Chicago Bears: 3 things we will learn from the Vikings game

True evaluation

There has been a lot of chatter about the Bears schedule so far this season. Detractors want to argue that they are more pretenders than contenders because a deeper dive of the schedule reveals their wins have come against some pretty bad teams.

However, the reality is two-fold. First, the Bears have done exactly what you expect a good team to do — they’ve beaten the teams they are supposed to. Let’s be honest, in years past they lost these games. In fact, as fans, all we’ve wanted is for them to win these types of games and now we’re complaining about the manner in which they are doing it. And they can’t do anything about their schedule but play it, and that’s what they’re doing.

Second, the reality is there aren’t that many “elite” teams in the league this year, so there are fewer opportunities for the Bears to “prove themselves.” And what about some of the other teams who are in the playoff mix? Are they being subjected to the same level of scrutiny? It doesn’t feel like it.

Take a look at a great tweet below from Johnathan Wood, breaking down the quality of the Vikings’ wins. Later in the thread, he does the same for the Carolina Panthers. His point is, their wins are no more impressive than the Bears, but that is not being used against them.

Nevertheless, if the Bears want to silence those critics, they have a golden opportunity in primetime. The Vikings are seen as a quality opponent, and so if the Bears are able to handle their business at home, they will demonstrate to fans and critics alike that this team is what most of us believe they are — for real.