Half of the dozen games on today’s National Football League schedule are played under domes and the other six under fair skies. No weather today to interfere with the play on the field.
The Chicago Bears are alone in first place. They are leading one of the toughest divisions in football, the NFC North. They have a half-game edge over the Green Bay Packers, and one game over the Detroit Lions. The Minnesota Vikings are in last place with a 4 and 6 season record. Chicago has risen to the top of the standings after losing their first two games of the season to division opponents, the Vikings and Lions.
How has this happened?
Credit to first-year head coach Ben Johnson. He has led the Bears while taking advantage of the skillset his players offer and designing game plans that suit their second-year quarterback, Caleb Williams. When coaching comes into play, and it always does, Johnson has been stellar in recent years. Before accepting the Bears job this season he was offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions who under his guidance were the highest scoring team in football last year, and second only to the San Francisco 49ers in all football in 2023.
Today, the Bears host the Pittsburgh Steelers at Soldier Field while looking to extend a seven-win run in the last eight weeks that include a number of nailbiters. Among their seven wins this year are last week’s last second winning field goal in Minnesota, a four-point win over the New York Giants two weeks ago, and a last second touchdown the week before to beat the Cincinnati Bengals on the road.
More close games include a one-point win over the Raiders in Las Vegas and a one-point win against the Commanders in Washington.