From the outside looking in, the Chicago Bears might appear to be up against it.
They are 4-4; a two-game improvement over their mark through as many games in 2023. But after back-to-back heartbreaking (for vastly different reasons) losses, the optimism that reality should bring is hard to find from those outside of the Bears’ locker room.
Inside, players have moved on to Week 10. But they are still ready to re-take the field to wash away the feeling of those losses.
D’Andre Swift, Bears Eager to Get Back on Field in Week 10
D’Andre Swift, Bears ‘Can’t Wait’
“We can’t wait,” running back D’Andre Swift told Clocker Sports on Friday.
After a slow start to the season, Swift posted four straight games of 70-plus rushing yards and or more than 5.0 yards per carry from Weeks 4 through 7. But he tallied 51 yards on his 16 totes against an Arizona Cardinals team that ranks 22nd against the run.
“I can’t wait for another opportunity to go out there and continue to get better,” Swift said when asked how eager he was to get back on track.
For the past week, there has been a lot of finger-pointing.
But that, again, has come from the outside. Most answers offered about the root cause of the Bears’ issue point to execution. More specifically, it has been the Bears’ lack thereof in recent weeks.
“That’s exactly what it is. Comes down to that execution,” Swift said. “Everybody doing they job, and that’s what we look to do on Sunday with another opportunity. We all looking forward to it.”
Week 10 marks the Bears’ first home game since Week 5.
They are undefeated at home this season, technically 4-0 thanks to their foray in London versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bears are 3-0 in Soldier Field in 2024. They have not faced a murderer’s row of opponents at home.
The Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams, and Tennesee Titans are a combined 10-24 on the season. But it is a glimmer of hope after a tumultuous past two weeks.
That span included a trade sending former starter Khalil Herbert to the Cincinnati Bengals.
“100%. Been talking to him for a minute now. I know how it is. I know how it kind of go. Everybody go through situations, adversity ups and downs. But bro do a hell of a job of making sure his mental right in the first spot. That’s the biggest thing that we were talking about. I’m just happy to see him get an opportunity to showcase what he’s been doing. So I’m excited for him.”
Herbert, 26, was one of the longest-tenured players on the team. His other fellow backs Roschon Johnson and Travis Homes, tight end Cole Kmet, and center Coleman Shelton acknowledged it was part of the business that is the NFL.
Swift, who watched as the team that drafted him – the Detroit Lions, whom the Bears will face in Week 13 – drafted his replacement, understands full well the business side of things.
Herbert’s trade was not the first reminder. Just the latest.
“If you don’t know it’s a business, you got multiple examples to look around and kind of figure that out,” Swift said. “It is a business; 100% is a business. But at the end of the day, you get a great opportunity to be blessed to come in here and play a game that we love. But at the end of the day, it is a business.”
Bears Camaraderie Takes Sting Out of Tough Conversation
Bears nickelbacks coach David Overstreet faced a potentially awkward and difficult conversation ahead of Week 9. The Bears went with rookie Reddy Steward at nickel over third-year man Josh Blackwell with Kyler Gordon inactive.
Blackwell had not only started but played well in Week 8 in the loss to the Washington Commanders.
Still, the support for one another made the conversation between all three men easier.
“We had a great conversation,” Overstreet told Clocker Sports on Thursday. “The thing is, Josh is such a great teammate. And we told – I had them both there together – and I told them both that Reddy’s gonna be playing and Josh was gonna be playing too. We had a package for Josh. And, man, he dapped Reddy up, hugged and said, ‘Man, let’s go!’ And he’s like, ‘Let’s get it, bro, and go after it.’
“They played well together in that game. Reddy played a lot of the snaps, and it was almost even. Just with the way the kind of personnel in the game worked out, Reddy got a few more reps. But it worked out well for both of those guys.”
Steward also noted Blackwell’s support, citing how close they are and agreeing that makes things much easier for him.
“It was not awkward at all. Me and Josh, we real close. Josh still helps me every day by answering questions. Josh is like a big bro to me. So it’s nothing awkward about it. We encourage each other in the nickel room. We bring each other along, help each other with everything. So it looks cool,” Steward told Clocker Sports on Friday.
“It just makes it free. I feel like you’re free when you’re out there because all your bros cheer you on. It don’t matter which nickel out there, which corner, whoever goes down. It’s like a next-man-up mentality, so we all just cheer for each other.”
Steward forced a fumble versus Arizona, and he and Overstreet agreed that the production helps reinforce the work the rookie puts in during the week of practice.
That camaraderie cannot be overlooked either, especially at this seemingly critical juncture.
“That just comes from our culture. That comes top-down, and also with all the other players in there. Those veteran guys – Jaylon [Johnson], and Kevin Byrd, and Kyler, and all those guys. And when new guys come in, all you do is just bring them right in. It’s like indoctrination. They know, ‘Hey, this how we do it.’ And everybody just has each other’s back.”
Matt Eberflus’ Message Unchanged as Season Continues
Two weeks ago, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was able to lean on his team being 4-2. One week ago, he could still point to their 4-3 mark as a sign of improvement. His message is the same at 4-4 as it was at 0-0.
“It’s just, ‘One week at a time,’ Eberflus told Clocker Sports during his post-practice media availability on Friday. “That’s what it is. You got to really maintain your focus, you got to wire into that week, put everything you have into that week. All your preparation, all your focus, and it goes all the way through that practice week like we just had. I thought we had some good – really good practices.
“And then it’s the 48-hour preparation I always talk about. It’s about wiring in. Guys are alling in on their jobs, doing their jobs. But you have to study. 48-hour preparation. You got to get ready to go emotionally, but also physically and mentally at the same time.
“That’s individual responsibility to the team for each player, and that’s the phase we’re in right now.”
Again, the Bears were 2-6 through eight games in 2023.
A win in Week 10 over the lowly Patriots likely does not quell much if anything, not with how the Bears’ schedule looks beyond that. But it offers them a chance to hone back in on those details that they appear to have gotten away from over their Week 7 bye.