Against all odds, it just keeps getting better. It’s uncanny—so much so that I’m inclined toward superstition, as if this team has been divinely chosen. This past Saturday, the Chicago Bears reached something like pure ecstasy.
The first three quarters of their wild-card match against the Green Bay Packers had all the makings of a quintessential big-brother beatdown, with playoff aspirations to boot. By halftime, Green Bay had run up a 21–3 lead, and any attempt by Chicago to get going was rendered inert.
It was hardly a shock. The Bears had exposed fundamental flaws all season, and they’d reached the playoffs only through an unlikely string of good fortune and lucky breaks. Now reality had set in. To paraphrase Dennis Green, the Bears were who we thought they were—sloppy—and they were being outclassed through and through.
Then the Packers let them off the hook. Once again, now with higher stakes than ever, the Bears pulled it off, aided by sheer luck—a force that has seemingly decided to take their side for good. Chicago outscored Green Bay 25–6 in the fourth quarter, stealing a 31–27 home victory in electrifying fashion.
Now comes the Los Angeles Rams. My better judgment says this run ends Sunday. Vegas agrees; the line opened at Rams -4.5. The same pundits said the Bears would lose to the Packers. Before that, they said Chicago wouldn’t even sniff the playoffs. Yet, here they remain. Things keep getting better. My inhibitions keep getting lower. Skepticism is thinning.
But the Bears can’t afford to get carried away. If they’re serious about parlaying this miraculous win into a bona fide championship run, they’ll need far more than good fortune—long hours in the film room, sharper execution, and fewer self-inflicted mistakes.
Still, Soldier Field is ripe for another upset. Forecasts call for a low near eight degrees, conditions sure to discomfort a Los Angeles team led by Matthew Stafford, who spent most of his career indoors before arriving on the West Coast. It’s hard to count Chicago out.
The question is, just how much longer can this fairy tale last?
