Chicago Bears: Accomplished more than just a “win” in Buffalo

The Chicago Bears accomplished more than just a victory Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

After a total 41-9 thrashing of the Buffalo Bills, the Chicago Bears returned home riding a mini two-game winning streak and feeling much better about themselves than they did following the New England Patriots loss.

Following that loss to the Patriots, they found themselves going from first place to last place with games against the New York Jets and Bills on the immediate horizon. Further complicating matters were the statuses of Khalil Mack and Allen Robinson. Mack had been dealing with an ankle injury suffered in Miami, and Robinson was dealing with a tweaked groin.

At that time, the debate in Chicago raged on as to whether the Bears should sit Mack, Robinson or both for those upcoming games. Mack had never missed a game in his career and although the Jets and Bills were no powerhouses, there is no such thing as a “gimme” in the NFL. However, the team made the decision to rest them both, a calculated risk to be sure. Had the Bears lost either of those games, their chances of making the playoffs would have shrunk dramatically.

However, Matt Nagy and staff determined they would be better off rolling the dice, resting them both, and getting them healthy for the home stretch. That calculated risk paid off tremendously. The Bears easily won both of those games and found themselves back in sole possession of first place in the NFC North. The move also allowed two of their stars to get some much-needed rest. Little did they know just how critical that would be.

You see, just yesterday, the NFL announced the Bears’ game against the Minnesota Vikings on November 18th, would be flexed into the Sunday Night game which starts at 8:20 p.m. That’s great news, right? Well, not so much.

You see following that game — which likely won’t end before 11:00 p.m. — the Bears have to travel to Detroit to take on the Lions on Thanksgiving in a 12:30 p.m. start. That means in just about 84 hours, the Bears will have to travel to Detroit and recover from what will likely be a very physical and emotional matchup against the Vikings.

While it’s true the Lions play a mere seven hours earlier, they also won’t have to travel, which is significant. Rather than being on a plane, they can be in the training room getting much-needed treatment.

This is a very short turnaround for a healthy player. If Mack and Robinson had played in each of the last two weeks, there is no way they’d be able to play all three of these consecutive and critical division games. Now it’s still unclear whether Robinson will be able to play this coming Sunday, but the Bears can more easily account for his absence than Mack’s. Besides, groin injuries have a tendency to linger if not fully healed. Winning the last two and getting Mack back give the Bears the flexibility to continue to rest Robinson if necessary.