This week's matchup featuring the Bears and Patriots at Soldier Field is easily the biggest game the Bears have played in since they were in the Super Bowl four years ago. The Bears are riding a 5 game winning streak, and the Patriots are widely recognized as the best team in the NFL. Both teams are in first place in their division, and the game has huge playoff implications. So, the question for most Bears fans is: Do the Bears have any chance of beating the Patriots?
The Patriots are coming off a very inspired, dominating performance at home against the New York Jets. What was built up for weeks as the biggest game of the season in either conference, the Patriots rolled the Jets, 45-3, looking like a team destined for a championship run. Tom Brady hasn't thrown an interception in 228 pass attempts, and has over 20 touchdowns during that span. His receivers are playing at a high level, and you really can't key in on any one player. Brady has two very good pass catching tight ends as well. Right now the Patriots have to be considered the best offense in the league, especially in their passing game. Defensively, the Patriots are young, but very athletic and extremely well coached. They play at a high level as well, but can be scored on. The Jets didn't take advantage of a young defense, as they turned the ball over alot this past week. However, if you can take care of the ball on offense, you should have success against the Patriot defense.
The Bears, however, are coming off of a weak defensive effort, especially in the first half, against the Detroit Lions. The Bears defense gave up over 250 yards in the first half of that game, before settling down and finishing strong in the second half. Their tackling was the main problem. They have to be sound in their tackling against the Patriots, and I would expect them to play better in this game. Offensively the Bears have improved every game since the bye week. Jay Cutler is doing a great job of taking care of the football as of late, and is easily in his best stretch as a Chicago Bear. The running game has gotten on track, and the offensive line is improving, although they are probably still the worst in the league. To me, the biggest improvement hasn't been by a player, it has been by a coach. It took Mike Martz 7 games to realize that he just didn't have the offensive line to call 5 and 7 step drops. During the bye week Martz tweeked his philosophy (for this season at least), and began to dial up a great balance of run and pass plays, while still being creative in doing both. We've seen the Wildcat, pitch outs, options, end-arounds, wide receiver screens and reverse plays, quick slants, and various other quick hit plays to help Jay Cutler get the ball out quickly. Hopefully that continues down the stretch.
One thing to watch this Sunday will be how each team reacts to the weather conditions. I read that the forecast is calling for snow, as well as cold temperatures (possibly negative) and wind. It sounds brutal, and should make for an interesting game if that kind of weather does happen, especially for two teams who depend highly on the passing game to produce.
The Bears have stepped up to the challenge this season in big games (Cowboys, Packers, Vikings, Eagles). I would expect them to play alot better defensively in this game. If they are able to somehow eek out a win against the Patriots, you would have to consider them one of the top teams in the NFC, if not the NFL.
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