People are having a hard time explaining the 2022 Chicago Bears. Everybody predicted this team would be one of the worst in the NFL. They’d gutted most of their roster of veteran talent. Khalil Mack was gone. Akiem Hicks was gone. Allen Robinson was gone. This team was destined to compete for the #1 overall pick next year. Now they’re 2-1 and tied for 1st place in the NFC North. They have a chance to reach 3-1 against a banged-up New York Giants team on Sunday. How did this happen? Lucas Patrick knows.
The veteran offensive lineman spent the majority of his career in Green Bay. He knows what a winning culture looks like. The problem is the Bears don’t have the same level of talent as their northern rivals. Patrick quickly realized new head coach Matt Eberflus had a solution to that issue. If this team couldn’t win on talent alone, they’d make up for it by outworking everybody else. Patrick explained on Bears All Access how Eberflus’ brutal practice regimens have created a well-conditioned and well-disciplined football team.
There are stats to back them up. Right now, the Bears are tied for 6th-fewest penalties committed in the NFL through three weeks with 16. Then there is the 4th quarter. Patrick called it their quarter, and he wasn’t joking. Chicago has outscored opponents 15-3 in the last 15 minutes and has yet to allow an offensive touchdown. Two of their three interceptions have also come in the final frame. Eberflus talks about mental and physical stamina all the time. That is how you win tight football games in the NFL.
He’s been proven correct. Two of the Bears’ three games were within three points or fewer entering the 4th quarter. They won both. That didn’t happen last year. It is tangible evidence that what Eberflus is doing leads to results. Lucas Patrick sounds bought in, and his teammates have as well. This team isn’t going to win the Super Bowl. Even so, it feels like they’re pointed in the right direction for the first time.
