The wind has changed in Chicago

The wind has changed in Chicago. The last place in the division of last season is now only a memory. The Chicago Bears are one of the most entertaining and solid teams in the league and the victory over the Vikings has confirmed progress.

A defense enriched by Khalil Mack, the arrival of an ambitious head coach like Matt Nagy and the fast growth of Mitchell Trubisky have rekindled the passion in the "Windy City". The change in mentality in just one year has been impressive. Chicago is the sixth best attack (29.4 points) and the fourth best defense for points taken (19.5) of the NFL.

A defense of steel

The big teams, when something does not work, find a way to win. This season the Chicago Bears have shown it. In the game against Minnesota, while the attack was struggling, the defense took control of the situation. The super performances of the various Hicks, Fuller and Mack have been determined. The secret of the Bears is just that: understanding and energy. Chicago defends collectively: 10 players have at least one interception and a good 14 at least one sack. Nobody at the beginning of the season would have expected the system to turn out so well. The statistics do nothing but emphasize the great work done: first defense on race (77.8 yds), ​​and third for yards suffered (314.4). The last 3 teams to have won the Super Bowl had one of the first 5 defenses of the NFL ...

The same Kirk Cousins, at the end of the lost race, praised the defensive test of the hosts: "They are really strong! They have excellent players and are well trained. They really put us in difficulty "

The addition of former defender of the year 2016, Khalil Mack, then facilitated the games. The LB is disputing a season of great substance: 8 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 1 interception, numbers from potential Defender of the year.

The old saying that the defense wins the matches is hard to die.

The exploit of Trubisky and the work of Matt Nagy

In this championship Trubisky has scored a total of 23 TD (20 launched, 3 on race), launched 2,469 yards and immediately 9 interceptions: every statistic of the last season has already been largely overcome. In the last month and a half he has gone beyond 300 yards in 3 of the last 6 games.

And, although the Vikings have struggled, still showing some gap, the constancy shown is absolutely remarkable. The 6 TD in the game won against Tampa Bay were obviously the highest point reached in the season. But the incredible performance against the defense of the Bucs was not the classic straw fire. Even in the defeats against the Patriots and the Dolphins, Trubisky gave an essay of his athletic and mental qualities.

In the week of the clear victory for 34 to 22 against the Lions, in which he packed 23 passes in 30 for 355 yds, he even won the award for best offensive player of the NFC. To think that the young QB can point to the seasonal record of Erik Kramer - 29 TD, 3,838 yds - in the history of Bears is not so utopian. Rather.