POSTGAME: Caleb Williams leads the Chicago Bears to a BIG WIN over the Browns

Summary

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Forward Progress – A Chicago Bears Podcast

Episode: POSTGAME: Caleb Williams leads the Chicago Bears to a BIG WIN over the Browns
Hosts: Dan Bernstein & Matt Abbatacola
Date: December 14, 2025

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Overview: A Dominant Bears Win Sets the Tone

This episode of "Forward Progress" dives deep into a cathartic 31-3 Chicago Bears win over the Cleveland Browns. Hosts Dan Bernstein and Matt Abbatacola break down how the Bears, now 10-4 under first-year coach Ben Johnson, handled business against an overmatched opponent—highlighting Caleb Williams’ strong performance, critical contributions from throughout the roster, and what the victory means as the playoff race intensifies.

Bernstein and Abbatacola mix sharp analysis with their characteristic wit, weighing what worked, what must improve before facing real contenders, and the evolving identity of a resurgent Bears squad.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Big Picture: Good Team Beats Bad Team

• Bears reach 10-4, positive point differential
  • “That was a good team beating a bad team.” – Dan Bernstein [00:50]
  • Both hosts stress that while the Browns’ offense was depleted (ninth OL combo, backup QB), their defense is elite, making Chicago’s 31-point output impressive.
• Ben Johnson as 10-win rookie coach
  • "I don't think you can say enough about Ben Johnson being a 10 win coach in his first year at the helm right now..." – Bernstein [00:50]

2. Early Game Nerves Fade Quickly

• Only early complaint: first Bears drive
  • “I never felt uncomfortable about this game and only got irritated one time and it was the Bears first drive.” – Matt Abbatacola [01:25]
  • Missed field goals and a brief string of empty possessions were the only moments of concern.

3. Defensive Mastery and Opportunism

• Strategy: Sit and wait vs. blitz
  • Bernstein reviews the week’s discussions around coverage vs. aggression: “…we got our answer to what we were talking about all week. Coverage was the right move. Pays off for him.” [02:32]
• Takeaways and pressure
  • Bears force three second-half INTs, notch 5 sacks, and consistently disrupt the Browns’ shaky offense. Special recognition for DeMarco Jackson and the rejuvenated front four.

4. DeAndre Swift’s Running Back Renaissance

• Swift’s transformation
  • “He looks like a different running back...running harder, he's running smarter. He has better vision.” – Abbatacola [06:00]
  • Decision-making, vision, and cutbacks all stand out. Offensive line gets credit for creating opportunities.
• Kyle Manungai’s struggles as a receiver
  • “Now Kyle Manungai did not distinguish himself as a pass catcher. There were two, I know, bad drops...” – Bernstein [06:49]

5. Caleb Williams: Poised, Productive, Still Growing

• Efficiency milestone
  • "He set the all time NFL record for fewest interceptions in, in your first thousand pass attempts." – Bernstein [10:16] (with comic deflation learning Jacoby Brissette was the prior record-holder)
• Best start yet?
  • “This was one of the most comfortable games I've seen him throw and play...he looked the best at quarterback that I've seen this kid play.” – Abbatacola [11:50]
• Still some risky throws
  • “The throw across the body into double coverage more times than not is not going to end well.” – Bernstein [12:59]
• Stepping up in key moments, finding open receivers

6. Playcalling & Personnel Usage

• Formation wrinkles
  • Bernstein is intrigued by unique backfield looks: “...three guys in an inverted V...not a wishbone...I'd love to know what they call it...” [15:55]
• Trust in depth
  • Austin Booker, Tryon ShoYinka, and backup defenders deliver with starters sidelined.

7. Receiver & Tight End Contributions

• Luther Burden and Colston Loveland emerging
  • “Dude, [Burden & Loveland] are going to be something special in this league.” – Abbatacola [25:13]
• DJ Moore’s “demise” exaggerated: Steps up with two TDs in Roma Dunze’s absence.

8. Handling Adversity & Injuries

• Resilience amid short-notice losses (Rome, Jenkins, etc.)
• Strategizing for playoff health—resting stars when possible
  • “…there's going to come a point now when you have to husband your resources for the playoffs and make sure that you are absolutely ready…” – Bernstein [45:12]

9. Special Teams Standouts

• Devin DuVernay shines against NFL’s weakest special teams
  • Two strong returns and a key (if possibly nullified) first down catch.
• “That's what you're supposed to do when you get a weak opponent. You're supposed to step on their throat.” – Abbatacola [19:22]

10. Looking Ahead: Packers, Playoff Implications & Division Race

• Next up: Green Bay (short week, Saturday night), then 49ers and Lions.
• Contemplations on playoff seeding, potential resting strategies, and division-clinching scenarios.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On standards and improvement:
  “If we're going to be the high standard bearers here ... there are some things that in film, Ben Johnson is probably going to tell them have to be cleaned up going into these huge and difficult games.” – Bernstein [04:55]

• On DJ Moore’s resurgence:
  “The reports of the demise of DJ Moore, in the words of W.C. fields, are great. Exaggerated.” – Bernstein [15:44]

• On defensive “found money”:
  “C.J. Gardner Johnson for the most part played well again...That guy is just found money.” – Bernstein [17:17]

• On locker room culture and Ben Johnson as a first-year head coach:
  “He started 0-2. And they've gone 10-2 since.” – Bernstein [36:28]

• Comic relief:

  • A running gag about Andrew Billings’ size—“I may put Andrew Billings on my body pillow list.” [30:15]
  • Sleeves vs. tough-guy cold weather antics: “Nobody's intimidated by you getting frostbite.” – Bernstein [28:45]
  • Extended banter about shirtless Bears fans and Coors Light T-shirts. [29:08–30:56]
  • “He protects the ball better than Jacoby Brissette...if you're going to do it, go all the way and sing his praises, man.” – Abbatacola [46:55]

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Important Timestamps

• 00:50: Positive point differential, Ben Johnson’s success
• 02:32: Defensive strategy—coverage vs. blitz
• 06:00: DeAndre Swift’s improvement
• 10:16: Caleb Williams’ interception record
• 11:50: Williams’ command and poise
• 12:48–13:36: On Williams’ risky but effective throws
• 15:55: Unique offensive formations
• 17:17: Defensive depth: DeMarco Jackson, C.J. Gardner-Johnson
• 18:59: Special teams impact—DuVernay
• 25:13: Loveland and Burden as future stars
• 36:28: Ben Johnson’s turnaround
• 40:53: Offensive success without Roma Dunze
• 45:12: Playoff planning and injury management

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Summary of Key Stats (from [21:05])

• Caleb Williams: 17/28, 242 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
• DeAndre Swift: 18 carries, 98 yards, 2 TD
• Kyle Manungai: 11 carries, 33 yards
• Luther Burden: 6 catches, 84 yards
• DJ Moore: 4 catches, 69 yards, 2 TD
• Colston Loveland: 4 catches, 63 yards
• Defense: 5 sacks, 3 INTs

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Conclusion

This episode radiates the optimism of a Bears team peaking at season’s end, balancing praise with a watchful eye on what must sharpen before the postseason crucible. Bernstein and Abbatacola highlight how the Bears dominated an inferior opponent, credit the evolving stars, and steer the fan conversation forward—to Green Bay, playoff positioning, and a potential deep January run.

Next Up

• Saturday night showdown vs. Packers with immediate postgame coverage from Forward Progress.

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Transcript

[Matt Abeticola]

I mean, if you're a Bears fan, you're thinking forward progress. Come on, Forward progress. Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, that's certainly a lot more than we asked for. When my entire goal going into this game, I believe I said, was boss avoidance. Just make sure you don't lose this one. And then it ends up being a stat game and a get right game. And by 31 to 3, by the 28 point margin. You know what, maybe we can start to stop talking about for a little while. Point differential.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I hope so. That would be great. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So they're, they're. Now the Bears are a 10 and 4 team with a positive point differential. And I don't think you can say enough about Ben Johnson being a 10 win coach in his first year at the helm right now with this. It really is, it's a remarkable achievement for this team to be 10 and 4. And I think we should say that before all of it, before the we predict the game balls or start talking about good, better, best. That was, that was a good team beating a bad team. A good team beating a bad team.

[Matt Abeticola]

The Browns are a bad team, offensively speaking. We've talked about this going into the week. It's their ninth offensive line, their ninth starting offense of line combo for the season. You have what, your third or fourth quarterback playing this year for the Browns, he certainly looked like a fifth round, 144th overall quarterback in the NFL and offensively speaking, just a bad team. And, but we know that they, they, they're, they're one of the better defensive teams in the league. And the Bears just put up 31 points on one of the better defensive teams in this league. With a guy who now has 21 and a half sacks on the year, he's going to break the sack record for the NFL. And the Bears did exactly what they had to do against a bad team at home. They were able to really make this game look fairly easy. You know, I never felt uncomfortable about this game and only got irritated one time and it was the Bears first drive. That was it after that. Because I think that the Bears, if Caleb runs on that, on that first pass attempt and gets some yards, seven, five, seven yards, whatever it might have been, the Bears would have scored the first drive and this game's even further apart.

[Dan Bernstein]

There were a couple times when I felt uncomfortable and I thought after the missed field goal it was starting to feel like, well, you know, those things come back to bite you. You don't want, you know, here was your opportunity. And of course on that first drive as well. And then when they had the four straight empty possessions and you're still leading 14 to three. And I can show in one of my group chats I was on, I said, don't worry, there will be at least one interception by the Bears in this second half. I said, shador Sanders will throw you at least one. He ended up throwing them three. And, and what do we talk about all week? What did we discuss about and what did Matt Miller tell us when he joined us? Sit and wait. He said. Sit and wait. Look what happened when they blitzed. Bad things happen. Isaiah Bond can take off against somebody who's not as fast as he is. You've got the. They were able to blitz and it didn't hurt him too badly in this game because it just wasn't going to happen with this offense. But I still didn't like it. Just sit back and wait. There were a couple of times they mugged the A gap. They dropped off. One was a very clever sort of delayed drop off into coverage as well. But we got our answer to what we were talking about all week. Coverage was the right move. Pays off for him.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. And I thought that the. When, when Kyle Rosantos missed the field goal, I wasn't concerned at all. It was 14, nothing. It, you know, whatever. It was just disappointing to miss a short field goal like that when their kicker goes out and kicks a 50 yarder later in the game. I wasn't concerned. I wasn't worried. This offense had zero rhythm all game. What. The only thing I'm gonna, I'm gonna get irritated about and nitpick on with the defense was that when you talk about Bond and three separate times he got deep in behind coverage. Once it was against, against Edwards, which that's a bad matchup. Another time it was against cj. Gj. He just can't keep up with them. And then the third time was against Jalen Johnson. He just got. He got behind three different guys on three different opportunities and that. That just shouldn't happen. You're a better team with a better quarterback and a better wide receiver. Those go for touchdowns. And that's not what the Bears want to put on film.

[Dan Bernstein]

My only other quibble, I think. Well, I have several. I have a list that I put together of things that they did in this game that they can't do against the packers next week.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay, there's.

[Dan Bernstein]

There are some things they got away with because they were playing a bad team. There were some decisions, there were some things that they did. And, and if we are, if we're going to be the, the high standard bearers here for this very successful, very exciting Bears team, there are some things that in film, Ben Johnson is probably going to tell them that still, believe it or not, have to be cleaned up going into these huge and difficult games against winning teams from here on in as they're jockeying for playoff position. And now I know that it's time to, on a day like this, to hunker down and sit in front of the television and see what the Rams can do to the Lions and see what that fearsome Denver pass rush is going to do to the Packers. But it's just fun to be in this situation. It's fun to already now have the win taken care of for the rest of the day. You know, going into the remainder of the football day and then on into our Monday morning tomorrow to know the tough part. The Bears, Bears handled their business and they did it with some degree of aplomb. But there were, there were some, some moments in this game for a lot of guys. I thought DeAndre Swift had a terrific game.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. You know, he's certainly one of the guys that I want to highlight as we're here together this afternoon. I think from I go back to the start of the season and we talked about that running back room and the skepticism that we shared about the running backs and their ability to run the football. He looks like a different running back. I don't know if it's, if it's all of the offensive line. I don't know if he's motivated by Kyle menungai being there with him and running behind him. He just, he looks like a different running back from the start of the year. He's running harder, he's running smarter. He has better vision. He's making multiple moves in any, any one run play where I just didn't see him have that ability or that desire to run as hard as he was or cut back multiple times. So, yeah, he, he looks absolutely fantastic and looked great today running the football.

[Dan Bernstein]

His vision seems to have improved and it, I've always wondered if that's something a running back has or doesn't have. And as it's been explained to me that you can make the most out of a running back's vision over time when he understands the likelihoods of where some of the run lanes are expected to be and where they're opening up. And I do think that that has Gotten better. I, I, I think that in this offense his decision making has gotten better. Some of the bounce outs are more explicable. Some of the cutbacks seem to be, especially in some of the, the killer outside zone stuff that they do. Some of it seems to be with a plan. So it, the question is down the stretch how they continue to, as long as we're talking about the running back room, how they're going to balance the share of carries. Now Kyle Manungai did not distinguish himself as a pass catcher. Catcher. Today there were, there were two, I know, bad drops and that's the kind of thing that weighs on an offensive coordinator and a play caller when it comes down to trust. Obviously a running back's ability to pick up free blitzers is really important, but man, that first one he had the whole field in front of him and.

[Matt Abeticola]

That was, that might have gone for a touchdown. Yeah, but that was a lot. Sure.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was third and nine and that little flip screen is, is right there. So if we are getting into one of these, these like Khalil Herbert issues with him, but I hope we're not because it's the first time we're seeing it like the, and, and, and to give the Bears credit, when they had the drops that one day was it, was it the commander's game trying to, which, which game when they were, they were dropping everything and they said, you know what, we're going to, we're going to fix this, we're going to be better. We're not going to do this anymore. And they didn't.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, they have been better.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, and they have been better. So I'm going to, I'm going to trust that that will get better. They didn't have a lot of dumb penalties and they, they took care of their business and scored 31 points on one of the top three defenses in the NFL. It's a really nice win.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. And I think we talk about the two running backs and the playing time and how it's all going to divide up and Ben Johnson's talked about it a bit during the season. How, you know, the game, the drive, the series, the moment will kind of dictate that I think how it plays out is probably 2/3 of the carries go to Swift. And I think that's kind of where it averaged out today too, in the carries. And you know, you only have two other running backs in the league that are teammates that have what they show that stat over 600 yards rushing each gives and five touchdowns each. So what they're doing right now is fine. It's working. We don't have to, you know, think about it anymore about how they're going to split it up. I think Swift gets more of the carries than Manungai and that's just the way it should go moving forward. And he certainly deserves those opportunities to get more carries than the rookie. But not to take away anything from Kyle Mangai, he certainly has run the ball so much better than I thought he would here after where we had 10 and four after 14 games now. But again, all that credit has to go to the offensive line. They are just an exceptional and elite, a special unit right now. And as long as we stay healthy, they're going to keep running the ball like this and creating those holes. And Swift did have one really impressive bounce outside. It was a play designed to go in the middle and he took it out about 10 yards outside where he wasn't supposed to. But what he saw, because again, we talked about that improved vision with that confidence that he's having right now.

[Dan Bernstein]

That is on my list of when I'm talking about him making good, correct decisions in the moment. You know, when you discussed what you heard about them being one of the backfield duos with those thresholds of statistics. I was on a bit of a roller coaster when it came to getting excited about a stat when we were told, hey, Caleb Williams, now after the touchdown, the first touchdown of DJ Moore that he. Now that was a thousand pass attempts and he set the all time NFL record for fewest interceptions in, in your first thousand pass attempts. It's one of these arbitrary after the fact statistics. You think, wow, man, that's really cool that he's gotta be up there walking with some kind of football gods to have only 12 picks in a thousand. Whose record did he break? Jacoby Brissette.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes, I know.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, it was funny. I was really excited for it. I'm like, well that's really cool. Maybe I've been too hard on the kid. And then I see who did he break? Oh, okay, well then, so what does that tell us still? It's great. I mean, it's fine, whatever. It's a better number than having, you know, you know, 200 picks in his first 1,000.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right, whatever, fine. But it sounded spectacular. And part of the reason is overall there's just a lower tolerance for interceptions now when you had guys with, you know, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning and Troy Aikman, all these guys, and it was just part of what you did as you went out there and you threw interceptions and it didn't matter. And teams now know that it does matter. And even a young quarterback shouldn't be able to do that.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, And I'm Caleb Williams, too. I'm going to say now there's stuff to clean up in this game. There was. I think there was opportunities to get more points on the board outside of the missed field goal as well. But I think this was one of the most comfortable games I've seen him throw and play. As a Bears quarterback, he looked like to me that he was in the most amount of control that he's been as the Bears starting quarterback. Now, what are we at 17, 31 games into his NFL career, I thought he looked the best at quarterback that I've seen this kid play. Just in control of the play of where to go, of his confidence, of his arm. That touchdown to DJ Moore, I thought was the second one. I thought that was picked off in the end zone. I had no idea how he made that throw, made that read. DJ Makes that catch. That was one of the more impressive throws you'll see a quarterback make for a touchdown.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, you walked me right into my don't do that next week list.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I know. I hear you. I get it. I get it.

[Dan Bernstein]

But I had that one on my.

[Matt Abeticola]

But Dan, that's a guy right now who's. Who has the arm strength and is feeling himself. He was feeling himself right there.

[Dan Bernstein]

I understand. But the throw across the body into double coverage more times than not is not going to end well.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, you're right.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't want to take away from his excitement, but the. The throw against the body into double coverage in the back of the end zone.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I hear you. No, I'm not gonna. Yeah, I'm not gonna fight with you on it. I hear exactly what you're saying. And maybe against a different defense, but I also think against a different defenders, he doesn't have that opportunity to make that throw either.

[Dan Bernstein]

There's absolutely no question. I agree. I just. When he threw it, I thought, oh, no. And then because of the camera angle, I thought it was picked twice.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then all of a sudden, DJ Moore's jumping up and down. Oh, he must be angry because he thought he was interfered with on the interception.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, see, he's dropping the ball.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm like. I'm like, wait a second. What happened? Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

We were kind of screened from it on that particular shot that they had. So that was on my. The other thing is, don't leave a Speedster, one on one when you blitz. Because that's what happened last week with Gardner Johnson and Christian Watson. That's what happened with Isaiah Bond this week. When you're asking three times a linebacker in TJ Edwards to buzz back down the field, Bayard takes a bad angle. Too deep.

[Matt Abeticola]

He was late. Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he. Yeah, he just. It was. He started on a bad ang, ended up there late. There's no reason for it. You don't need to do that. And the other thing I have is don't wait for a wide receiver to catch a perfect touchdown pass before taking it away from him for the interception.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, that was. That was something too, man. I mean, that was a beautiful throw, and it was a really nice catch that just went off his. His chest and Jalen Johnson's like, oh, look at the ball. Yeah. Yeah, that was really impressive. I thought that was a touchdown and that. Yeah, that was a really good throw. So, you know, I will say this about Trudeau Sanders, and I don't think the book is written on him yet. Certainly had issues with the offensive line, but there were some things about that kid that I think if they can get a stable offensive line, he may be an NFL quarterback yet. I'm not ready to say he's. He's not there. But he did some really nice things in this game where they got their ass kicked. They got their ass kicked from start to finish. He did some nice things. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I didn't think he was that bad either. No, I really didn't.

[Matt Abeticola]

I was really surprised, to be honest with you. I wasn't expecting to see him sit in the pocket and find guys like he did at times.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he ended up going over the completions. I had the under. I think he stayed under the passing yards on that last play. So I split that little my bookie parlay.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, you did? Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's right on our DBU picks. But this was a very satisfying win for the Bears. That absolutely had had a lot, especially after Roma Dunze goes down in warmups. And to see what they did in the passing offense again without Roma Dunze. The reports of the demise of DJ Moore, in the words of W.C. fields, are great. Exaggerated.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes, sir.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he. He had himself a game. I thought that the ball on that first touchdown was gorgeous.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes. Oh, my God. Oh, no. That was beautiful.

[Dan Bernstein]

That throw was perfect. And someone's got to tell me, I would love to find out from the Bears what do they call that backfield formation. They used it a couple times with the three guys. It's yeah, it's three guys in an inverted V. It's not a wishbone, but you've got a tight end to the left, a tight end to the right and Swift behind him. So it was a, I'd love to know what they call it, but it looked like it's something that the Bears ran under ditka in the mid-80s. I don't know. It was a game against the Eagles. It was a formation they referred to as Eagle and it involved Tim Reitman being used similarly. And it was just a one off, almost like a T formation that they kept using to do a little option stuff and then some passes off of it. It was just for one game and apparently Ditka designed that. He was having some fun with it. But I, I, that that's a cute little formation. I just love to know the terminology for it.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, a couple other guys that I do want to highlight. One guy, and this was before he had the interception. I wrote my notes, I said, did, did we find another linebacker? Like is this guy a player? And I think DeMarco Jackson is a player. And again, the sack before the interception. Yeah, that's something that they came across with injuries and a backup getting the play. That dude is a player. I mean he, that's an NFL linebacker right there.

[Dan Bernstein]

No question, no question. I thought C.J. gardner Johnson for the most part played well again. And I just keep it just found money. That guy is just found money and is reaching into your pocket. Very fortunate finding that crumpled up $20 bill that you, you keep getting excited about. I also, I think for the most part, considering what he was asked to do today, Ozzie Tripillo was pretty good.

[Matt Abeticola]

I think he was good dude. I mean you're, you're going against one of the all time great pass rushers in Garrett and I, I thought he did pretty well. And a couple opportunities where Miles got to got to Caleb, it wasn't like within three seconds. I mean these were, these are opportunities where Caleb was looking down and Caleb was holding the ball. And you, I mean you can't, you cannot ask anyone to guard or to block Miles Garrett, like one on one for five or six seconds.

[Dan Bernstein]

You just, especially because he ran around, around, around, around and then came back to the play. Yeah, I thought his job trying to ride him off the play then was undone by where Caleb Williams happened to turn a couple of times. And you know, Caleb is still doing some of those things where it looks like he's got side view mirrors. I don't know how he does it. You know what I mean? It looks like he has side view mirrors.

[Matt Abeticola]

I think there's, I think there's a screen in his helmet we can't see and there's a drone above that shows him like the view around him. I really do. His. I don't know if it's just. If it's his peripheral vision, if he just has this sense, this feeling around him when there's, when there's pressure coming in. I don't know what it is but he's doing it all year long. But yeah, I agree with you. I thought Ozzy had a really good game. Nishan Wright read that pick beautifully. Just couldn't hold on to it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, also nice job. Devin DuVernay. We've settled another things.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not just that he had two good returns.

[Matt Abeticola]

I told you, I told you the Browns were ripe for returns.

[Dan Bernstein]

You did, you did. And then he had the other one out to the 40 so he, he mattered in the game. He also had a great punt return. He had an 18 yard punt return. I overall, you know, except for sort of the, the one that set up the game winning drive, this is by a mile his best game as a returner.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. Cleveland is the worst special teams unit in football so that all. It all work. Again, I'm not going to take away anything from a guy who dominates a unit that is weak. That's what you're supposed to do when you get a weak opponent. You're supposed to step on their throat. You're supposed to beat them by 28. You're supposed to win by four touchdowns. You're supposed to return the ball on kickoffs and punch. They did exactly what they're supposed to do as a good football team. Now I'm not sure if the duvernay first down catch counted because remember there was a penalty too. So I think, I think that gets pulled away and it's a first automatic first down on the penalty too. But still, I'm still going to give him credit for that first down catch because I think it's. It's two, two weeks in a row or two out of three weeks that he's had a first down catch that he just came out of nowhere, made a catch so good for him. Another guy to, to highlight who want to talk about. Oh, Austin Booker had himself a game. I thought try on show Yinka had a game against his old team and I told you now this game would be a really good opportunity for the front four to go out and, and really create some pressure Dent Dent the pocket and create some pressure on Chador Sandoz. And they did that. Even Grady Jarrett gets a sack. One of the weakest sacks. I think you'll see where he kind of grabbed his ankles. He just kind of fell over like a toddler. But still it's a sack.

[Dan Bernstein]

Everybody covered.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. So I love it so big. Grady Jared gets a sack.

[Dan Bernstein]

Six tackles for loss. Was it a total of four sacks after that last one at the end and four? Yeah, I think four and then three takeaways. That was. It was Dennis Allen's defense despite some hiccups. I think despite some ill timed blitzes with the exception of the DeMarco Jackson SA sack on the. The third.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, five, Dan. Sorry. Five for 35.

[Dan Bernstein]

Five. All right.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh no, no, no, no, no, no. Wait, wait a second.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, I thought it was.

[Matt Abeticola]

I thought at 1.4, but they just have the. They have the Bears for three. The Browns.

[Dan Bernstein]

Check it out. Let's run down some of the final numbers just for accounting purposes here. Caleb Williams, 17 of 28, 242 yards, 2 touchdowns, no interceptions. Very strong game for him. Deandre Swift just missed 100 yards, 18 carries for 98 with a long of 17. Two touchdowns for DeAndre Swift as well. Kyle Manungai had 11 carries for 33 yards. And again he's keeping his streak alive. By the way of having the C sticker on his helmet peel off at least a little bit.

[Matt Abeticola]

He's the best at that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Man, he must make a lot of head contact. Well, I'll tell you what, I've never seen anybody better than he is getting that sticker peeled off his head.

[Matt Abeticola]

Best in the league right there. Best.

[Dan Bernstein]

Best I ever seen right there. Luther Burden led them in receiving. He had six catches on seven targets for 84 yards long of 40. D.J. moore, the four catches for 69 nice yards and two touchdowns. Colston Loveland, four catches, 63 yards including a spectacular catch. I mean his, that, that diving grab.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh yeah, he's got some hands, man.

[Dan Bernstein]

Cole commit two catches for 28 yards and actually kept his feet a couple of times. And not only that, he ran after the catch.

[Matt Abeticola]

He did. He ran after the catch too. I mean I, I didn't know what was happening. I'm like how is he catching it and running it after the catch? Very impressive.

[Dan Bernstein]

So yeah, this, this. I'm just now waiting to see how the. If, if the packers lose this Saturday nights for the division, is it not?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes. Yeah. So Bears, Bears left. They have Saturday night with Green Bay. I'm Already looking forward to that. And then week 17 is the Niners and then week 18 is home against the Lions.

[Dan Bernstein]

Couple of other things to note here. And I asked this and when we saw that Tevin Jenkins was getting the start for the Browns and I asked the room do you think he finishes the game? Because you know, he never does. And I took he would not finish the game right. And indeed he didn't. I don't know what the injury was, but he left and he never came back because that's what happens when you start Tevin Jenkins. I feel bad for him because good kid and a good player when healthy, but just not healthy again. We know Cole Comet turned his ankle is what it looked like. It looked like he took a shot in the face, thigh and then he was holding his ankle but he, I.

[Matt Abeticola]

Thought it was the knee and then he was holding his ankle.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I didn't know. But he did come back in the game at the end of the first half, Caleb Williams looked like he got stepped on or got his toe caught and it appears he is okay as well. And then we will wait and find out. We, we learned it was yesterday that Kyler Gordon was placed on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the regular season. And I, I don't feel good about the Roma Dunes. I think not when it's a stress fracture, not when it's this unpredictable to the point where he was ready to go. And then again, something happened in warm ups again.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, you asked what they do in warm ups and they do play full contact tackle games without pads on.

[Dan Bernstein]

See, they gotta stop.

[Matt Abeticola]

Strange. Yeah. I think they should stop.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. So the ESPN.com their stats were wrong here. NFL.com, the Bears had five sacks on the game. You have one from Dexter, you have two from Booker, Grady Jarrett and then DeMarco Jackson and the Browns had three. So they had it swapped for some reason on the, on ESPN. So NFL.com bears with five sacks on the day.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, pretty good. And there were a lot of possessions in this game there. It was, it was just, it seemed interesting. There were some quick scores, there were, there were lots of back and forth. But I, at every point where I was getting concerned that the game could turn, they, they did enough to remind you that this was a mismatch and that's what you do. They did not play down to their opponent. They dismissed a lesser opponent with relative ease.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. Looking at some of the numbers here too in receiving because I, I do want to highlight, we mentioned their names or stats But Luther Burden and Colson Loveland, dude, are going to be something special in this league. It's really incredible.

[Dan Bernstein]

Pretty close to being that already.

[Matt Abeticola]

I mean, but when you get some more experience and some more confidence and more time with, you know, Ben Johnson's offense, these two Coles and Lovin is, I think he's, he's there, he's closer there than Luther Burden is right now. But Burton, his ability to move with the ball after the catch is pretty, pretty spectacular. And then Loveland's got incredible hands and I think we talked about him as that, that, that security blanket, you know, and in becoming that for, for Caleb Williams. And this dude for a tight end is just a big wide receiver. He's got great hands, he can move, he can run really good routes. But Luther Burden, he was impressive today with being able to maneuver a bit in some mess after catching the ball. So again, we'll give credit to Ryan Poles and this draft pick of, of Luther Burden and Colson Loveland really looking to show some dividends here at the end of the season.

[Dan Bernstein]

I also thought Loveland had a chance early on the red zone play that was swinging out to the left side where Cole Comet and Olamide Zacchaeus were out ahead of him to block. And we're on an initial reviewing, it looked to me like Kemet missed his assignment and no, it was Zacchaeus and Komet was kind of pointing.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, he was yelling at him after.

[Dan Bernstein]

The play was over. He was pointing it. He was like, look, I had to go get this guy. But this wasn't my guy because you. So there was clearly a miscommunication there. That would have been a walk in, you know, absolutely had a walk in there.

[Matt Abeticola]

But yeah, no, that was, that was totally on. On Zacchaeus who, by the way, Zacchaeus had 0, 0 catches on. What do you have? 3, 3 targets today Manangai was 0 for 2 on his targets commit 2 for 4, Loveland, 4 for 5 more 4 out of 5 and burden 6 out of 7 again, you know, want to, want to give some, some love to Caleb Williams. I just, I felt again, some, some things to clean up still, but I thought that was the most comfortable, confident I've seen him play the position of quarterback for the Chicago Bears in his career 31 games now. I thought he looked great commanding the.

[Dan Bernstein]

Whole field on a difficult day. We talked a lot about the cold and what that was going to mean. And the broadcast kept showing the heaters and everybody over there give him the heater there Was Scott Daley standing there, and it didn't seem to matter to the Bears. I also. They also didn't see a lot of the silliness with the guys trying to come out there and, you know, sleeveless to try to prove something. You don't get extra points on the scoreboard for being cold.

[Matt Abeticola]

You know, it was really funny. I. Earlier today, I heard. I heard Pat Manley, he was. He was talking about his rookie season and how offensive linemen weren't allowed to wear sleeves in cold weather. And. But, dude, no, it was like, the second or third cold game, and he went up to Big Cat Williams, and hearing Pat tell the story, he's like, Mr. Cat, would it be okay if I wore sleeves? Because it's hard to snap the ball. My arms are cold. So he got to wear sleeves. Finally, he had to go ask permission from one of the veteran linemen, but that stuff is really silly. And then I heard Olin talk about an old coach that used to make assistants not wear warm. Like, warm gear because he wanted to show some intimidation. So they're there, short sleeves on the sideline getting frostbite and freezing their balls off and not being able to call plays because they're so cold. But they're really tough, though.

[Dan Bernstein]

Nobody's intimidated by you getting frostbite, right?

[Matt Abeticola]

Not by your fat coaches on the sideline being cold. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Speaking of which. Speaking of which, do you remember years ago, the remote we did where Quad City Pat put on a pink Bud Light women's T shirt?

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay. Why do you. Why do you bring that? Dude, I. 100 was there, and he put that on because I dared him to put it on. So why are you bringing that up?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, he was much bigger at the time, I believe, than he is now.

[Matt Abeticola]

He is. He was.

[Dan Bernstein]

I haven't seen him a while, but he was a very large, and he.

[Matt Abeticola]

His.

[Dan Bernstein]

He almost as pink as the shirt. And we took pictures of him, and he was squeezed into this thing. When they showed our guy, Big Bill.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Every time I see him, he's bigger.

[Matt Abeticola]

I think. I think they put his numbers on the wrong jersey. Like, I think it was like. I think it was CJ, GJ's jersey.

[Dan Bernstein]

That he was wearing. Jersey getting smaller because especially on a day like this, I know that the defensive lineman, offensive lineman, they like to keep everything super tight so nobody can grab on there. I understand it, but can't you just grab him by the love handles? Can't you just.

[Matt Abeticola]

There's enough of them to grab, man. I know.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like, Every time I see him, and I adore him dearly, I think I love it. You know what? I may put Andrew Billings on my body pillow list.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, that would be. He would make a good body pillow.

[Dan Bernstein]

I am the founder of my body pillow, by the way.

[Matt Abeticola]

So it's funny that you bring up Quad City Pat, because he, he texted me during the game today. Oh, did he? And he said, watching the Bears, he's. I saw a bunch of shirtless dudes. I said to Nicole, there's no reason to take your shirt off. And then she said, what about if you're going to put on a little Coors Light T shirt? It was, of course.

[Dan Bernstein]

Was it Coors Light?

[Matt Abeticola]

It was Coors Light. It was a pink Coors Light T shirt. It was a girl's T shirt we were giving away and I dared him to put it on. And not as big as Andrew Billings, but looks similar with.

[Dan Bernstein]

Relative to the shirt. I think so.

[Matt Abeticola]

And then he said that a Batakola dared me to do it, so. And that's exactly right. What happened. And his skin tone was. It matched the pink shirt.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yep.

[Matt Abeticola]

And he. Yeah, he looked like Andrew Billings. Not as big, but he looked like Andrew Billings wearing the shirt. And I really think the equipment person made a mistake and put his number and his name on the wrong jersey because that is not his jersey he's wearing.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, 31 to 3 is the final. And the Bears now can forge ahead in the point differential at least where we can sort of take off the board. Remember when last week when we were going through the CBSSports.com analysis of potential champions, that they were just immediately like, look, super bowl champions don't have a negative point differential. Doesn't happen. It's nearly impossible to do. So Bears are out. Well, at least you take that out of it when. If you're using these, these hand picked criteria to assess their chances of winning a title that we can maybe at least, you know, barring something terribly unforeseen coming up in the next few games, that by all accounts should be tight. Should be tight. I think that they're a better team than the last time they played the Lions. And I was thinking about this. Who knows if that game's going to matter?

[Matt Abeticola]

I was thinking about that. If the Bears have a playoff spot clinch regardless of where they are and the Lions are already out. Yeah. What's that game going to matter? Yep. Although that's the Ben Johnson revenge game, though.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, but Ben Johnson's not stupid and he's not going to Put his, his important players in harm's way. However, let me ask this, because I wrote it down when they were up 28 to 3 with 46 seconds left in the third, I started thinking, yes.

[Matt Abeticola]

I agree with you. Who are you going to.

[Dan Bernstein]

Who are you going to rotate in now? We saw Chris Williams in their lab, but he's been a part of the rotation. And I know you're down a guy because. Well, you actually are kind of down too because Bajan was out with an illness.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

And you had Roma Dunz who went out after you set your inactives. So I was just thinking this would be a good time to start maybe folding some breadcrumbs into the meatloaf a little bit here. Get some guys rotated out, let them get warm, say thanks, good job. You know, put this giant electric coat on. But they didn't. They kept dudes in.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

That just may be the way Ben is approaching it.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. Because I, I can't. Is it, is it Case Keenum, that's the backup. That's the third guy in. So I was wondering if there was an opportunity to see him if we keep Caleb in there in this cold weather game when they were up by, you know, a bunch at that point. Real quick, want to take a look at scores right now. Packers and Broncos are scoreless. The Lions with an early lead on the Rams 7 0. Panthers and Saints are no score, 49ers up on the Titans 7 0. Colts, Seahawks no score. Right now tonight we have Vikings at Cowboys. We know the Bears beat the Browns 31 to 3. It was the Ravens 24 to nothing over the Bengals. Chargers outlasted the Chiefs 16 to 13. Bills came back from behind after trailing big in this game. They beat the Patriots 35 to 31. Commanders over the Giants 29 21. Eagles blank. The Raiders 31 0. Jaguars all over the Jets 48 20. And it was the Texans over the Cardinals 42 20.

[Dan Bernstein]

Also, Patrick Mahomes suffered a left knee injury late in their loss to the Chargers. Andy Reid quoted by Ian Rapaport is saying it, it didn't look good. And Mahomes will have an mri.

[Matt Abeticola]

So that was the, that was the pregame spread he was talking about.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, it's, it didn't look good. And the Chiefs have been eliminated from playoff contention. Yeah, so that is, that is it. So I, I do think there's some people in the, the TV trucks who are busy changing some of the edits into what they always knew they could put into their playoff or pre playoff Montages you got to get Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey out of all of those pre playoff things now and swap in somebody else.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, it works for me. I'm not, not.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm not, I'm not expressing a feeling about it. I'm just saying that is something they have to deal with after having it be just fade accompli for a long, long time.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. So Bears get the big win. They go to 10 and 4. Now we just watch and see what the packers do here against the Broncos. Again that no score there early in that one and Bronco packers are up 3 nothing now. So they get an early field goal. If the Broncos can win that one, the Bears would jump up to first place in the division and then they would also rise the number two seed in the NFC playoff picture as well with that big matchup. Saturday night, remember Saturday night game. And we'll be live with forward progress after the Bears packers game sometime around 10:15, 10:30 on Saturday night for you. So a late night Saturday night hangout with forward progress.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'll be very interested to see now how excited this locker room is and whether or not I imagine Ben Johnson will do the same good, better, best kind of thing. But he's been pretty good. I think about when he actually talks about it. You know you can, we can say what we want. We know that nationally it's really going to get picked up about you know the Ben Johnson the shirtless coach and, and that's awful. But if you actually go by what he says and not by what he does and just the nature of the post game chant itself, he's been really level headed and my expectation now is that is not going to change that. He's got, he's banked now a double digit win season in his first year as a head coach. Not just Bears head coach. His first year as a head coach he started 02.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

And they've gone 10 and two since.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yep. And they haven't haven't lost back to back games. They lose a game, they win. Have you seen the game ball distribution yet? I haven't seen it. Have you seen it? Because I want to make a prediction on it.

[Dan Bernstein]

I have not. And all right. The prediction. I have a prediction too.

[Matt Abeticola]

I have, I have DeMarco Jackson.

[Dan Bernstein]

I was just, I wrote it. That's what I wrote down.

[Matt Abeticola]

And I have DJ Moore getting the other.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. I, I wrote down DeMarco Jackson for one because you talk about grabbing a job.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know you say you can never lose your job due to injury. That is not true.

[Matt Abeticola]

Not for football, it ain't.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, it's not. Sometimes injuries open up an opportunity for somebody to make their case and have that chance that they otherwise wouldn't. And so this is just another example where Jackson has. Because of Sewell's injury, he got the chances. Then Sewell came back and Jackson got all of his snaps. And who knows what happens from here on in and what it means to Sewell and how he responds to this. But for right now, whether that's development, whether that's coaching, whether it's a little bit of luck, it's kind of thing that didn't used to happen to the Bears. And maybe this is yet another way of putting together data points, bits of evidence to suggest that when. When your organization is better, you make your own luck a little bit.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, no, I agree. And no, we don't want bill over £500 for the playoffs.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm worried about it, though. If we were to. Honestly. All seriousness, if we had a certified scale and we were weighing him every week, wouldn't that graph be pointing? Am I crazy?

[Matt Abeticola]

I don't think you are. I don't. I don't think you.

[Dan Bernstein]

You're.

[Matt Abeticola]

You're too crazy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. Because it just.

[Matt Abeticola]

He almost had a sack again today.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know. We had him.

[Matt Abeticola]

He had him. He had him in his grass and he still got the ball off.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. Speaking of in the grasp, what the hell was that on the fumble?

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, they said Ford progress had ended, but it hadn't.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, right here for progress has not ended.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, that was. That was. That was a bad call. And. And the Bears should have had that. The Bears should have had that fumble.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Third and eight.

[Matt Abeticola]

They ruined that call.

[Dan Bernstein]

Booker gets the sack. The ball is clearly out.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then. And then Ron. And I don't mess with Ron Torbert because that's. That's Mr. Harvard Law School. No, he's. He's. That. That's why he's done Super Bowls. Ron Torbet's a really good ref.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, but they. They made. They called that one.

[Dan Bernstein]

They blew that one. They blew that.

[Matt Abeticola]

Sure did.

[Dan Bernstein]

Especially in the season where they've been letting a lot of those plays run longer.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yep. Listener wants to know this from Jeffrey. Who gets the game shovel? Well, it's Kevin Warren. Probably always Kevin Warren. He always gets it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Every game he gets a ceremonial shovel.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, eventually it's like, what are they? One of those. It's going to end up being a big. A big tractor. Yeah, it's like a huge Thing he can just drive up to. Yeah. Heights. Yeah. Just drive.

[Dan Bernstein]

I need a backhoe to compliment my front hoe.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, you mean a side hoe.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, got to have the side hoe. Maybe that's what they call the formation where they have the two guys on the side back. You got your side hose, your back hoe. I don't know.

[Matt Abeticola]

They do that in Michigan, that's for sure. Oh, dude, dude, I didn't say anything that don't.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, tomorrow we got a lot more to talk about than just the Bears because that. That Michigan thing.

[Matt Abeticola]

Where's this. This comment here? Torbert has always sucked. He's never going to not suck. Wow. Really hatred for. For the official.

[Dan Bernstein]

Which. What do you got around Torber? What do you ever do to you diamond? I don't think it's.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's not a diamond. It's more of a triangle, though. It's not a diamond.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's not a diamond. It's not. It's a. It's a rev. It's a inverted wishbone is what it is.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's an upgrade.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's an uptight.

[Matt Abeticola]

What game Crane for Kevin Ward. I read it at first as a game. As a game. Cane game. Crazy pimping around with a big cane.

[Dan Bernstein]

What's up? No, but. Yeah, that we've. There's got to be a name for that particular backfield. But whatever it was, you put it out there, you can run a lot of stuff off it. I guess it works. But. And here's the other thing too. They got this 31 points. And Caleb had one of his best days without Roma Dunze.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, yeah. Again, D.J. you know, we talked about it a couple weeks ago was. It was last week's game hoping that DJ could step up and have himself a game. And you saw the numbers they put up. It's his lowest numbers, catches and yards per catch since his rookie season.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, fine. And if that means he's playing on a really good team for the first time, how many years has he been on a good team? And if that is a byproduct of.

[Matt Abeticola]

I don't think he has been right.

[Dan Bernstein]

If that's a byproduct of him having the wealth spread around where everybody has to do their job. And if you're open, the ball should find you. Good. I will say too, Caleb did miss a wide open Cole Comet. When they went for it, the Bears had it. This was early in the second half. This was that first drive. After they stopped the Browns, the Bears started on their own 47. And that's when I was wondering about some of the play calling. And then it was Swift for 4 yards, 3rd and 3. Swift was no gain. And Caleb Williams was sacked by Wright. He had come at in the flat. Nobody within 10 yards of him.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I got. Yeah, I got in my notes. You're right. Yeah, that's a bad miss.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know what happened on that play.

[Matt Abeticola]

You know, on that same drive, too. That was the play on fourth and one that Hickman made a incredible play on. Comet caught that ball. He made that catch.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abeticola]

And then Hickman knocked it out of his hands.

[Dan Bernstein]

That was an incredible play.

[Matt Abeticola]

It was really, really good play.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was. That is bust up the triangle. Yeah. Speaking of past breakups, there were a couple of times, and you know, you've been taking notes on Bears games when you can write things like cj, GJPBU and know exactly what that means. And you can write tj, E, T, F, L and know exactly what that means. And it's not an anagram. Yeah. So this is. I've been trying to balance all of my initials for the players themselves and their. The actual outcomes of their performance on here. But I like these. I like my notes when it finishes. 31 to 3, bears.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. That was a. That was a game that the Bears were in control from start to finish. And I just. I couldn't be happier as a Bears fan after that loss to the packers last week when I think if you play another quarter, the Bears win that game. And they just. They came back at home today and they did exactly what they were supposed to do against a 3 and now 3 and 11 team and just beating down a team that could not get any kind of rhythm. Offensively, they couldn't run the ball. Sands made some nice throws, but they got five. I mean, how many times the Bears haven't had five sacks in a game?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, I don't think so.

[Matt Abeticola]

So it was just. It was a really, really good showing to bounce back after a tough loss, A tough loss to swallow last week against Green Bay. And now get ready. I'm telling you, dude, I texted you early in this game and I said the Bears are gonna win by 28. And after. After they were up 14, nothing, I was like, all right, let's go on. Let's. Let's get Green Bay because this game's done. I mean, I was really looking forward to Green Bay in the middle of this stinking game.

[Dan Bernstein]

And, you know, you lose a prep day with that Saturday night game. So I'LL be interested to find out and maybe we'll know after the post game how Ben Johnson is going approach this week and what they're going to change around with with one at least less overnight to prepare. I imagine it's be more walkthroughs because they had a couple last week.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And you, you have enough guys who are a little bit dinged up to make sure we'll see if they're going to get Rome back.

[Matt Abeticola]

But yeah, you know, it makes me wonder too about, about Rome, like how ready was he to play with the walkthroughs? Like you're talking about a full participation in a walkthrough. I mean that's, that's not really a practice, you know, and maybe he just got out there and was like, yeah, with the cold weather and the pain that it was just, it was just too much to try to go and do. So, you know, I wonder if they're going to just shut him down early this week and say get another week of rest and let's game plan without you. I would prefer that if there's, if there's any question about his ability to get on the field Saturday night, I'd rather they just game plan start right now or tomorrow morning when they start. Just start it without Rome at all and just say, well out this week. Let's, let's pick up the cycle with the other guys. Let's see what we can do without Roma dunes and have a game plan against the packers without Rome this week.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think it's worth talking about in general now that you've had consecutive weeks of losing a starter, a critical player, a star player, enormous. Yeah, it is. It's. It hurts so much to have already turned in your inactives and have set your game plan. Even if it is. I hate to do this because these, these wins matter. But let's, let's see how this season starts to play out and see how the playoff race starts to play out because we're, I know that Johnson will say we're not there yet, but there's going to come a point now when you have to husband your resources for the playoffs and make sure that you are absolutely ready to perform your best. And this will be a topic this week, too, about what we've discussed all year, that every season's precious, every opportunity cannot be counted on. We can't just say, well, this is the start of something and everything will be great next year and this is the beginning of a long run of playoff appearances. I don't know that. I do not know that. And getting everybody healthy or getting everybody healthy enough and taking advantage of what is an outlier turnover year. It just is. However things have happened, they're not going to replicate this. I think you can still have an aggressive defense. They'll probably still have other years with a positive turnover differential. Because I think Caleb protects the ball really well. You're always gonna have that, but you're never, I don't think as long as Ben Johnson's here, I don't think you're ever going to have an outlier turnover differential year like this one.

[Matt Abeticola]

Take advantage of it, man.

[Dan Bernstein]

All the more reason. Exactly.

[Matt Abeticola]

Continue.

[Dan Bernstein]

Take advantage of it.

[Matt Abeticola]

You know, Dan, you, you say that Caleb, he protects the ball really well, and I don't think you're giving him enough credit. I mean, he protects the ball better than Jacoby Brissette. I mean, like, if you're going to do it, go all the way and sing his praises, man. Don't, don't hold back on it, okay? Like, be fair. That's right.

[Dan Bernstein]

He protects it all historically. Well, anybody, Anybody who could topple that unassailable record of Jacoby Brissette. We knew. Look, I believe you said it when Joby Brissette set, set the record. You said.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, my God. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. You said, no one's ever touching that.

[Matt Abeticola]

I called you. I called you.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, you did. You woke me up, in fact.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. And I was like, dan, Dan, Dan, amazing.

[Dan Bernstein]

You said, nobody is ever going to have fewer than 14 interceptions in their first 1,000 passes. And I said, thank you for waking me up. Duly noted.

[Matt Abeticola]

Score update here. The Indianapolis Colts and the Seattle Seahawks are tied three to three. Philip Rivers is three of his first eight for 30. I'm counting on. Did you see what happened in the Madden game?

[Dan Bernstein]

In the Madden game?

[Matt Abeticola]

The Madden NFL, you know, game. They, you know, they added, you can update the game as you go through it. They added Philip Rivers and they made him look like an offensive fucking lineman. They should. He's huge. No, it's not, it's not quarterback fat. It's like, it's almost Andrew Billings type large.

[Dan Bernstein]

Did they have the tiny shirt on him? No.

[Matt Abeticola]

His shirt fit. It went all the way to his waist for some reason.

[Dan Bernstein]

The tiny shirt was like the muffin top hanging out over the waist.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's like, is that a crop top, bro? What are you doing?

[Dan Bernstein]

Right, yeah. Well, I, I, I hope Philip Rivers doesn't really hurt himself badly because, man, you must just not want to be home. I did I thought this was just going to be practice squad and let him work extra quarterback, you know, let him toss it around a little bit.

[Matt Abeticola]

Bro. Start.

[Dan Bernstein]

They started him.

[Matt Abeticola]

Did we talk about the dude, did we talk about the Philip Rivers meme on the show? I can't remember the. It was the. The takeoff on the Rocky. No, it was Rocky running through the streets with those like hundreds of kids following him. And they said it. They said it was Philip Rivers and his children.

[Dan Bernstein]

Daddy. Yep. They were all following him. No, but his own kids.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, that was really funny.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know. Something else that we're gonna. We'll discuss tomorrow. The shot of the Pavia brothers. Others walking down that hallway at the Heisman ceremony. My guys, I am dying watching that. Somebody actually I think it was Pete from Libertyville sent me a note who said that has to be put to staying alive because it's like the Bee Gees walking through New York together with that swagger. The three of their chains and the chains underneath, the tie and the whole thing. It looked like three mid level Belarusian mobsters.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, for sure.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not even high ranking ones. Like three, three mid level, like functionary level Belarusian mobsters.

[Matt Abeticola]

They're the guys that the other mobsters don't want to associate with. Yeah, but they know who they are.

[Dan Bernstein]

Tweeted out a meme that said f the voters. Did you see that?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, dude.

[Dan Bernstein]

170 people voted. You first.

[Matt Abeticola]

I know, dude. You know. Second, I. I thought. I thought that Mendoza was going to win and I was really hoping for Pavia at least finished second. I thought that would be a great showing and just a really good recognition of what the season has been for him at Vanderbilt. But yeah, I mean, whatever. It doesn't surprise me anymore with those guys. Yeah, whatever.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, my. My ballot just for the record, was. Was Mendoza Pavia saying. I was just kind of in between on saying. And Love and I just defaulted to the quarterback. I think Love is obviously the better professional player and probably the better talent. But as far as a college season goes, there was just kind of more there, but that was my balance. Obviously he's angry you didn't with a Heisman.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I know, I know. Well, you know it was a fun run my one year watching Vanderbilt. So packers up three nothing in the Broncos. The Rams have tied the game with the Lions. So it's seven seven right now in the first quarter. Lions with the ball. Rams, Lions tied at seven.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so let's. I'm gonna hang the mission accomplished sign on this one on the deck of the Forward Progress carrier. I'm gonna put that up there and I'm just gonna say that we I went into this saying, just don't lose whatever you got to do. Don't get guys hurt and don't lose a good team beat a bad team. And I did not have the Bears at 10 and 4. If you did have the Bears winning 10 of their first 14, more power to you. But. But this sure sets up based on whatever outcomes we have for the remainder of today. These are fun times if you're a Bears fan. And the place to be to follow all of it is on 312Sports for Dan Bernstein, unfiltered and for forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast.

[Matt Abeticola]

Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.