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Respect the Passtronaut, Week 12 MNF Storylines, Panthers Drama, and Other Bears Bullets

Luis C. Medina Luis C. Medina
Nov 27, 2023
Chicago Bears

If you’re reading this, it means the Amtrak wi-fi is working. Or, at a minimum, is working long enough for me to push Bears Bullets out the door.

  • News from the top with the Panthers firing Head Coach Frank Reich. The 1-10 Panthers were going nowhere fast. With Chicago owning Carolina’s first-round pick, the Panthers wouldn’t even be able to capitalize on the tank job in Charlotte. This probably bodes well for the Bears in the short term because an interim coach (former Bears Special Teams Coach Chris Tabor!) isn’t likely to engineer a turnaround that takes the Panthers pick out of a premium position. HOWEVER, I won’t rule out a dead-cat bounce stretch from Carolina. In fact, I fear it. Interim coaches looking to build their résumé and players trying desperately to put good tape out there for a future coach can be dangerous. Stay tuned.

  • If you’re thinking about the long-term, the Panthers join the Raiders as teams who will be looking for new head coaches this offseason. And if you’re someone who thinks the Bears should jettison Head Coach Matt Eberflus this offseason, it would be wise to keep tabs on which gigs open up and what coaches are connected with those teams.

  • AHEM! Sharing this list of future head coach candidates seems timely for Bears fans.

  • Oh, yeah. The Bears play football today:

  • The folks at Bears Wire have four bold predictions for the Monday night showdown between the long-time division rivals. Predictions via author Brendan Sugrue include breakout games for running back Roschon Johnson and wide receiver Darnell Mooney. Johnson should be in a position to snag a few extra carries with D’Onta Foreman out of the picture. And Mooney is due for a break-through performance (even though he hasn’t shown signs that one is imminent). I’m riding the due factor here, folks.

  • Because you’re obsessively watching for who’s in and out, it sounds unlikely that Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson will play against the Bears on Monday Night Football. Jefferson is an all-world receiver whose hamstring injury already caused him to miss the first Chicago-Minnesota matchup. Sitting Jefferson (again) will give him an extra two weeks to heal that ailing hamstring. (ESPN)

  • As the Bears defense prepares for a Justin Jefferson-less offense, Chicago Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy says he has heard “only incredible things” about Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs. This might be just me being way too in my head, but I wish Getsy was this complimentary of his own starting QB. (WGN)

  • Patrick Finley (Sun-Times) explores the challenges that await the Bears defense as it faces a quarterback nicknamed “The Passtronaut” in primetime.

  • The Tyson Bagent thing was cute and fun. Plus, it kept our hands busy for a four-week stretch in the dog days of the football season. Meanwhile, the Vikings have Dobbs posting a 94.4 rating in the three games since joining Minnesota ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline.

  • Chris Emma (670 The Score) has some storylines he’ll be following for MNF. One thing Emma has on his radar that is also on mine is tracking how the Bears bounce back from one of their toughest losses of the year. Having an extra day to chew on blowing a double-digit fourth-quarter lead can go one of two ways. They could use that as motivation to lift them to new heights and maybe it looks like the Washington game after collapsing against Denver. Or it goes south (perhaps with the team looking ahead to the upcoming bye week). We’ll learn something about this team (and its head coach) one way or another.

  • Two of the Chicago Tribune’s three Bears insiders think this is a spot where Chicago’s football team can pull off an upset. If it does, it will do so while capturing its first win against a divisional rival since 2021. It’s been a long time coming, indeed. Colleen Kane (Trib) lists some things to keep an eye on tonight.

  • If you’ve got some free time on your hands, I’d recommend Kevin Fishbain’s mailbag at The Athletic. Fishbain discusses quarterback Justin Fields’ options in 2024, the decisions President Kevin Warren might have to make, and more. This Bears team might be riding a struggle bus, but they’re also simultaneously a choose-your-own-adventure game.

  • I’m not saying a top-tier Zay Flowers celebration makes up for a meh-inspiring slate of Sunday games. But it helped:

  • Oh, yeah, and the Ravens beat the Chargers.

    • SUNDAY 7: Eagles Down Bills, Jaguars Top Texans, Playoff and Draft Implications, More

  • Three-fifths of the St. Louis Cardinals rotation has been assembled over the last few weeks of free agency. Sonny Gray is the latest addition:

  • Here are three stars from a forgettable Blackhawks defeat at the hands of the rival Blues. (BN Blackhawks)

  • Another loss leaves me not knowing what to say about the Bulls other than this felt expected after an offseason standing pat.

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    written by

    Luis C. Medina

    Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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