The Chicago Bears are leading their division with a 3-0 record this season in the NFC North and with the team playing against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, they could extend that lead while trying to improve to 4-0 on the season under first-year head coach Marc Trestman.
Quarterback Jay Cutler has been playing extremely well and one reason is due to the pass protection from the offensive line, which has been better for the team than it has been in years. Cutler was sacked more than anyone else through three games last season in the league and now the Bears are among the best, even with a basically whole new offensive line apart from one player. Trestman has done a good job bringing in his offense to the team and Matt Forte looks more involved than he has in years as well.
The team is playing good football on both offense and defense this season and they have the look of a Super Bowl contender in the NFC, especially after being able to pull out close games in the first two weeks. The team dominated the Steelers in Week 3 after holding on against the Vikings and that came after a nice comeback against the Bengals in Week 1. The Bears have been balanced passing and rushing the ball and they will play the Lions at 1 pm this week on Fox.
The Lions game starts a tough stretch for the Bears, as they will play the New Orleans Saints next and then the team will host the New York Giants on Sunday night football before travelling to play the Washington Redskins. The team has a bye in Week 8 and then the team has another road game for Monday night football against the Packers and then they will play the Lions again. The team hosts the Ravens and then plays two straight road games against St. Louis and Minnesota before hosting the Cowboys on MNF again.
The team finishes the season with two road games in a row with the Browns in Cleveland and the Eagles in Philly and then the team will host the Packers. That final stretch could decide the division and the final game against the Packers could be what settles the NFC North.
The Bears are ranked 21st in the league in passing yards per game with over 220 in the air and they are ranked 18th with over 100 rushing yards per game this season. The defense is giving up some passing yards, but a lot of that comes from the Steelers trying to come back last week after the Bears took a big lead. The team is allowing nearly 300 per game, but the rush defense has been much better, ranking eighth with less than 90 yards allowed per game.
