In addition to trying to exorcise last season's demons in their Week 6 matchup against the Washington Commanders, the Chicago Bears had a chance to better their own positioning in the NFC North. They did just that, and they now find themselves on pace with the rest of the division.
That's why it's so important for the Bears to take advantage of the lighter schedule ahead of them over the next four weeks. One look at who they face between now and when they resume divisional play Nov. 16 against the Minnesota Vikings practically screams that the Bears will need to be above .500 during that stretch. If they aren't, those playoff hopes will likely be dashed, leaving the organization to face questions about their makeup and strategy.
The Bears might have the biggest strength of schedule in the NFC North, but that accounts for the whole season, not only the next month. Starting with this Sunday's tilt against New Orleans, the Bears' upcoming stretch of games against the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, and the New York Giants, in that order, will determine just what kind of season this group enjoys. Those teams have a combined record of 7-18, not taking advantage of this stretch of games against teams that won't be fighting for top playoff spots would be a disastrous mistake for Chicago to make, as things only get much more difficult down the stretch.
Green Bay has a mixed bag of opponent quality over the same stretch. It's a combination of division leaders and teams still trying to find their footing. The combined record of the teams the Packers will face during that same stretch, the Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, and Philadelphia Eagles, is a much more impressive 13-11.
Detroit and Minnesota play each other during this stretch, and also vary with their opponents' combined records. The Lions have their bye week right before they play the Vikings, but they also face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders, leaving Detroit with a schedule of opponents with a combined record of 11-6.
Finally, the Vikings get Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Chargers, and Baltimore in addition to their matchup against the Lions. That makes their combined opponent record during that stretch identical to the Packers' at 13-11, but three of those teams are 4-2 with two of them leading their respective divisions.
So, to put it plainly, the Bears can't afford to sit back and take it easy just because of who they're playing at this point in the season. This is when they should do everything in their power to leverage their positioning to take even more control of the division, or at least really put themselves comfortably in the playoff picture.
Good teams recognize opportunities like this when they present themselves. Ben Johnson appears to have demonstrated enough smarts during his first season as coach that he surely knows what's ahead. He might be a spark for the Bears, but it's unlikely he would have gotten the job if he didn't know when the time comes to really keep his players on their toes.
The Bears need to go at least 3-1 over their next four games to really keep the pressure on the rest of the division. This isn't the team that was the outlier in a historically tough division last year. This group is different, and it seems intent on proving that.