Chicago Bears Are Chasing The NFC North Lead© Instagram
The Chicago Bears beat the New York Jets 23-12 at Soldier Field on Sunday, improving to 3-1 and sitting second in the NFC North behind the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings. The scoreline is clean. The way it happened is not, and that is kind of the point. Head coach Ben Johnson deployed both Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent on the game’s opening play, a moment that was simultaneously a flex and an admission that the Bears’ quarterback situation is genuinely complicated right now. Caleb Williams missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury. Bagent started in his place. Keenum ran onto the field first just to confuse the Jets defence, and then watched Bagent do enough to win.
The Bears’ offence finished with 23 points. Bagent managed the game without turning it over. The Jets, sitting at 1-3, offered minimal resistance.
Kyle Monangai Carries the Bears Offence in Week 4
The player who made the whole thing work was not a quarterback. Kyle Monangai carried the football 24 times for 146 yards and two touchdowns, numbers that put him firmly in the early Offensive Player of the Week conversation and kept the Jets honest enough that they could not simply pin their ears back and chase a backup signal-caller around all afternoon. His first touchdown came in the opening quarter. His second extended the lead into the final period. Bleacher Nation gave the Bears an A-minus grade for the performance, pointing specifically to Johnson’s coaching as the main reason a backup-quarterback Sunday looked as competent as it did.
NFC North Standings and What Comes Next for Chicago
The NFC North sits with Minnesota at 4-0 after a 15-10 win over Miami. Chicago is at 3-1. Detroit lost in Charlotte to drop to 2-2. Green Bay and the Packers are the next opponent on the schedule, with Chicago visiting Lambeau Field in Week 5. Williams’ return to that game is described as possible but not certain, with Johnson saying nothing beyond “week to week” when pressed about the timeline. The Bears won the season opener 59-37, lost 3-9 to the Vikings in Week 2, beat the Eagles 27-7 in Week 3, and grinded this one out 23-12. The season has not looked the same twice. The record has held up anyway.
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