Good morning. The Bears are back in the playoffs for the second time in three years.
Granted, after the drubbing they suffered in the fourth quarter against the Packers, they made it when the Cardinals lost to the Rams, and they enter today’s game having downgraded Darnell Mooney and Roquan Smith to out while the Saints bring back Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara, but they’re in the playoffs!
We’ll take it how we get it, I guess.
The last time these two faced off in week 8, the Bears took a 13-3 lead before Jared Cook caught a touchdown pass at the end of the first half; in the final four minutes of the game down 10 points, Mooney caught a touchdown pass from Nick Foles and Cairo Santos knocked a 51-yarder through the uprights to force overtime before the Bears eventually dropped the game in OT.
So what’s new? Well, Mitchell Trubisky is starting again, and with Mooney out, Anthony Miller will have to take back his number 2 role. In that week 8 game he was targeted 11 times, converting 8 catches for 73 yards.
Also, Alvin Kamara, pretty good. Not sure we have to recap what he did in week 16; against the Bears he had 163 yards total on 25 touches. At least he didn’t dent the endzone that week. Keeping Kamara limited is going to be a chore in its own right, and if the Navy and Orange are going to advance, keeping him down and getting after Drew Brees are going to be huge keys to getting there.
It’s the playoffs. As long as we’re here, we might as well win. Bear Down, my friends.
The WCG Sunday Livestream is leery of the Bears’ chances in the playoffs, but being able to discuss the playoffs at all for the second time in the show’s existence is more than enough.
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