The Chicago Bears went on a roller coaster ride on Sunday afternoon, holding off a late rally and defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 47-42. While there are some underlying concerns coming from Sunday’s game, the Bears earned the win in the type of game they let slip away during their 10-game losing streak that torpedoed last year’s 4-2 start.
That and improving to 5-3 on the season is good enough for Bears fans to feel great about themselves heading into Sunday evening. But Sunday’s results, which included the Minnesota Vikings defeating the Detroit Lions and the Carolina Panthers upsetting the Green Bay Packers, should have them feeling even better about their win in Cincinnati.
Bears Get Major NFC North Boost as Vikings Upset Lions, Panthers Stun Packers
The most immediate competition for the Bears was the Lions, who entered Sunday with a 5-2 record. Detroit was playing at home, going up against quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who had not started a game since a Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. But McCarthy was hot early, tossing a pair of touchdown passes to give Minnesota an early 14-7 lead, and a rushing touchdown in the third quarter put the Vikings ahead 24-14.
While the Lions kept fighting back, the Vikings kept giving them an answer, and a third-down pass from McCarthy to Jalen Nailor with 1:41 to play sealed the game and allowed the Bears to tie Detroit in the standings.
The Vikings' win helped out the Bears, but so did Carolina’s victory at Lambeau Field. While they were aided by an injury to Packers tight end Tucker Kraft, the Panthers used a Keisean Nixon holding penalty late in the third quarter to set up a Rico Dowdle touchdown run that gave them a 13-6 lead.
Josh Jacobs responded with a one-yard touchdown plunge to help the Packers tie the game at 13-13 with 2:32 to play. But Bryce Young led a game-winning drive that was capped by a 49-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald, which sealed the win and gave Chicago another boost in the standings.
Bears Gain Ground in NFC North After Wild Week 9 Shakeup
With the two surprising results combined with the Bears’ win, Chicago has to feel great about where it stands after Week 9.
The Bears’ win kept them a game ahead of the Vikings, who are currently in last place with a record of 4-4. While the Lions (5-3) have the tiebreaker over Chicago by virtue of a 52-21 victory in Week 2, the Packers’ loss brings them closer to the rest of the division, sitting in first place with a record of 5-2-1.
This sets the stage for what should be an interesting second half. The Bears will host the New York Giants next Sunday before traveling to the Vikings on Nov. 16. Chicago also has both of its matchups with the Packers remaining on Dec. 7 and Dec. 20 and will match up with the Lions to close out the season on Jan. 4.
If the Bears can show the same resolve they showed on Sunday, the late-season matchups should be easier to handle than they were a year ago. That makes Week 9’s results something that falls in the Bears’ favor and can bring them some confidence moving forward.