CHICAGO (AP) — Coach Ben Johnson understands the position his Chicago Bears are in and what's at stake the rest of the way.
The Bears (5-3) have won five of six, including three of four since their bye, to jump into the playoff race in Johnson's first season. The last thing they need is a letdown against the struggling New York Giants after winning one of the wildest games in recent memory last weekend at Cincinnati.
“The message to our guys going out of the bye week was we had to find a way to win three out of the next four. And we’ve done that,” Johnson said. “Because of that, we’re sitting at a place about halfway through the season, we’re 5-3. The parity of the NFL each and every year, it goes down to the wire. There’s a lot at stake. We can go any number of which ways here in the second half of the season and I think it’s something our guys are going to get pretty excited about here.”
The Bears trail NFC North leader Green Bay (5-2-1) by one game in the loss column and are tied with Detroit (5-3), which pounded Chicago in Week 2.
The Giants (2-7) have dropped three straight and are last in the NFC East. They're coming off a 34-24 loss to San Francisco that was worse than the score indicated and put more heat on coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen.
Tougher turn
The Bears' wins are against teams that are a combined 12-31-1 — Dallas, Las Vegas, Washington, New Orleans and Cincinnati. All five have losing records, and the Raiders and Saints are last in their divisions.
The schedule is about to get tougher.
The Bears visit Minnesota in Week 11 and then play three straight against current division leaders. They have a home game against Pittsburgh, followed by trips to defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia and to Green Bay.
Williams' growth
Quarterback Caleb Williams continues to show growth and room for improvement in his second season in the NFL and first under Johnson.
The former No. 1 overall draft pick's completion rate is down a full point at 61.5%, and even on completed passes, his ball placement is often not where the Bears would like. But he is taking fewer sacks with 14 so far after leading the league with a franchise-record 68 last season. He's also coming off a milestone performance for a quarterback.
Williams threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns while running for 53 yards last week, and he became the first quarterback in in nearly 82 years with multiple receptions in a game. He caught two passes for 22 yards and a TD.
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Ground gains
After going off for 283 yards rushing against Cincinnati — the highest total in the NFL this season — the Bears could be in for another big game on the ground as they face one of the league's worst run defenses for the second straight week.
Rookie Kyle Monangai broke out against the Bengals, rushing for 176 yards on 26 attempts with veteran D'Andre Swift sidelined by a groin injury. Swift had been on a roll before being held to 45 yards in a loss at Baltimore in Week 8. The former Pro Bowler, who returned to practice on Wednesday, ran for a combined 232 yards and a touchdown in wins over Washington and New Orleans.
The Giants, meanwhile, got run over by defending champion Philadelphia two weeks ago to the tune of 276 yards. They also could not stop San Francisco on the ground — the 49ers rushed 39 times for 159 yards — and have the second-worst run defense in the league.
“It’s going to be a long day for us,” edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux said. “We’ve got to make sure that we stop the run. We’ve got to make sure that we win early downs.”
Dart on contact
Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart has taken his fair share of hits through his first six starts. He was sad to see Washington’s Jayden Daniels dislocate his left elbow trying to make a play late in a blowout loss to Seattle, but Dart does not plan on that injury changing his approach.
“I’m going to play the game the way I want to play the game,” Dart said.
Pass-rush help
The Bears added some potential pass-rush help prior to the trade deadline, acquiring Joe Tryon-Shoyinka from Cleveland after losing defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo to a season-ending Achilles tendon injury.
Tryon-Shoyinka didn't play much in his lone season with Cleveland and never really lived up to expectations in four seasons with Tampa Bay after being drafted in the first round in 2021. He has 15 sacks, all with the Buccaneers.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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