The Cardiac Bears are Real

Their ascension to the top has not come easy, however. Of their seven victories, five have come while trailing within the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. That not only leads the NFL, but they are just the third team to do so since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger, joining the 2012 Broncos and the 2016 Lions.

Heroics Everywhere

To come back when trailing in the final two minutes, that obviously requires scoring points to go ahead. Ben Johnson and the offense have certainly done that.

Sometimes, it is Caleb Williams dicing up opposing defenses, like when he found rookie Colston Loveland for the 58-yard touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9.

Other times, Williams has the ability to do it all himself, like when he used his legs to complete the comeback against the New York Giants in Week 10.

Williams is not the only one who can run, though. Against the Commanders Week 6, D’Andre Swift willed the Bears into field goal range with numerous long rushes on the final drive, allowing Jake Moody — fresh off the practice squad — to drill the game-wining field goal as time expired.

The defense also deserves credit for the job they have done after Chicago scores. Against the Commanders, Nahshon Wright recovered a fumble on 3rd & 1 with under two minutes remaining. Furthermore, the Giants and Bengals each had chances to score after the Bears went up with time remaining on the clock, but both teams failed to capitalize.

Even the special teams has pulled through in a massive way as well. Devin Duvernay had a massive kick return to set up Santos’ kick against the Vikings, and Josh Blackwell’s field goal block against the Raiders secured the victory against the Raiders in Week 4.

Sustainability Rest of Season

All three sides of the ball for the Bears have collectively provided plenty of clutch moments so far this season. However, it is reasonable to question where this execution is in the first 58 minutes of the game.

Furthermore, the quality of the Bears’ opponents will continue to improve. While Minnesota is debatably the best team that Chicago has defeated thus far, they are still just 4-6, good for last place in the NFC North. To this point, the Bears have yet to beat a team with a winning record, and they have the second hardest strength of schedule for the rest of the season.

From here on out, Chicago’s opponents will continue to get harder. It will take more than heroics in crunch time to get the job done, and that begins this Sunday afternoon against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Is it reasonable for the Bears to continue this recent success? Who knows. If the season ended today, the Bears would be the three seed in the NFC, but captain Kevin Byard is making sure the team is not looking too far ahead.

Nonetheless, Bears fans absolutely deserve to celebrate this recent success. It has been a long time since Chicago has produced a winning football team, and their clutch play is at the forefront of its winning ways.