The Bears may be on a bye, but Week 10 still has plenty riding on it for Chicago.
A weekend away from the field doesn’t change the bigger picture: the Bears are chasing both the NFC North crown and the conference’s top seed, and a few results around the league could make their position look a whole lot better by Sunday night.
The most important scoreboard to watch is in the NFC North, where Chicago has two separate teams in its way. Minnesota and Green Bay are still both in the mix, and Bears fans have reason to keep one eye on that matchup even if it’s not exactly a pretty one.
The ideal outcome for Chicago is a Vikings win on the road, even though the Packers have looked like the stronger team lately. Minnesota enters at 6-2, Green Bay at 6-3, and a Vikings victory would pull them level with the Bears while dropping the Packers a game and a half back.
The source of optimism for Minnesota is the Kirk Cousins trade, but the best-case version for Chicago is simple: Cousins struggles and the Vikings win an ugly one.
The Lions are the other problem in the division, and this one is more straightforward. Detroit is one win from matching the Bears at the top of the NFC North, and it would own the tiebreaker thanks to its 2-0 division record.
Chicago needs Drake Maye and the New England Patriots to stop that from happening in Germany. That’s a tough ask after New England’s rough loss to Green Bay, a game in which it gave up 45 points and committed four turnovers.
Maye has been up and down all season, but he’ll need a sharp performance to deal with a Detroit defense that has steadied itself over the last month. The Lions were one of the league’s worst units early on, but they’ve climbed to league-average form as their secondary gets healthier.
Then there’s the one Bears fans probably won’t enjoy rooting for: Dallas.
The Cowboys are home underdogs by 3.5 points against San Francisco, and Chicago needs an upset if it wants the path to the NFC’s No. 1 seed to stay open. The 49ers hold a one-game edge over the Bears in that race, so a Dallas win would make home-field advantage and a first-round bye feel a lot more real in Chicago.
Of course, beating San Francisco is easier said than done. Even with injuries piling up, the 49ers have been steamrolling most of the teams they’ve faced.
Brock Purdy is in the MVP conversation, Fred Warner has a real shot at Defensive Player of the Year, and Kyle Shanahan still gives San Francisco a weekly edge. On paper, this is the kind of matchup that could get ugly fast: the league’s best offense against one of its worst defenses.
Bears fans are left hoping the old “any given Sunday” line actually means something here.
In Other News...
Dennis Allen Faces Three Big Bears Decisions During The Bye
The bye week has arrived with Dennis Allen carrying a familiar kind of midseason homework: sorting out a defense that has shown enough promise to justify a closer look, but not enough consistency to leave alone. For the Bears, the pause offers a chance to rethink some of the personnel and pressure packages that have defined the first stretch of the season, especially on the back end and off the edge.
One of the biggest questions is whether Malik Muhammad has done enough to claim a full-time starting role at outside cornerback over Tyrique Stevenson, a move that would signal a meaningful shift in how Allen wants to line up his secondary. There is also a case for getting Daniel Hardy on the field more often as a pass rusher, while the larger philosophical debate may be whether Allen is ready to lean harder into blitzing after spending much of his time in the league preferring a more measured approach. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Bye Week Could Quietly Fix A Few Trouble Spots
The bye week comes at a good time for a Bears roster that has been dealing with a few nagging issues and a few moving parts. Garrett Bradbury gets a chance to reset physically, while the extra time also gives Chicago a window to get healthier and sort through some of the depth-chart churn that has been forced on the lineup.
Kyle Monangai is expected back from injured reserve, Ozzy Trapilo may be ready to rejoin the lineup, and Malik Muhammad could be on track to return from injury as well. Sam Roush, meanwhile, can use the break to settle in after seeing more playing time than expected, which makes this stretch feel less like dead time and more like a quiet chance to clean up a few trouble spots before the next run of games. [Read more 🡒]
Bears May Have Found A Trade Bonus They Barely Can Use
The Bears trade for Clark Phillips III looked like a savvy little add-on when they sent Gervon Dexter Sr. to Atlanta for a fifth-round pick and the young cornerback. Phillips has flashed enough in limited snaps to make the move feel worthwhile, especially with his ability to hold up in coverage and contribute in pass-rush situations. For a defense that always values depth in the secondary, he has at least given Chicago something to think about.
The catch is that the Bears may not have an easy path to using him much more than they already have. Jaylon Johnson has been trending in the right direction, and Malik Muhammad is back from injury, which tightens the rotation at corner just as Phillips was starting to make a case for more work. It leaves Chicago in a familiar spot with a useful player who may simply be stuck behind healthier, more established options. [Read more 🡒]