Jeff Hughes | September 24th, 2018

The Bears have played three games. So have the Packers, Vikings and Lions. After those three games, the Bears have the best record in the NFC North.

Style points don’t matter. The first two months of the season are about accruing wins and positioning yourself for a potential postseason run. The Bears won a football game on a road. This fan base isn’t allowed to use the word “but”. A win is a win is a win.

Several times during this game I turned to my buddy Maciej and said, “Why do we have Khalil Mack?” It’s all I can think about during these games. He is a force. The Cardinals were using 2-3 players on him per play and he still ended up with two sacks and a crucial forced fumble. Without Mack, the Bears are 0-3 right now.

Sherrick McManis. Bryce Callahan. Bilal Nichols. The Bears aren’t just good on defense. They’re deep.

Matt Nagy was lost Sunday. There’s no other way to say it. As a play caller, he had zero feel for the flow of the game and Wilks/Holcomb had the better of him all day long. The Bears have been incoherent on offense through three weeks. There is no discernible system/strategy. The play calls feel random.

Trubisky has to be better. It’s hard to evaluate his play without access to the game tape but he seems indecisive and uncomfortable. That’s a lethal combination.

Why do all the team’s deep shots have zero chance? Are these being called? Does Trubisky have the option not to throw them? Very difficult to analyze without that information.

And stop telling me the Bears are running the Chiefs offense. I watched Chiefs/49ers yesterday. The Chiefs have wide open receivers all over the field. Patrick Mahomes rarely throws a ball into congestion. The Bears never seem to have anyone open. And they never complete a pass to a receiver moving up the field. The receiver’s back is always to the defense, limiting any YAC possibility.

Enough with the bubble screens! Seriously! Enough! This isn’t the Pac-12. Those plays might work against Kevin Sumlin’s Arizona but they’re not working against a professional defense.

Eric Kush is a liability on the offensive line. Too many penalties. Bears need to get James Daniels on the field.

Oh, one thing…

Good to see Tarik Cohen worked into the game plan.

Akiem Hicks harassed Cardinals quarterbacks yesterday. No player has benefited more from Mack being in Chicago than Hicks, who absolutely devours any offensive lineman that attempts to single him.

Trey Burton should be the focal point of this passing attack. There’s more big play potential in the tight end than any other pass catcher on the roster.

What happened to the RPO? Wasn’t that going to be the bulk of this offense?

It’s not time to panic about Cody Parkey yet. But with THIS defense and THIS offense, Parkey needs to make just about every kick.

Kyle Long is playing at an extremely high level through three weeks. And he’s playing hurt.

That’s it. Defense ready to win a championship. Offense needs a lot of work. But the Bears, your 2018 Chicago Bears, are in first place.