Bears are on five-game winning streak

Since returning from their bye week, the Chicago Bears have made significant adjustments in areas they were struggling in, and are now on a five-game winning streak. The Bears (9-3) have defeated the Buffalo Bills 22-19, Minnesota Vikings 27-13, Miami Dolphins 16-0, Philadelphia Eagles 31-26, and Detroit Lions 24-20.

The most significant change has been the play of the offense. In the first half of the season, Bears’ offensive coordinator Mike Martz called mostly pass plays and seldom ran the ball. During this winning streak, Chicago is now displaying a much more balanced attack on offense, which is averaging 24 points per game since the bye week. Quarterback Jay Cutler has completed 66% of his passes (90 out of 137) resulting in1,062 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and only three interceptions in the last five games. Running backs Matt Forte and Chester Taylor have combined for 528 yards and four touchdowns during the five-game winning streak—which is more than the number of rushing yards the Bears have accumulated in their first seven games of the season. Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett have been the two most productive receivers the past five games for Chicago. Both have hauled in 19 receptions each—Knox having the biggest total of yardage (296) and Bennett with the most receiving touchdowns (3).

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The balance of the offense has shown some improvement on the defensive side as well. Running the ball more resulted in giving Chicago’s defense more time to rest on the sideline and has kept them fresh for the latter parts of games. This has resulted in 13 sacks and seven interceptions for the defense. Julius Peppers has started to show everyone what they have expected of him when he signed this past off-season. Peppers has a total of five sacks in the past five games, three of which came against the Dolphins in their shutout victory. Chris Harris has stepped up and snagged three interceptions.

With four games left in the season, the Chicago Bears hope to continue their winning ways. Next up for the Bears is one of the best teams in the NFL, the New England Patriots.

By Clyde Speller
ProFootball-fans.com Chicago Bears Correspondent