Three things I think I know about the 3-1 Bears, who might not be able to win a game with a sack of potatoes under center but have to like where they are heading into a Week 5 visit to Green Bay:
1. They absolutely, positively own the Packers: After all, the Bears have beaten their bitter rivals — hang on while I dig through the files — twice in a row. So what if the Packers won 11 straight in the series from 2019 to 2024? Not to mention the Packers’ 15-2 stretch, including the 2010 NFC Championship Game, right before that. Or pretty much three whole decades starting with the mid-1990s. Call it a 30-year blip.
On second thought, let’s put the “own” on hold. But it’s undeniable the Bears (plus-47 in points) have been much better than the 2-2 Packers (minus-32) so far. The Bears also are healthier even factoring in Caleb Williams’ hamstring injury, which will keep the quarterback out of action for a third straight game as Tyson Bagent gets his second start. It’s wild to see a Bears team favored (by 2½ points) in a game at Lambeau Field, but here we are.
2. Ben Johnson has it better than Matt LaFleur: The Bears’ coach can do no wrong. He mildly disses his Packers counterpart with a blow-by handshake after a game, and all is fine. He F-bombs and says he “hates” the Packers in the locker room after a game, and Bears fans want to write him in for governor. He’s intense and can be prickly, but he’s off to a 14-7 start and celebrated for it at every turn.
Then there’s LaFleur, who’s 78-42-1 — an elite record — and 12-3 against the Bears and, naturally, taking shots from all sides. Even former Packers QB Kurt Benkert, who will post on social media 47 more times before you reach the end of this sentence, ripped LaFleur last week as lacking confidence and being rather humorless. This must be what happens when you suddenly can’t run the ball, can’t avoid drops in the passing game and have a knack for blowing big leads.
LaFleur is keeping it classy in regard to the Bears, at least.
“I mean, they’re the defending [NFC] North champions,” he said. “So what a great opportunity and great challenge for us in our home stadium to play against the defending champs.”
3. D’Andre Swift better stop fumbling: The No. 1 running back has put the ball on the ground twice this season, right around the average for his NFL career. A one-man epidemic? Hardly, but Johnson didn’t sound like a coach with any patience for it when discussing it this week.
As well as Kyle Monangai — who last fumbled in a game in high school — is running it, we could see him in heavier doses for a while. Another 30-carry game like the one he had against the Jets isn’t like to happen, but right now he’s the hot hand. Monangai handled the ball 700-plus times at Rutgers without fumbling and is almost at 1,000 factoring in his Bears touches. How did he last until the seventh round again?
Ben-o-meter: 9 out of 10
Wins with three different QBs in the first four games of the season have Johnson among the top three in coach of the year odds on leading betting sites. Yes, already. No kidding, it’s way early.
Besides, a Packers game is the real barometer.
Take the North
Would you rather be in the Bears shoes or in those of the 2-2 Lions, who rank last in the NFL in pass defense and total defense? Things can change fast, but at present it’s an easy answer.
Same goes for the Bears relative to the Packers, who have the bottom-ranked rushing attack (Bears rank No. 1) and don’t even have a rushing touchdown yet (Bears have nine). But the Bears are 9-28 in the division since 2019, a stat that makes one suspect the wheels could still come off at any time.
The winning-ugly Vikings remain in the best spot at 4-0 after a 15-10 win against the putrid Dolphins.
Three and Out
1. Turnover magic: So far, the Bears don’t have it. After topping the NFL in both takeaways and fewest turnovers committed last season — their plus-22 turnover margin was the stat of the season, without a doubt — they’re a ho-hum plus-1 through four games. But when you’re doubling your opponents in third-down conversation rate (47.4% to 23.7%) and outpacing them by cartoonish margins in first downs (101 to 56) and time of possession (36:35 to 23:24), it’s sort of the same thing.
2. “Green Bay sucks!” Lately, you can’t go anywhere without hearing this chant. Bears games against teams other than the Packers. White Sox playoff games. White Sox-Cubs crosstown matchups. Children’s birthday parties. Nunneries. Has the rivalry actually ramped up a level?
3. Time is a cruel mistress: Wednesday marks 42 years since Walter Payton took a pitch from Jim McMahon and rumbled six yards to break the NFL’s career rushing record. Did the world exist in black-and-white then? It’s hard to remember.