'We'll work through this adversity' – Chicago Bears leaders are looking to get the team back on track and move on from Week 8 loss
The Chicago Bears are coming off what is hopefully going to be the most disappointing loss of the season.The kind of loss that truly makes or breaks an entire locker room and we're about to find out what kind of impact the ending of that game is going to have in Chicago.Based on the first […]
The Chicago Bears are coming off what is hopefully going to be the most disappointing loss of the season.
The kind of loss that truly makes or breaks an entire locker room and we're about to find out what kind of impact the ending of that game is going to have in Chicago.
Based on the first few days after the loss, it's safe to say the Bears are going to be in good shape going forward, and that's because of the people leading the team.
In Chicago, people are beginning to realize that this is truly a player-led team and that's in no way a knock on the coaching staff. Instead, it's a testament to the leadership group the team has in place in the locker room led by the eight team captains who are holding everyone accountable each day.
"I trust those guys. I believe in those guys," head coach Matt Eberflus said about the team leaders. "Those guys did a great job leading this team and they're going to continue to do it this week, leading from the inside out. I talked about leading from the front, and all eight of those guys are great leaders. We're a team that's growing, and we're a team that's getting better, and we'll work through this adversity."
Having a player-led team is always met with raised eyebrows from those on the outside, but this type of leadership helps bring everyone closer together on the team. And no one explained that better than rookie team captain Caleb Williams.
"The better teams that I've been on, the players lead, and that's that's what we have here," Williams explained. "Okay teams, nobody leads. Good teams, coaches lead. And the great teams, players lead. So, we have to find ways to be better for ourselves… We're going to keep getting better between the coaches and us players. That's the point in football is to is to keep getting better. It's a long season. We have to keep growing throughout."
The good news, the Bears are still 4-3 on the season and have won three of their last four games. Compared to last season where the Bears were 2-6 after eight weeks, the organization is in a much better spot. Unfortunately, it sucks losing on a national stage the way the Bears did in Week 8 and everyone from the outside is going to blow it out of proportion.
"We're not below .500, the sky isn't falling," wide receiver DJ Moore said. "Onto the next opponent and that's the Cardinals. We got to just figure out a way to be 1-0 this week. To the media, it might be falling because of how we lost, or whatever, however it is. Everybody in here is just fine and onto how can we get back on the win streak."
Sunday's game against the Cardinals will be a critical one for the Bears and one that determines what the identity of this team truly looks like. It could be the start of another winning streak going into the tough part of the schedule, or a game that sends the rest of the season into a spin.
"Now you really get to see if we could bounce back and really stay together, and that's the biggest thing," Moore added. "We was tested [after the loss in Week 3], and we bounced back with a three game win streak. Now we had this one, which was even bigger because it was a NFC opponent, so now we gotta just go try to cook another NFC opponent the way we just lost it and make them feel how we feel."
Depth of the Bears’ offensive line will be tested as the unit looks short-handed due to injury ahead of Week 9
Bad time to have injuries stack up.
