulders. He's, he's got a couple special things there.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

And people bounce off of him.

[Dan Bernstein]

So that question was asked about. It started about Luther Burden and about the trust that he's gaining with Luther Burden. And then Caleb took it into a turn and making it okay.

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I'm glad.

[Matt Abeticola]

I know that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. He turned it into a more blanketed statement, broadened it with the, with the team and the offense and, and what they do and all the special talent that's there. And again, along the lines of what Ben Johnson has been saying, that they're not playing their best football and that he expects them to be playing their best football come December. So we got a couple more games here this month and we get into December and again wait to see that, to evaluate it. Is it the best football that this group of players can play, that I have my roster currently? Is it what this Chicago Bears offense can expect to be look like as we move forward? You know, is, is it, is it just these players? So when Caleb Williams says it too, obviously they're talking about it. And it sparked a thought in my brain about looking at the offense currently.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's a good place to have a thought sparked in my brain yeah, because sometimes it ends up elsewhere and sometimes they have.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, sometimes they start my stomach.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, you got to be careful. Well, that's true.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then it's like, all right, I need to feed it.

[Matt Abeticola]

Right. So that's where it nourish the thought. I just want to make sure bear stuff's up here.

[Dan Bernstein]

Food thoughts are down in my belly. And then when I got like potty and stuff, it's a little bit lower.

[Matt Abeticola]

Got it? Yeah, got it.

[Dan Bernstein]

So you know all the areas now.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yep. Thank you.

[Dan Bernstein]

So this whole idea of each week, it's a different guy stepping up. So I'm curious, is it something that's happening? Because that's what the defense is dictating. Is that what the game plan is calling for? Is it specifically what the play calls are designed to do and go to whichever player Ben Johnson wants highlighted? You know, we talked about. He talked about the different progressions that Caleb reads and that there are plays he calls where the number one guy sometimes is A Dunes A. And maybe I need to call it other guys more because he talked about that specifically about. About Rome. Or is this an ideal offense where you have multiple guys getting the football?

[Matt Abeticola]

The play is the play. Everything else is subservient to the right play. And. And if the right play means it's your turn, then it's your turn. That's the question. Is it Jimmy's and Joe's? Is it X's and O's? And the answer of course is both. Of course it's both. And that's why you get feedback and you want to hear within a game. It's part of a head coach's job to manage that. Sometimes if it's a guy you trust, he's like, hey, hey, I can take this guy. Line me up as one on one on the X side. Like get everybody in a three man bunch over here. I'll be over here on the X and let's run whatever the name of the play is. Let me have a shot at that. And sometimes the coach, depending on score and situation, be like, okay, I want to hear that, I want to know.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I think with Ben Johnson, though, hopefully he's a step ahead of that and sees it before a player even comes to him. So just looking at the Bear, seven wins and the leading receiver from each of those, those games. The Dallas game, it was Luther Burden 300 yard game, three receptions, 101 yards. Raiders game, it was Roma Dunes a had four receptions, 69 yards, eight targets. Commanders, it was Luther Burden again with 51 yards. The Saints it was D.J. moore at 43 yards. Against the Bengals it was Colson Loveland 118 yards. The Giants, it was a Dunesday with 86 on 10 targets. And for the Vikings it was Cole Comet at 45 yards. He had five different guys as your receiving leaders in those seven wins. And then looking at where they stack up in the league, Luther Burden has 19 catches. He's 138th among receptions. Roma Dunes 39 is 39th. He's your highest. D.J. moore has 31, he's 73rd. Looking at the tight ends, tight ends only Colson Love them with 24 is the 32nd ranked tight end. And then Cole Comet with 16 is the 39th ranked tight end. So nobody who is in the top 10, top 20, top 30 for receiving leaders from your team. So is this just an offense that's. That's growing? Is that a mark of a young wide receiver that's coming into his own Aroma Dunes a Luther Burden still learning the NFL game. Is it on Caleb Williams and he's still developing and growing, learning this offense, learning how to play NFL quarterback.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, I also think you have to take the number of catches that Olamide Zacchaeus has.

[Dan Bernstein]

He has 32, which is 65th in the league.

[Matt Abeticola]

I would redistribute those among the others.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because going forward, and namely Luther Burden, Colson Loveland, it seems, I would say.

[Matt Abeticola]

Look at that trend and find that redistribution. And this also is not an offense that throws to the backs that often that they will. There are some, I mean the year like Matt Forte at 100 and some catches. Usually it's a bad sign if running backs are catching a lot of passes because it means there's a lot of checkdowns.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, like the Dallas game. There's your guy Ferguson. Jay Ferguson.

[Matt Abeticola]

Jake Ferguson.

[Dan Bernstein]

Jay.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, Jay Ferguson is the guy who sings Thunder island and has the perm and the muscles.

[Dan Bernstein]

What did he have? He had 17 receptions or 15. Something stupid.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I think it's 13. Yeah, there's 13 targets or something like that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

But I want to see the passes go to the wideouts because that means things are working. And I kind of count Loveland as a wide out. The way they use him. He's really. Cole Comet is the tight end.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abeticola]

They use Loveland much more like a big wide receiver.

[Caleb Williams]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean he still has plays design where he has to block and open up holes, but yeah, he really is more that hybrid type receiver, tight end.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. Which is.

[Dan Bernstein]

Which he should. Should be.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's got the skill set for it. So when Caleb says that, you know, they're just scratching the surface and it's still yet to come. Like, when is this? Is it. Is it this season? Like, Ben Johnson talks about their best football. I looked at the roster and looking at the. At the offense, Dan, and you know, the starters, if they're in. 11 personnel. 11 personnel. One running back, one tight end, and that's Cole Comet. That's how it's listed in their. On their depth chart, too.

[Caleb Williams]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Who are you taking out of? Like, who are you replacing on that. On that starting 11, 11 personnel.

[Matt Abeticola]

Who am I replacing and replacing with whom?

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what I'm asking. Is it. Is it someone that's not here yet? Is it. Because really, when we talk about the roster, this starting 11 is not going to change a whole ton. We talk about the roster that I have right now. This is our best football. This starting 11 isn't going to change much.

[Matt Abeticola]

I think D.J. moore is out.

[Dan Bernstein]

So you find a guy for D.J. moore. Is it something we look at in free agency? Is it something they look at in the draft and he won't impact next year? So really, if we're looking at it, it's really the 12 personnel and the 12 personnel with Loveland Cole together. DJs out, Luther's in.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay, that sounds. If things work out well, especially from a cap perspective, I'm not sure what dead cap would be. I would need one of the cap people. Cap people. Cap people. We would need them in here to do that. But I've had some issues with DJ Moore's overall production.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And I just don't know how healthy.

[Matt Abeticola]

He is, whatever the reason.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, yeah. But, you know, because we talked about this now and we hear Ben Johnson say, our best football. Our best football. Now the quarterback saying, it's the best yet to come. We haven't scratched the surface. A lot of talent here that I can see that we haven't shown yet on Sundays. It's not going to change much.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, I'd like to.

[Dan Bernstein]

This roster is not going to change much as far as the starters are concerned. No.

[Matt Abeticola]

I'd like to shore up Theo Benedict a little bit, whatever that's going to take, because there he. His bad plays are real bad. He has plenty of good in there, and I know they trust him more. I also want to say that the point that I made yesterday on the post game about the fact that Tropillo came in for him when he left. Braxton Jones is on IR So. Oh, thanks to the people who pointed that out.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sure is, isn't it?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes. Who pointed that out? Who said, well, you know, Dan, it's really not that interesting.

[Anytime Fitness Announcer]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

And I emailed the guy back. I said, you are absolutely right, 100% correct. I said, thank you for that correction. You're right.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm.

[Matt Abeticola]

And it makes it very much not interesting at all. But I would like to shore that up. And sometimes he just doesn't get his hands engaged quick enough. Like he's just not throwing his punch. I don't want him short setting.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

But I would like him to stay balanced, to stay with his knees bent and time up that punch.

[Dan Bernstein]

So looking at. It's interesting and that the 11 personnel, even 12 personnel on my list, there's one I have circled and the only one I circled was Theo. He's the only guy that I thought would be a realistic change in what they're going to do because the rest of these guys are the starters now. Is there a different running back to be had? Is Common guy going to get more carries and become a feature back over DeAndre Swift after this season? Is there another guy to add in free agency? Is there a guy to add through the draft, but outside of that, it was just Theo and we'll see how he develops and plays over these next seven games. As long as he stays healthy, he's in there. But that, that is one area I could see them address in the draft and I hope they do in the draft. I'm not.

[Matt Abeticola]

I'm not at the draft yet.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know, I know, I know. But I'm just looking because we've talked about it, that when Ben Johnson has said that, that we haven't played our best football and we look all right, well, what's the roster going to look like this offensively? It's not going to change a ton.

[Matt Abeticola]

No. I want to see Burden get more touches.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I know. I do too.

[Matt Abeticola]

I really do.

[Dan Bernstein]

I agree with that.

[Matt Abeticola]

He's. He had a bad drop, but boy, he's twitchy.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, he's got great hands. He's got really strong hands and he's hard to bring down.

[Matt Abeticola]

Twitchy, explosive, sudden. He's sudden in a way that some of the other guys aren't. You get some of those, like the fluid, long strider type. Burdon is well muscled when it comes to his ability to spring himself suddenly. I like that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. So I just, I don't envision them in the off season going after a big name wide receiver like this is this is what it looks like moving forward. Like when you're looking at that 12 personnel with Loveland and Comet in there, and then Burden and Rome. This is who it is. So they talk about our best football in December. That could be a vision of what this offense looks like for the next. The next few years.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, then Caleb Williams can't miss deep balls.

[App Store Announcer]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So that. Then it all falls back down to Caleb and his development and his ability to start making this offense look better. Yep, I know. There was the drop games last week.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, he was. He was overthrowing deep balls. How many times did I write down?

[Dan Bernstein]

At least two. Right.

[Matt Abeticola]

Early on.

[Dan Bernstein]

I got three. Yep.

[Matt Abeticola]

It was third and nine in first quarter. Third nine overthrows Roma Dunes, a punt. Chicago overthrows D.J. moore punt. That was on that. The failed screen to Luther Burden. They're just there. Too many.

[Dan Bernstein]

What did you think? There was a couple on the first couple of drives, a third and third and whatevers with like 3040 yard passes.

[Matt Abeticola]

If he's taken that shot because somebody's open, I don't have a problem with it. Just hit it. Yeah, hit it. And I know that's what Ben Johnson wants him to do. I'm not asking for offensive conservatism. I'm asking for execution.

[App Store Announcer]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

Make the play if it's there. You know, you got a completely different game. And maybe that was the game plan that they saw that. I mean, they, they had these guys open. It's not like he's thrown into double coverage expecting somebody to draw pass interference, you know, coming back through the defense to make a play. Those are open receivers. What separates the team now or the reason they haven't outscored their opponents. We start looking in the playoffs, that's it. That's your day. That's. You're. You're one and done in the playoffs. If you miss those.

[Dan Bernstein]

So after the Steelers and the Eagles. So the Steelers on Sunday, the Eagles on Black Friday, the 2 o' clock game.

[Matt Abeticola]

That Eagles game. Boy.

[Dan Bernstein]

And you know, Ben Johnson has said we'll be playing our best football in December. So that is at Green Bay hosting the Browns, hosting the packers at San.

[Matt Abeticola]

Francisco, San Francisco game might be huge.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. And then hosting the. The Lions for the last game. That's in January.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. And who knows what playoff positions are set, who's resting whom at that point, but man. Yeah, that. That Niners game might be really important in NFC seeding.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And when you, when you look at it and how the roster is constructed right now on the offensive side, of the football. This looks like it's going to be it moving forward. So I'm really excited to see when they start playing their best football. And I think he's what that looks like.

[Matt Abeticola]

He's trying to get a feel. I think Johnson is for the running back split. I think he's trying to sense and to look at situation, matchups, personnel groupings defensively when there may not be. Our fourth series is our Menungai series, the third series of the Menungi series. I know some coaches do that just to say this is, you know, your chance, your turn almost like a preseason game. But maybe it is going to be more situation and matchup dictated or dictated by a given play, depending what's what responsibilities lie therein.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then we just want to want to put a bow on this game from yesterday. The Bears win over the Vikings 1917. I listened to the Vikings press conferences, Koc and J.J. mcCarthy. J.J. mcCarthy. He had, I mean, his thoughts on the game yesterday.

[Matt Abeticola]

I thought it was really great. Absolutely sucks. Absolutely sucks.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's how you walked up the podium and that's how he started. He just walked up and he goes, absolutely sucks.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right, good for him.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was great. No, it was really good. But Koc was asked about replacing JJ McCarthy. Like he the game yesterday we saw Baddie struggled, but when it mattered most, he gave his team the lead. Okay. So that drive I think saved him some opportunities here. Looking down the road, if Carson Wentz was not injured, he would be starting their game this next week. That's what I fully believe they would have done.

[Matt Abeticola]

I mean, based on his answer.

[Dan Bernstein]

Based on what he said he was asked about replacing Jaden McCarthy. He said I'm not going to get into all that right now.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's how he answered it now. I mean, outside of McCarthy, it's Max Brosmer.

[Matt Abeticola]

I was just going to ask who's behind.

[Dan Bernstein]

So you're, I mean you're not starting Max Brosmer.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's a made up guy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Carson Wentz wasn't injured. He would be the starter. Looking at this team and where they're at right now at 4 and 6.

[Matt Abeticola]

They had Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones.

[Dan Bernstein]

They have at Green bay, at Seattle versus Washington, at Dallas, at the Giants, versus Detroit, versus Green Bay. They're currently 10th in the playoff picture behind the Panthers and the Lions. They're 1 and 4 at home, 3 and 2 in the road, 2 and 1 in the division, 2 and 3 in the conference. If they had these seven games to go, these seven conference games with Carson went still there. He would have been starting. I guarantee you that. Is that this kid is just not. He's not ready to.

[Matt Abeticola]

Wentz was no great shakes either.

[Dan Bernstein]

He wasn't. But you can trust him more than JJ McCarthy to make passes. I mean, his. His. His vision is off. His footwork is off. I mean, you saw so many missed passes yesterday.

[Matt Abeticola]

I thought.

[Dan Bernstein]

And that's.

[Matt Abeticola]

Some of the velocity choices were off.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Even. Oh, I wanted to bring that up with your guy Brady. Either Tom Brady went to school or someone sat down and talked with him because. Did you listen closely to him yesterday?

[Matt Abeticola]

I did not find him objectionable.

[Dan Bernstein]

He was not annoying. He was not objectionable, and he was actually very footbally. Like he had. I think someone gave him a list of football terms to use to sound smart.

[Matt Abeticola]

He mentioned a cheetah cadence that I hadn't heard before.

[Dan Bernstein]

He talked about violent hands. He talked about climbing the ladder or violin hands. No, violent hands.

[Matt Abeticola]

Violent hands.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. So someone got to him with football terms and made him sound very Football yesterday.

[Matt Abeticola]

Jargony.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. And it paid off a little bit.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's in. Jargon is fine as long as you explain it. That's why when we had Tim Jenkins on and he was talking about the Machete Samurai versus Machete, and I got to wind it back and be like, all right, tell me what that is.

[Dan Bernstein]

I want to know.

[Matt Abeticola]

Help me learn football. That's always. It was always my thought around coaches as well. I want to come away from a press conference understanding more about the game than I did before. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So I thought he got more jargony yesterday, and he wasn't as annoying as he. As he usually is, but I think someone got to him or he made team meetings this week. He did something different, but something was different there. But the. The Vikings at 4 and 6 with these seven conference games ago, I think. I think he would have definitely made a change. I heard that in his answer. I'm not going to get into all that right now because there are no other options. And it's. It's JJ or bust as far as the. This season is concerned for Vikings fans.

[Matt Abeticola]

Speaking of changes, I know we wanted to talk about what's going on around the league. I also realized this. I want old Ben Johnson back. Not Ben. Excuse me, Dan Campbell. I want old Dan Campbell back. Because play calling Dan Campbell is so different. Where he's got his glasses on, he's in the play sheet, and it's. He's not running around.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. You like meatball I like meatball.

[Matt Abeticola]

I like meatball. Dan Campbell.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

This is like studious on the headset, looking at the sheet. He looks professorial and nothing against it. It's his choice that he wants to do all this, but it's not the same. It isn't the same. To see with his nose buried in the card, looking at the next thing and try to. I, I want him stomping and romping around the sidelines, talking to people and motivating guys.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think it's. It'. Yeah, it's the second week he's done this and it's just every time I hear it during the Lions games, it's just weird to me.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's not the same.

[Anytime Fitness Announcer]

You look.

[Matt Abeticola]

I'm like, oh, what happened to our guy? Why. Why is he looking?

[Dan Bernstein]

He's not angry anymore.

[Matt Abeticola]

So bookish.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's not yelling.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, he's too busy. He's just busy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Oh, that's funny.

[Matt Abeticola]

And the glasses and everything. Like, you know, I want him looking more like a player. It's more fun that way. Sorry, I don't look, if they feel they have to do that and they were struggling. Boy, you just, you just hit golf, man. Just hit him. Yeah, just hit him coming off the bus. Do something to him.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I didn't, I didn't like what I saw last night from the Eagles defense. Knowing that that's two games away. Not excited about it.

[Matt Abeticola]

Although the offense is janky.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it's. There's issues there.

[Matt Abeticola]

The Eagles offense is definitely janky. But yeah, the defense is. There's some bad intentions and there are some. The guys with their hand on the ground.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, you know what? I was, I was surprised too, by.

[Matt Abeticola]

The way Lane Johnson, Lis Frank is probably going to be out for a while, maybe the season.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

So that's good news for the Bears to not have to have one of the best pass blocking tackles of his generation out there.

[Dan Bernstein]

I was listening to the Vikings yesterday, wanting to hear what they were going to ask KOC about Justin Jefferson, and then they never did. He was never asked about it.

[Matt Abeticola]

And interesting.

[Dan Bernstein]

Jefferson did meet the media briefly after the game, but he did it while KOC was talking. So I'm not sure what media members don't go and listen to the head coach.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, ideally you're staffed enough to have a locker room person and a press conference person.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. So he. Because at first there was a report that came out that Jefferson just left without speaking, but he did speak to a couple people that were there to talk to him while KOC was was meeting the media and he wasn't asked about Jefferson at all. And Fox was very, very deliberate in showing Jefferson on the sidelines a few times, slamming his helmet, looking pissed off, sitting on the bench and that goes into the whole idea of going into this week. I don't I know I don't love football as much as I used to or I need to love football as much as I did and there's a lot of stuff outside of football so I'm really interested to see how that how that all plays out because he didn't have the Justin Jefferson games that we're used to seeing this year. Certainly not not yesterday. And I wonder if it's just all a byproduct of J.J. mcCarthy season.

[Matt Abeticola]

I don't know. There's a lot of that going on last night too when talking about the Eagles and looking at Saquon Barkley's rushing yards being down and they had mentioned well I talked to Barry Sanders about rushing for 2,000 yards in a and then what it does to you after and winning and all this it almost was excuse making I thought for sake Sometimes you know what it takes a huge toll on your body sometimes it's just hard to have that many carries and be beat up as much as you are. And a lot of it too is when that I thought they did a nice job describing some of this stuff about how when in Collinsworth did when Jalen hurts isn't running how it allows your numbers to be much more normal.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh yeah just talked about that as.

[Matt Abeticola]

Far as box count and just as far as matching up your the guys in the gaps that when you know he's not going to run you can defend other guys.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah and he ran a bit more yesterday I know there was one one first down that he gained on a third and six or seven that was pretty important. I think that's when Collinsworth highlighted that but it's a very different team when he is when he is running and there's plays for him to run and.

[Matt Abeticola]

That gets back to the Caleb stuff too because we do this all the time. We're always excited about running quarterbacks and then we have the same conversations. Well this is what quarterbacks do now everybody has to be these running quarters but the league beats it out of you it Jackson Dart Mahomes. Ask anybody even Lamar you get beat up and even the best of the best of the best sir Russian quarterbacks have this truth. The gravity of the pain and suffering of the running quarterback is Undefeated. It happens over time. It's just a matter of when, not if.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. A few weeks ago I made the comment that I heard Ben Johnson in his, in his comments saying that he wanted Caleb to run less from the pocket and to get, and to get the ball in the playmaker's hands and there was some disagreement about it. That, oh no, that Ben wants him to run more. And then we heard Ben last week say that there's missed opportunities even when the house is on fire. Want him to stay there, you know, a step or two longer to make that play so we can get that explosive play because he doesn't want Caleb running for, you know, for 10, 15, 20, 25 yards. He wants the ball thrown to a receiver in stride in his scheme so he can get that 25, 30, 35 or take it to the house play.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, that's also why I want to get left tackle, short up because too often somebody is getting through on that side and changing the timing of everything because then he's got to do that Houdini spin.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And I went back yesterday and it was the play on the, the game winning drive and it was the second down play where it was a loss of two. Right end comes out and that's, that's what he tossed Theo down to the ground like he wasn't even there and made the play in the backfield. I just wanted to go back and double check that it was, that it was Theo because I think Ozzy also checked in on that play as eligible. I wanted to make sure it was Theo. That had happened too. But yeah, that, that needs to get cleaned up. So again, if you're looking at, at the starters, there might be a couple opportunities for some changes going into next year. But this, this is what the offense is going to look like. These guys are healthy. This is who you have. And I'm excited to see their best football to come in December when it's going to matter the most.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, we're almost there. We got, we got two more weeks and two more games and then the Bears best football.

[Dan Bernstein]

Our next, our upcoming game is the Steelers on Sunday. We need to hear more information about Aaron Rodgers, the possibility of surgery on that injured wrist. If there's surgery, he's done. He could play on Sunday. He could miss a game. So we'll see how that all plays out as this week goes on.

[Matt Abeticola]

Is that done? Done?

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, if he has surgery, I'm going to say he's done done.

[Matt Abeticola]

Like that's time to. It's got to Be and back to his dark place.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, because he's, he's looking, he's looking his age as it is now. I can't imagine what another season ending surgery would do to a guy trying to rehab and come back for another year.

[Matt Abeticola]

I mean non throwing hand. It's not exactly. It's not like another Achilles.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I mean, but I mean shoot how much. I mean eventually he's gonna start throwing two and three yard routes.

[Matt Abeticola]

I mean now they were 11 and.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now they're down to five. No, he's under 10. Like 90% of his throws are under 10 yards. So he's in. I mean it's going to be all backfield stuff behind the line of scrimmage. You know, take God. Which Bears was it? Was it. Trust me. No. What? Who had the. We're going to throw the ball behind line of scrimmage.

[Matt Abeticola]

John Shoop did that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

He had a lot of that. Gary Croton had some of that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Matt Abeticola]

Everything, all the slip screens, all the tunnel stuff.

[Dan Bernstein]

So that's we're going to start doing with, with Aaron is just throwing behind line of scrimmage.

[Matt Abeticola]

Eventually Mason Rudolph acquitted himself. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, he had a touchdown and rating was high and you know, he had some yards. But I mean he's 30 years old. If he, if he was going to be a guy, could be a guy already.

[Matt Abeticola]

Don't take this.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, no, I'm not. But I'm just saying.

[Matt Abeticola]

Throated endorsement.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, I just. I know.

[Matt Abeticola]

I'd rather he play from a Bears perspective. Of course.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. I'd rather face Aaron Rodgers. I do. I want to see the Bears kick the shit out of Aaron Rodgers in a Steelers uniform. All right.

[Matt Abeticola]

Is it worth him cutting it a ribbons though? If it goes south on you?

[Dan Bernstein]

He's. But it's not going to go south. He's not going to. He's not going to do that. He's not.

[Matt Abeticola]

He's not going to do that to these guys.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not to these guys.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right, well, I was the guy who was optimistic when they got the ball back with 50 seconds left, so I guess we could take turns.

[Dan Bernstein]

I wanted to sell your guy. Devin Dewart proved me wrong.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. I still want to upgrade that spot as well.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I hear you.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay. There's a note here that. And I'm just curious of what it says because I. You. We did not talk about this before we went on.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abeticola]

You just said, could a record be broken?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. So I was looking at defensive numbers yesterday after games were all played and Miles Garrett has 15 sacks on the season leading the league right now. There's a. I can't know. Who was it? Burns, maybe? Brian Burns from The Giants has 13, but he has 15 sacks with seven to go.

[Matt Abeticola]

How many does Benito have?

[Dan Bernstein]

He's under 10 because.

[Matt Abeticola]

Holy crap. Do they get off the snap?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I want to say nine and a half maybe.

[Matt Abeticola]

Jeez, do they move?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. They're the fastest team to sacks in the league, the Broncos. And they going into Yesterday's game had 70 as a team and they were. We know we're going to keep an eye on that because they have a possibility of breaking the 86 Bears record of most sacks in the season. But Miles Garrett at 15 and the sack record of 22 and a half.

[Matt Abeticola]

Strahan, wasn't it Watt? Oh, you're right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. Like four years ago. Yeah. So he needs eight sacks in seven games. Eight sacks in seven games. Miles Garrett, could he break the record? So I looked at his teams that he's playing. He's playing the Raiders. They have given up 27 sacks. That's 12th in the league. The 49ers at 24, 19th in the league. The Titans have given up 41 sacks and that's three games away. So if he can scratch out a sack, even one a game, the next two against the Raiders and the 49ers or get one in those two games, he can go to town and eat against the Titans and maybe get three or have a four sack game. I mean, he's had a six or seven sack game in his career. He's motivated this year and it's showing in his play. And I know the Browns are a bad team, but they're not terrible defensively. Then they go to the. Then. Then they play the Bears.

[Matt Abeticola]

I'm just going to say, as long as it doesn't happen on the 14th maybe.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then the Bills, the Steelers and the Bengals. Okay, so some quarterbacks that don't move very well and to end the season if Rodgers is still out there and then Frankenstein's monster is still playing in week 18, but he has an opportunity with his upcoming schedule to maybe break an NFL record for sacks in a season.

[Matt Abeticola]

I want to finish up with this note, too. I just want to make sure. Well, first let me tell you about Beer Church and how awesome it is. You know, that. That how great it is. I know you were just there and I've enjoyed it, too. It is. If you like pizza and you more than like, if you appreciate pizza, you have to have what Beer Church is making or what you and your friends can actually make in their authentic wood fired Neapolitan pizza ovens. There. It's so good. And the pizza making parties that they can do, it could be for a handful of people, it could be up to 300 people. But you go, you learn all about the way the dough is set up and proofed and aged and how you stretch it and why you stretch it and the ratios of the ingredients to get everything just how you want it. And I've said before, there's no delayed gratification because that pizza oven is so damn hot. It goes in there and it is crackling and blistered and ready to go charred on the outside in like three minutes.

[Dan Bernstein]

I timed mine. It was 228.

[Matt Abeticola]

228 for your pizza margarita. That's how I. That's all I want too. I'm kind of a purist when it comes, when the ingredients are good, that's all you need because the flavors are just so incredible. And the crust itself, I eat every bite, every bit of crust, everything. Like there are times where I might eat the middles and then leave the crust. I just, I just shoved everything in my mouth as fast as I could because it was that good. And they've got all of their awesome small batch craft beers that you can pair with everything you can do the pizza party and check it out. Just Google beer church, pizza school. Get that class booked and make sure that you've got the room for it. Tell your boss or whatever, say, hey, next party we do, next group outing, whether maybe you got a sales team, maybe you want to take care of clients or whatever it might be, that's the place to do it at Beer church in New Buffalo, Michigan. It's just a quick trip from Chicagoland and northwest Indiana. You can't miss it. It is. I got a picture right here. It looks like this. That is the civil war era church. Drink, eat, repent, repeat.

[Dan Bernstein]

Can you open up to the pizzas? Is the margherita pictured? I think it is. Right?

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, let's see. They've got. Oh, that's the one with the, the bressaola, the prosciutto on it. And yep, there's the margarita right up there in the corner.

[Dan Bernstein]

See that?

[Matt Abeticola]

The, the picture you took actually. Yeah, is, is amazing. Like they could use that one. It. It's. It's amazing. And yeah, you see all of these. These are all their different pizzas. Just wonderful.

[Dan Bernstein]

The read the Philly cheesesteak pizza. I'm going to have that next time I go.

[Matt Abeticola]

Philly cheese on the right side of the cake. It's Philly whiz slow roasted chopped beefsteak and provolone house made beef stock onion crema. So that's almost like a, like a French onion soup kind of thing is what that sounds like. Wood fired peppers and banana peppers topped with fried onions and a cheez whiz drizzle.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes sir. That's beer church. This is beer church and you gotta check them out. Go to beerchurchbrewing.com beerchurchbrewing.com Go there, go to the website. Enjoy.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know, just thinking of something. It took like 90 minutes to get home because it was Sunday morning traffic. I can drive from my house to the city for dinner in two hours if I just plan it when it's.

[Matt Abeticola]

A non busy traffic time and just zap out there. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Just for lunch or dinner. I would do that.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, like from downtown, if you left right from here instead of going from Libertyville.

[Caleb Williams]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because that's Wisconsin.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, Time that, time that out and just run over there. But I wanted to mention this, that. And we'll talk about it tomorrow. But I really think the theme of this week, when we start hearing from them after tomorrow, once we're back on Wednesday, when they turn the page, I think the theme is how Ben Johnson straddles this line of where seven and three were in first place, the record says we're good. And understanding that they may not be that good. And how he can sell both the confidence of the standings and the fear of how much work they have to do to sell both of those things, to work on both of those channels simultaneously as the head coach of the Bears. That's the, that's what I'm looking at this week. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because if you look at the, the current playoff picture, Dan, the Bears right now would host the, the packers in the first round. The Rams would host the 49ers. So two divisional matchups and then the Buccaneers and Seahawks at 4 and 5, Eagles get the buy. But if you look at the teams and their percentage right now to get in the playoffs, the Bears, despite leading their division and being ranked and being the third seed in the nfc, have the lowest percentage of making the playoffs still of all the playoff teams as of right now, even a lower percentage than the Packers.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay. But that still kind of seems right to me. I do think they can, they can beat the Packers. I don't know that they can beat the Lions and I don't know about the Eagles. Well, but the packers don't scare me.

[Dan Bernstein]

The Lions. The Lions at home. I. The way I've seen the Lions play this year, up and down because they've been. They've been two different teams from week to week.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, they're a different team if you can hit their quarterback.

[Dan Bernstein]

And so you have that game at home on the last one. Week 18. So you play at Green Bay first and then you host Green Bay at Philadelphia. Yeah, I don't. I don't like that game. I don't mind going to Pittsburgh. I don't like going to Philadelphia. I don't mind going to Green Bay hosting the Browns. I just don't want Miles Garrett to eat. You host the packers, you're at San Francisco, which is going to be a tough game, and then you finish with the Lions. It's going to be fun. Seven games. A lot can happen.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's going to be fun. And we're your place covering all of it. Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast on 312 Sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, it is. It is. 312 Sports.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, man.

[Sleep Number Announcer]

I gave it.

[Matt Abeticola]

It was right there. I wasn't ready. Damn it. It was right there.

[Dan Bernstein]

I was trying to find it.

[Matt Abeticola]

Close it out and then you. I got it somewhere over here. Okay.

[Anytime Fitness Announcer]

10.

[Matt Abeticola]

219.

[Dan Bernstein]

219. Forward progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.

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