The Chicago Bears: the sleeping giants of the NFC?

Coming into the 2018 season, I doubt anyone believed that the “rebuilding” Chicago Bears would be 9-4 heading into Week 15. Let alone be the third seed in the NFC. But, under new Head Coach Matt Nagy, a sophomore quarterback in Mitch Trubisky, and the toughest defense in the NFL led by the force known as Khalil Mack, the Bears are legitimate contenders once again.

The Bears have been overlooked the whole season, with little media attention surrounding the team despite having an elite defense with Khalil Mack being traded away from Oakland mid-season to lead the charge. But, in Week 14, the football world quickly found out on Sunday Night Football that the Bears are back and here to stay. With one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL coming in to town, the Los Angeles Rams were seen as the heavy favorites over a young Bears team. With a chance to secure a first round playoff bye, much was on the line for the Rams and second-year Head Coach Sean McVay.

Sunday night could not have been more of a disaster for the Rams, as quarterback Jared Goff who was seen as an MVP candidate coming into the game threw for 4 INT’s and only 180 yards. Not one touchdown was put on the board for the Rams all night, as they lost 15-6 in Soldier Field. We must not forget that this was a Rams offense that was averaging more than 30 points a game coming into Sunday.

The Bears arguably have the best Linebacker duo in the NFL in rookie Roquan Smith and veteran Danny Trevathan. The duo has combined for 184 tackles already this season, and they still have 3 games left to play.

The moral of this story is that the Chicago Bears are legit. Their offense shows signs of inconsistency, but this defense is dominant in every sense of the word. Just ask the Rams and Jared Goff, I doubt any team in the NFL wants to play that defense in Chicago, in the cold at Soldier Field. If the Bears can somehow get a top-2 seed in the NFC before the end of the season, watch out.

- Allen Perez (Senior at Kennesaw State University, Sports Director of KSU Owl Radio, radio play-by-play announcer for Kennesaw State Men’s basketball and sports talk show host) (Twitter: @therealATLfan, email: allenperezsports@gmail.com)