Team Progress Report: Bears

From the surface, it looks grim for Bears fans. The team is 3-3, tied for 3rd place in the NFC North, and is on a two-game losing streak for the first time this season. However, if you look a little deeper, you'll some very strong positives on the horizon.

We're a little over a third of the way through the regular season, and it's time to take a deeper look at the Chicago Bears. If you're inspired to check out your hometown team in person, don't forget to buy the gear you need at SportsWorldChicago.com!

The Results So Far

The Bears' first three quarters of the season showed promise against the rival Green Bay Packers, as the good guys racked up a 20 to 3 lead on the road going into the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, defensive fatigue took a toll, and the Packers scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to escape with a 24-23 victory.

After that, the Bears bounced back strong. A 24-17 home victory over the Seahawks was followed by a 16-14 road win against the Cardinals, and the team started to gain momentum. This culminated in a 48-10 drubbing against the Buccaneers at Soldier Field, in which QB Mitch Trubisky threw 6 touchdowns against a helpless Tampa Bay defense.

Sitting at 3-1, key injuries caused the Bears to drop their next game against the Dolphins in overtime, a loss which was followed by another close but ultimately short effort against the Patriots, in which a hail mary at the dying moments of the game was caught by a Bears WR, but was unable to reach the end zone.

The NFC North seems like a much-improved division this year. The Vikings are great, the Packers are close their usual standard of quality, and the Lions look like an improved squad, so the standings aren't likely to reflect the improvement on the field for a young team that's still learning how to close games.

That said, there are some winnable games on the schedule coming up: the team hosts the 3-4 Jets next weekend and the 2-5 Bills after that, two games that Bears fans will see as very winnable matchups.

Stats Leaders

The team has been led by 2nd-year QB Mitch Trubisky, who is slowly but surely becoming better and more experienced under center. He's thrown 13 TDs to 6 interceptions. The only area where he's been hurt is via an offensive line that hasn't been steady, allowing 14 sacks in 6 games.

The skill positions have seen committees shouldering the load instead of one or two stars. WRs Taylor Gabriel and Allen Robinson are leading the team in receiving along with TE Trey Burton, and Tarik Cohen and Jordan Howard have both been effective out of the backfield.

The obvious improvement over last year has to be the team's shrewd offseason trade for the all-pro pass rusher, Khalil Mack. In both of the team's close wins, Mack has wreaked havoc and played a significant role.

Go See a Bears Game

Making a trip out to Soldier Field to see for yourself how much the Bears have improved since last year? Don't forget to come prepared. Get a vintage jersey to show your support or a Bears pullover or knit hat to equip yourself against the frigid Chicago winter, only available from SportsWorldChicago.com.

Want to read more about the home team? Reminisce on our baseball season and read about your favorite Chicago players like Javy Baez, Kris Bryant,or the Bears very own, Mitch Trubisky!